(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Federal Republic of Germany will sign shortly, an Agreement under which Germany will provide up to eight million Euros to fight HIV and AIDS.

CARICOM will sign the agreement on behalf of the Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP), Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, His Excellency Edwin Carrington said on Tuesday, 30 October 2007.

Shortly before accepting the credentials of His Excellency Dr. Ernst Martens, new Ambassador of Germany to CARICOM, the Secretary-General expressed appreciation to Germany for its contribution to the efforts in the region to slow the spread of HIV and AIDS.

“The funds provided by your government in the sum of up to eight Million Euros are most welcome at this time, for we are at a delicate stage in the fight against this scourge. It is a time when mortality from AIDS is declining, but at the same time, the prevalence rates of HIV and AIDS are increasing,” the Secretary-General said.

At its recent Annual General Meeting in Antigua, PANCAP agreed that universal access to prevention, care and treatment must be the flagship to guide its Plan of Action for the next five years.

“Within this framework and given the current trends in the profile of the disease, it is essential that emphasis be placed on prevention. Your country’s contribution to the prevention of that scourge is deeply appreciated,” Secretary-General Carrington noted.