CARICOM,
Guyana -- April 16, 2008 -- The CARICOM/Pan Caribbean Partnership
Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) Regional Coordinating
Mechanism (RCM) will meet in St. Kitts and Nevis on
16-17 April 2008, under the chairmanship of the Hon.
Pablo Marin, Minister of Health, Belize and present
Chair of the RCM.
High on the agenda of this tenth meeting is the
Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV &
AIDS, the framework which guides the work of the
Partnership. The meeting is being asked to approve
the core elements of the draft Framework for
2008-2012, which was developed after intensive
Region-wide consultations over the past year.
Up for discussion also is the status of the
Global Fund projects being implemented by the PANCAP
Co-ordinating Unit (PCU), CRN+ and the Organisation
of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS); and other PANCAP
projects, including the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) Law, Ethics and Human
Rights and Information and Communication projects
and the Inter American Development Bank (IADB)
Caribbean Education Sector HIV and AIDS Capacity
Building Programme.
The meeting will receive updates on the
evaluation of the Champions for Change process, the
institution of the PANCAP Media award, the
2009-slated Pan Caribbean HIV and AIDS Forum and a
Regional model condom policy, among other issues.
As part of its outreach efforts into the national
communities, the meeting opens with a special
session at which a cross-section of representatives
from Government and non-governmental organisations
involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS is
expected to engage members of the RCM.
A key highlight of the Opening is the signing of
an agreement between the UK Department for
International Development (DFID) and PANCAP. The
Hon. Dr Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St. Kitts
and Nevis and Chair of PANCAP will sign the
Agreement for a grant in the sum of 600,000 pounds
sterling to support the work programme of PANCAP.
The Prime Minister will also deliver the feature
address at the Opening Session which begins at
09:00, at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel and Casino, St.
Kitts and Nevis.
The RCM is the Executive Board of PANCAP.
Established in 2001, PANCAP – a network which
comprises governments, the private sector,
faith-based organizations and other NGOs, regional
institutions such as CAREC, CRN+, CHRC, UWI, UNAIDS
and the UN system in general, and donor partners -
continues to make an important contribution to
reversing the spread of HIV and AIDS in the
Caribbean Region.
For more information, contact:
Volderine Hackett:
vhackett@caricom.org,
pancap@caricom.org
Website:
www.pancap.org
piu@caricom.org
