(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Under the theme PANCAP: Forging new paths, more than 100 members of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) will meet for its Twelfth Annual General meeting on 24 -26 October 2012, in Belize City, Belize.
 
Chaired by Hon. Dr. Kevin Fenton Ferguson Minister of Health Jamaica and Chair of the PANCAP Executive Board, the objectives of this Twelfth meeting are to assess the Partnership’s progress in, among other areas, planning for its sustainability, human rights and access to prevention and treatment by vulnerable communities. It will also review developments related to the reshaping of the regional architecture for HIV and the complementary roles of PANCAP and the recently established Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in advancing the regional agenda for HIV.

The meeting is organized into several sessions which will examine new perspectives on the global economic climate and sustainability at the Community level. Panelists include members of government, representatives of regional and international agencies and Civil Society.

Keynote speaker of the official opening, Henrietta Elizabeth Thompson, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Coordinator of Rio+ will address several Ministers of Health of Health of the Caribbean, high-level government officials, regional and international representatives of the Partnership and other invited guests in attendance.

Other highlights of the official opening include the inauguration of the PANCAP Award. Three Caribbean sons and daughters will be recognized for their outstanding contributions Region’s response to reverse the spread of the HIV and AIDS epidemic.

The meeting opens at 6:30 p.m. on 24 October at the Old Belize, Belize City, A number of addresses will be given by key leaders in the Region, including the Hon. Pablo Marin, Minister of Health Belize, and Hon. Fenton Ferguson Minister of Health Jamaica.
 
PANCAP is a regional Partnership which was established in February 2001 to respond to the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean. Its vision is to substantially reduce the spread and impact of HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean through sustainable systems of universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. Its goals are
By 2012, to reduce:

• the estimated number of new infections by 25%;
• HIV mortality by 25%
• the social and economic impact of HIV and AIDS on households by 25%

For more details contact: vbeachhorne@pancap.org
Website: www.pancap.org