GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC—Trinidad and Tobago will host the eighth meeting of the National AIDS Programme (NAP) managers and critical partners, which aims to foster more excellent partnerships and facilitate and support the overarching agenda of The Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP).
The two-day meeting, which gets underway in Port of Spain on March 19, will update program managers and partners on regional commitments of 95-95-95 progress, global strategies to achieve the end of AIDS and identify innovative ways to address gaps and strengthen the regional HIV response.
“As we continue to provide support to our regional partners and stakeholders in accelerating HIV prevention to end the AIDS epidemic and prepare for future pandemics in the region, this forum is timely and relevant for our NAP managers and key partners to discuss best practices on how to achieve the UNAIDS 2030 HIV prevention targets with greater efficiency,” said PANCAP director, Dr Wendy Telgt Emanuelson.
“Countries can also share critical successes, gaps, and priorities to advance the achievement of the UNAIDS prevention targets and discuss the need for greater urgency in identifying high-level solutions for overcoming slow progress within the region.”
Knowledge Management Coordinator Dr. Shanti Singh-Anthony said that education on HIV prevention is pivotal to successfully implementing and scaling combined prevention programs at the national and regional levels.
“This meeting of NAP managers and key partners will facilitate the exchange of progressive knowledge in the fields of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of HIV infection.
“It will also foster the building and strengthening of a community of regional practitioners and other key stakeholders by discussing the best strategies for implementing effective local solutions for the management of patients living with HIV and for the prevention of HIV infection and transmission,” she added.
PANCAP, the mechanism that provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, said regional technical partners will share their support areas aligned to the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework 2019-2025 and the global HIV targets.
It said that the meeting would be attended by policymakers, program managers, and representatives of civil society organizations, the community of people living with HIV, and those at the highest risk for HIV.
A Share Fair and capacity-building forum on designing multi-disease strategic plans for an integrated approach with enhanced coordination and greater efficiency in addressing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and viral hepatitis will be held on March 21.
PANCAP said the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) is providing technical support to this event.
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