(CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana) The Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP), which was launched by the CARICOM Heads of Government in 2001 as a mechanism for coordinating the response to preventing the spread and mitigating the impact of the disease in the Region has gained recognition even beyond the boundaries of the Caribbean.

In updating the Thirteenth Meeting of the CARICOM Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) being held in Georgetown, Coordinator of the PANCAP Unit Mr. Carl Browne said since its recognition as an International Best Practice by UNAIDS, the Partnership’s initiatives are now being replicated by countries in Central America and Central Asia.

He pointed out that HIV/AIDS is now the leading cause of death among the Region’s youth ages 15-24, adding that 2.1 million new infections occur annually worldwide, 5000 of which are in the Caribbean.

Emphasising that the Region’s youth are the most vulnerable population wit regard to HIV infection, Browne said PANCAP has been collaborating with its partners in ensuring the infusion of HIVAIDS content into 70 percent of the Region’s schools curricula by next year.

He pointed out that the Partnership has also collaborated with the University of the West Indies (UWI) in infusing HIV/AIDS content into 127 courses from which 2000 students are benefitting. The PANCAP Coordinator noted that by 2006, PANCAP hopes to complete training of 5000 peer educators as part of its behavioural change and social marketing programme to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS.

As PANCAP gains international recognition, the Partnership experience will be presented during the Third Latin America and Caribbean Forum to be held 8-11 November in El Salvador.