Belmopan. January 21, 2015. What will it take to end AIDS by 2030? This is the question that a new regional initiative is trying to answer. The Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) initiated a Justice for All (JFA) Programme to achieve goals for ending HIV and AIDS in the region.
Specific objectives surround elements which include enhancing family life, increasing access to treatment, reducing gender inequality, promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights, and achieving legislative reforms for modifying HIV and AIDS laws.
To this end, the Government of Belize hosted representatives from the Programme consultation team who were on a three-day visit to Belize last week at the Ministry of Health office in Belmopan. Minister of Health Hon. Pablo Marin and CEO Dr. Peter Allen, along with the Minister of Education Hon. Patrick Faber, Attorney General Hon. Wilfred Elrington, and CEO Lawrence Sylvester welcomed and met with the PANCAP Director Mr. Dereck Springer, JFA Consultant Dr. Paloma Mohamed, and the United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for HIV to the Caribbean Professor Edward Greene. The meeting ended with an initial compromise to start the development of a cabinet paper to be presented later this year to initiate our process. Representatives from the National AIDS Commission were also present at the consultation meeting.
The JFA initiative takes into consideration the recent UN AIDS 90-90-90 goals, which aim to have 90% of people living with HIV know their status, 90% of people with diagnosed HIV infection will be taking anti-retroviral treatment, and 90% of those taking treatment will minimize transmission. The initiative also considers advancing the discussion in light of the Millennium Development Goals that will transition to the Sustainable Development Goals as discussed at the Twentieth International AIDS Conference in July 2014.
