Week ending Friday, 22 June 2012 - Issue # 17 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Around the region
St. Kitts-Nevis heightens commitment to HIV testing

Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 14, 2012 (SKNIS) : The National AIDS Secretariat in St. Kitts and Nevis is partnering with Scotiabank to mark the 5th year anniversary of the Regional HIV Testing Day in the Caribbean on June 29, 2012.Read More
The ’s’ word

Ask any of the region’s HIV stakeholders what sustainability means to them and you’re likely to hear a mouthful. US$1.6 billion has been spent on the Caribbean’s AIDS response to date yet many countries face looming disaster as international donor financing steadily dwindles. Criteria for funding have become more restrictive and therefore biased against any but the world’s poorest countries. Plus there have been dramatic reductions in the amount of money available from the Global Fund.Read More
Leaders in the Fight against HIV/AIDS

Antigua St John’s - Leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean took time out to review past progress and plan for the future as a three-day meeting hosted by the United States’ President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) opened on Tuesday.
Read More

You may have missed..

President of the International AIDS Society speaks on the strategic importance of the upcoming International AIDS Conference

Professor Elly Katabira, President of the International AIDS Society (IAS), visited UNAIDS on June 15 to speak on the strategic importance of the upcoming International AIDS Conference for the global AIDS response. The XIX International AIDS Conference will take place in Washington DC from July 22-27. Professor Katabira serves as the International Co-chair of the conference.

Unaids.org took the opportunity to talk to Professor Katabira about the significance of, and his expectations from the International AIDS Conference. He recounted the progress that has been made in the HIV response and stated that there is still the need to do more.Read More
Sharing research on recent HIV infection

We’ve added a new title to our series of illustrated leaflets. Called Very recent infection, the leaflet covers key information for someone who has recently been infected with HIV, a stage sometimes called ‘primary’ or ‘acute’ HIV infection.

During this period, which may include a short ‘seroconversion’ illness, viral load is high and there is a greater risk of passing on HIV. Being diagnosed at this point can affect decisions about taking HIV treatment. It can be a confusing and stressful time for those involved.
Read More
Active injecting drug users must be provided with adherence support when they start HIV therapy

Chances of achieving an undetectable viral load are equally poor for patients who inject heroin, cocaine, or a combination of these two drugs, Canadian researchers report in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Between 56 and 58% of people who injected these drugs had an undetectable viral load one year after starting HIV therapy, compared to 89% of individuals who were not active injecting drug users.Read More

Gay and bisexual men who inject drugs more likely to have HIV than other men who inject drugs

HIV prevalence is four times higher in gay and bisexual men who inject drugs, compared to heterosexual, male, injecting drug users, UK investigators report in Sexually Transmitted Infections. The study also showed that prevalence of infection with the hepatitis C virus was significantly higher among gay and bisexual male injecting drug users (IDUs).Read More
Forum examines HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean

CHICAGO - While many Caribbean nations and even the United States struggle to get a handle on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Cuba seemingly has the disease under control, and now has one of the lowest HIV/AIDS infection rates.

When the first symptoms of HIV/AIDS appeared on that island nation in 1983, the Cuban government saw the disease as a public health crisis and took drastic, sometimes unorthodox steps, to curtail the disease spread.

Cuba’s leader Fidel Castro ordered all donated blood destroyed and then mandated a quarantine of all those infected with the disease while providing free medical care.
Read More
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate, Joins the March on Washington

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Laureate, is one of the greatest living moral icons of our time who was a key leader in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. His strength of conviction and outspoken activism to stop injustices-including the tragedy of HIV/AIDS in his own country and around the world - have never been silenced.Read More

Upcoming activity...
26 June 2012 - The INTERREG IV Caraïbes-HIV Project, and COREVIH Guadeloupe in association with Entr’aide Gwadloup and Acajou Alternatives Associations will host a Caribbean HIV Testing Day- Rapid Test Outreach in Pointe-à-Pitre and Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe. For further Information please contact Ms. Gennike Mayers, INTERREG-HIV Project – Communications at g.mayers chez chupap-interregvih.org

27 June 2012 – The Steering Committee Meeting for the INTERREG-VIH Project co-financed by the European Union (EU) will take place at the University Hospital of Fort-de-France in Martinique. For further information, please contact Ms. Caroline Fontes, Project Assistant at cfontes chez chupap-interregvih.org

click here to see other events

If you have an event you would like to submit please contact Ms Allison Ali @ aali chez caricom.org. We will be sure to circulate the details of your event.

Training activities : Please feel free to also submit your training activities. The PANCAP Coordinating Unit will implement a central database of training activities that can be consulted online. Please provide the following information with your submission :

Date, Name/Topic of Training, Contact Details, Focus Area, Remarks (if necessary)

PANCAP Awards ...

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
PANCAP ANNUAL AWARDS 2012
DEADLINE DATE FOR NOMINATIONS IS 16 JULY 2012
This third annual PANCAP Awards is open to individuals who have made significant contributions to the Caribbean regional response to HIV and AIDS at national and regional levels. Nominees may be drawn from but not limited to any of the following entities :
Public sector, Private sector, Faith-based Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, Media ; Sports, Entertainment.
Nomination Forms : English | French | Spanish

Submissions may also be made by filling the online form here
aids2012
Key Dates

22-27 July 2012
Conference

DOWNLOAD bulletin on updates for upcoming AIDS Conference