Caribbean meeting on HIV/AIDS underscores region’s political commitment
Friday, July 2, 2004
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: Urgent Action
against HIV/AIDS must be taken now to turn back the epidemic, according to the
members of the delegations attending the regional meeting entitled “Leadership
as a vital tool against HIV/AIDS”.
Hosted by the Government of Trinidad and
Tobago, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, the
InterAmerican Parliamentary Group (IAPG), UNAIDS and CAREC/PAHO/WHO, the
meeting was aimed at encouraging continued political leadership, commitment
and action among Caribbean Parliamentarians in the fight against HIV/AIDS in
the region.
Parliamentarians, HIV/AIDS specialists and
NGOs from Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Lucia,
Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago gathered for two days, at the end of which
they signed a declaration recognizing parliamentary leadership as a key
resource in the expanded response to HIV/AIDS.
In their declaration, the Parliamentarians reaffirmed the “Program of Action”
of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994
and the Declaration of Commitment of HIV/AIDS adopted by the UN General
Assembly (UNGASS) in June 2001. The
Parliamentarians supported by HIV/AIDS Commissions and NGOs recognized that
HIV/AIDS constituted a regional emergency which required strong, bi-partisan
leadership at all levels of society for an effective response.
The declaration went on to recognize the importance of having one National
HIV/AIDS Action Framework, one National AIDS Coordinating Authority with a
broad based multi-sectoral mandate and one national monitoring and evaluation
system. The ‘Three Ones”.
The Parliamentarians pledged to commit
themselves as Leaders to combat HIV/AIDS and agreed to mobilize support from
all levels of Government, in partnership with civil society, particularly
People Living with HIV/AIDS, the business community and private sector and
young people in specific areas of Advocacy, Legislation and Resource
Mobilisation.
Concerned about follow up to this first-ever
meeting of Parliamentarians on HIV/AIDS, the members of the delegations
committed to supporting each other, sharing information and monitoring
implementation of their respective action plans. They called on the
InterAmerican Parliamentary Group, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association,
the United Nations system and International Development partners working in
the Caribbean to facilitate follow up actions, including inter-country
meetings of Parliamentarians to be convened one year hence.
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