AIDS

UK Gives US$1.2 Million Grant To PANCAP

PANCAP Meeting Members

PANCAP Meeting Members
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, Saint Kitts – Nevis
April 17, 2008 (CUOPM)

The United Kingdom Department of International Development (DFID) is pumping US$1.2 million into the Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP).

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Wednesday between St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) Representative, Jane Armstrong, during the Opening Ceremony of the 10th Meeting of the Regional Coordinating Mechanism of the Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel and Casino.

The grant of £600,000 (about US$1.2 million) to PANCAP is to support its core budget until June 2009.

“This contribution by DFID represents the first practical commitment to the principle of pooled funding that PANCAP has advocated for some time now; and we applaud DFID for this pioneering effort,” said Prime Minister Douglas when he delivered the feature address.

Dr. Douglas used the opportunity to place on record his personal thanks and those of his colleague Prime Ministers to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the European Union (EU), German Development Bank, The Global Fund, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), United States Government and the World Bank for the funding support provided through PANCAP since its birth in 2001.

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St. Kitts – Nevis Design Contest For HIV Pin

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis April 10, 2008 (SKNIS) The National Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (NACHA) is inviting all primary and high school students of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis to take part in a pin design competition.  …

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Local Stakeholders Excited About Female Condom

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
April 03, 2008 (SKNIS)

Stakeholders in St. Kitts – Nevis are excited by the strategy of the National AIDS Secretariat to promote usage of the FC2 female condom.

Earlier this week, a workshop at the Ocean Terrace Inn (OTI) provided participants with information about the female condom and how it will help to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.

SKNIS spoke to some of the participants to get their thoughts on the workshop and the female condom. Vercelette Wilson explained that she enjoyed the session. “It was very informative and now we know that women have a choice,” she stated, adding that the increased sturdiness of the condom is a source of comfort as it is not easily broken.

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St. Kitts – Nevis Promotes Use Of Female Condom

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
April 03, 2008 (SKNIS)

The National AIDS Secretariat is stepping up efforts to empower women and promote behavioural change in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Earlier this week, approximately forty persons from various agencies attended a workshop at the Ocean Terrace Inn (OTI) designed to raise awareness about the female condom and increase its usage.

Carmeta Douglin, HIV/AIDS Advisor for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) facilitated the workshop. Ms. Douglin, who is responsible for Barbados and OECS territories, told SKNIS that the workshop is part of a larger strategy.

“What we are doing is providing Caribbean countries with female condoms and with training so that they can use the female condom and also educate clients on its usage,” she said. “Even though the female condom has been around in the Caribbean, it has not been used much “¦ so we want to make sure that persons adopt bevahiours to use it “¦ realizing that it is a tool of empowerment. They can have a choice between male condoms and female condoms and they can feel comfortable that they are protecting themselves against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and against unwanted pregnancies.”

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Health Issues Discussed At CARICOM

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
March 10, 2008 (CUOPM)

Several issues of importance to the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis were discussed at the just concluded 19th Inter-Sessional Heads of Government Meeting in The Bahamas.

The Heads of Government, among them, St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas urged Member States and CARICOM Universities to work assiduously to achieve the integration of the Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network (CKLN) and the Caribbean Universities Project for Integrated Distance Education (CUPIDE). This would harmonize the Region’s approach to the delivery of continuous learning and the creation of increased access to training opportunities and enhanced skills for its citizens.

According to the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the regional leaders noted the progress being made by CKLN to provide access to tertiary education programmes that are aligned with the Caribbean Labour Market demands and which will facilitate secure connectivity between and among Regional Governments.

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