Wednesday, Sophia Martelly, the First Lady of Haiti, accompanied by Dr. Florence Duperval Guillaume, the Minister of Public Health and Population, also President of the Executive Board of PANCAP since April 2012, took part in the Karibe Convention Center, to the 19th Conference of PANCAP (Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS), which was held around the theme "Advocacy for human rights and sustainable regional response to HIV."

In her brief welcome remarks, Sophia Martelly, noted that it was the first time the Partnership as a collective was meeting in Haiti, and that this was symbolic of the commitment of the Partnership and delegates to the HIV and AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean. She called on the Partnership to step up its efforts to eliminate mother to child transmission. "The theme chosen gives me the opportunity to remind everyone, our shared commitment, so that our children, in 2016, born without HIV [...]," reminding to partners present, the contribution of each of them, in the implementation of innovative initiatives going in the direction of the compliance with the commitments.

For her part, Dr Florence Duperval Guillaume, drew attention to the progress made by Haiti in curtailing the spread of HIV and AIDS. Recent statistics for Haiti indicate from a peak national prevalence of 5% in 1993, it was now at 2.2%. In this context, she stated "Haiti should continue to receive the attention of financial and technical assistance partners at all levels," calling the Board to provide clear information on how the Partnership's engagement with Haiti could be enhanced and in what areas it could provide critical assistance.

This conference chaired by Ms. Myrna Bernard, Director and Officer-in Charge of the Directorate of Human and Social Development, CARICOM Secretariat. The Officer in Charge noted "even as the PANCAP network engaged Haiti in advancing its effort to reduce its prevalence rate and to increase its access to prevention, treatment, care and support, the hosting of this meeting here today, is a signal of Haiti as an equal partner in the regional process to reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS."

Mr. Dwayne Gutzmer, CARICOM Youth Ambassador, declared "“there is plenty of work that has been done and even more work lies ahead to ensure the continued and collective advances in this fight against HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean." Drawing attention to the resilience of the Haitian people, the Youth Ambassador expressed confidence that necessary skills, talents and resources to move the Partnership forward existed.

Learn more about PANCAP

PANCAP was established in 2001 and is the regional mechanism responsible for coordinating the Caribbean's response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. The Executive Board of PANCAP provides policy guidance on the effective management and operation of the Partnership and approves and directs all PANCAP projects.

HL/ HaitiLibre