The Third Meeting of the Project Advisory Group (PAG) for “Strengthening the Institutional Response to HIV/AIDS/STI in the Caribbean” will take place at the Hilton Hotel in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on Friday October 26, 2001. This regional project is being funded through the resources of the 8th European Development Fund in the amount of EUR 6,919,220 and executed by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat.
The overarching goal is to reduce the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS/STI in the 15 Member States of the Caribbean Forum of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries (CARIFORUM).
The meeting will be convened under the chairmanship of Dr. Edward Greene, Assistant Secretary General, Human and Social Development, CARICOM Secretariat, and will review the progress of the project since its inception last January, provide direction for the development of the Work Programme and Cost Estimates for the budget year 2002, and address policy matters pertaining to programming, financing and reporting.
In addition, the meeting will discuss the implications for the project of recent regional high-level political declarations and commitments on the prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS and adopt appropriate responses. These include the declaration of commitment to the Pan Caribbean Partnership issued by the Heads of State and Government in Barbados on February 14, 2001; the Nassau Declaration on Health (The Health of the Region is the Wealth of the Region) issued by the Heads of Government in July 2001; and the decisions of the Caucus of Health Ministers held in Washington, D.C., USA, in September 2001.
The Project Advisory Group holds responsibility for approving the Annual Work Programmes and Cost Estimates associated with the designated outputs of the project, as well as review programmatic performance on a bi-annual basis. The core membership of the PAG is drawn from the CARICOM Secretariat, European Commission, Pan American Health Organization, Caribbean Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, Caribbean Conference of Churches, and representatives of regional Governments.
The meeting will also be attended by representatives of all the implementing agencies under the project – the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC), the Caribbean Regional Network of persons living with HIV/AIDS (CRN+), the Caribbean Health Research Council (CHRC), UNAIDS and the University of the West Indies (UWI).
The project is of three years duration, in the first instance.
