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It is my pleasure to bring you greetings from the Caribbean Community Secretariat and indeed the entire Caribbean Community on the occasion of the Fourteenth Meeting of the Regional Coordinating Mechanism (RCM). It is quite clear from the Agenda that the RCM and PANCAP are confronting some of the most challenging issues, most of which revolve around sustainable funding for the Partnership’s programmes and activities, and with matters related to institutional strengthening, in particular the methods for rationalizing the regional and national linkages in the fight against HIV.
It is significant in this regard that much attention at this meeting is given to the status and implementation strategy for the successful Round 9 application to the GFATM which focuses on a strategic regional approach to fighting HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean. In this regard I wish to take this opportunity to offer sincerest congratulations to Mr. Carl Browne, Executive Director of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Coordinating Unit for his leadership in this venture and for the tremendous support he received from the members of the RCM and the Priority Area Coordinating Committee as well as the staff of the PCU, and most important Mr. Chuck Snell for his coordination of the technical aspects of the process. This achievement is even more significant when it is realized that this GFATM Award to PANCAP is really a collaborative effort involving the OECS- HARPU and that its essential elements are rooted in the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework 2008-2013 which evolved out of widespread consultation among the network of organizations and national groupings that make up PANCAP, including those representing PLWA . Successes like these fully illustrate the true meaning of functional cooperation. In particular they reflect the aspirations of the regional response to HIV and help to build the capabilities of the region and the national outreach on which the viability of a Partnership hinges. It was here in Barbados that PANCAP was inaugurated almost 10 years ago (September 2000). It was here in Barbados that the first six signatories to the PANCAP Agreement in February 2001 formalized the network. And it is significant that from a modest budget and staff but massive good will and support from our Governments and development partners, in particular PAHO and UNAIDS, and the confidence demonstrated by a growing list of institutional partners, that we witness a maturing of an entity that has already been declared an international best practice. This partnership has delivered in many ways, capturing the imagination and admiration throughout the World. At least two regions have adopted the PANCAP (networking) model. You will indulge me as I highlight some significant facts of PANCAP’s historical achievements:
It is heartening to see that PANCAP in 2010 has built on the type of legacy and has created new paths for sustaining and accelerating the response in tune with the current circumstances. The refinement of the procedures for institutionalizing the Partnership, the expansion of the staff in the areas of strategic planning and communication, the formalizing of the linkages with CCNAPC in the joint holding of the annual meetings, the structured nature of the approaches to funding, and the clearer emphasis on the coordinating role of the PCU . All these, among others, augurs very well for the future of the Partnership as it approaches its 10th anniversary In this regard the RCM is the lynchpin of PANCAP. It is vested with the responsibility to provide executive management of PANCAP’s business, to ensure that it continuously reviews and achieves its mandates. Chief among these are sustainability, harmonization of resources achieving high quality outcomes and sharing experience achieves its mandates. Beyond these general principles there are indeed some very specific policies and programmes that should engage the attention of the RCM. No relevant PANCAP programme in 2010 could disregard the role that this network must play in the revival and consolidation of the institutions in Haiti that specifically cater to PLWA. No relevant programme in PANCAP in 2010 could ignore the critical emphasis that must be directed to the increasing spread of AIDS among MSM nor with the need for a regional human rights agenda with a strong dialogue with the legal interests groups as well as PLWA designed to influence modifications in the legal frameworks . No relevant programme in PANCAP could claim legitimacy if it does not ensure the revival and vitality of the Caribbean Network of People Living with HIV, even if it has to make to bold recommendation of the need to revamp the governance structure of the organization into a more efficient and responsible enterprise. No relevant programme in PANCAP could survive and make sense without paying attention to the need to foster research and policy studies as a basis for hinging its priorities. No relevant programme in PANCAP could be sustained if the capacity of sub regions and countries within the network is inadequate and if the synergies between regional and national programmes are not sustained. The RCM has a responsibility to assist in charting the way. In so doing, it may consider pressing its case for the harmonization of partner resources and at the same time to establish procedures that demonstrate the internal efficiencies within PANCAP itself. This may include a requirement of submission of half yearly financial reports from the PCU as part of the overall accountability requirements of good governance. But if this is to make sense there must also be the comparable system through CCNAPC that would systematically identify the resources mobilized for HIV and the use to which it has be put at country level. After all, functional cooperation is about sharing and pooling resources to strengthen systems for the benefit of all In the final analysis, the RCM must help to shape a new philosophy of Partnership within PANCAP based on the fact that the World’s financial responses to HIV are changing and that HIV is more and more being perceived as part of the treatment regimes of a communicable disease requiring a greater degree of integration in the public health system. This means placing renewed emphasis on strengthening the response to HIV by strengthening the public health systems. It is interesting to note that the last Inter-sessional Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government in Dominica on 12 March 2010 approved the establishment of the Caribbean Public Health Authority (CARPHA). This enterprise is essentially a merger of 5 regional health institutions – CAREC, CDTRL CEHI, CFNI,and CHRC into one public health authorithy. When launched at the end of 2010, CARPHA would certainly change the landscape of public health programme responses by incorporating into its ambit many of the functions of the Caribbean Cooperation in Health including HIV and AIDS. The RCM in my humble opinion must foster a dialogue with the Programme Management Group of CARPHA at the earliest opportunity to establish and guide PANCAP and CARPHA toward clear lines of intersection In this regard the fostering and shaping the philosophy of public health is most consistent with the initiatives at UWI headed by two of our stalwarts that sit on the RCM – I refer to the Public Health Leadership programmes coordinated at UWI by Professor Peter Figueroa and Professor Brendan Bain, respectively. Mr Chair, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have already spoken much longer than I should have, but I believe that this is a good point to end with the challenge to the RCM to consider building the public philosophy in its mantra for PANCAP. Recall that almost 10 years ago our Heads challenged us to build two pillars – CCH and PANCAP to improve the health and well-being of the people of the Region. This was echoed in the seminal Report of the Caribbean Commission for Health and Development: Lest you forget it is the underlying philosophy of the Nassau Declaration (July 2001) : The Health of the Region is the Wealth of the Region. We have indeed arrived at the conjuncture between the CCH and PANCAP. We look to the RCM for leadership.
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