Caribbean delegations have agreed on a common position for the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting (HLM) on AIDS taking place in New York from 8th-10th June. They will act as a united force on issues such as priorities, financial sustainability, leadership, accountability, prevention, human rights, and travel restrictions on People Living with HIV.
The Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) has drafted a brief which all 14 Caribbean countries attending the HLM have endorsed.
These include meeting by 2015, specific targets such as elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV; elimination of travel restrictions on People Living with HIV; an 80% increase in access to care and treatment; a 50 % reduction in new infections and acceleration of the Human Rights agenda.
Agreed positions also relate to key populations to be addressed, education, innovation and new technologies, women, girls and HIV and integrating the HIV and AIDS response with broader health and development agendas.
Prime Minister Denzil Douglas of St Kitts and Nevis will chair a panel on Shared Responsibility – a New Global Compact for HIV, while the moderator will be Al Jazeera journalist, Riz Kahn.