(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Federal Republic of Germany signed a Financing Agreement worth eight million euros on Tuesday 26 February 2008.

The grant, disbursed in two tranches the first of five million and the second of three million, is to assist the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean (PANCAP) in its attempts to prevent the spreads of the virus.

CARICOM Secretary-General His Excellency Edwin Carrington signed on behalf of the Community while the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to CARICOM, His Excellency Ernest Martens signed on behalf of his country.

The Agreement enables the disbursement of the final three million euros following a successful review of the activities undertaken with the first five million under the project.

The project, which began in March 2005, was initially implemented in Haiti and the Dominican Republic and in 2007 it was extended to include Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, the Eastern Caribbean islands and St Maarten. The latest disbursement will allow for activities to continue until a second assessment is conducted later this year. The overall objective of the project is to contribute to reducing the HIV infection rate and the transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases. Specifically it is aimed at preventing the spread of HIV infection through social and behaviour change communication in the Caribbean and increasing the total condom market including sales and distribution of commercial condoms, social marketing condom brands and public sector condoms

A review of the project has shown that at the end of 2007, social marketing condom sales had increased in Haiti, Dominican Republic and Belize; Behaviour Change Communication activities using a multi-media approach - such as television and peer educators - have reached thousands of young persons in Belize, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, and a sexual debut campaign in the Dominican Republic has reached approximately 3.9 million people.

In Haiti, the second edition of the “Journal Jen” youth magazine, which provides information on HIV and AIDS and is aimed primarily at out of school youths, was produced. Sixteen thousand (16,000) of the twenty thousand (20,000) magazines produced were distributed.

Public awareness campaigns on HIV and AIDS control have targeted a large section of the population in the target countries with the use of a television soap opera in the Dominican Republic being an outstanding example.