The second Regional Advisory Group (RAG) meeting for the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ)/PANCAP project “Improving Access to HIV Services For Mobile and Migrant Populations in the Caribbean” started on Monday in Trinidad and Tobago.
The project is being executed by the PANCAP Coordinating Unit (PCU) and is being implemented as a pilot project in several countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, Sint Maarten, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, a press release from the Caricom Secretariat said. The meetings will be held until June 6.
The RAG comprises representatives from institutions across the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic Dirección de Control de las Infecciones de Transmisión Sexual y Sida (DIGECITS); The Bahamas Ministry of Health; International Organisation for Migration (IOM); the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS); the University of the West Indies Health Economics Unit (UWI/HEU); Jamaican National Health Fund; Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC); Centre de Orientacion e Investigacion Integral (COIN); the Jamaica Sustainable Development Network (JSDN);and PAHO HIV Caribbean Office (PHCO). There is also representation from Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and the PANCAP PCU.
The meeting aims to update the RAG on the status of Project Implementation; to provide an update on key findings and recommendations from country consultancies; to obtain input from the RAG on the feasibility to implement recommendations for each component in each country and to discuss the next steps to be taken, the release said.
According to Caricom, the project seeks to enhance legal and policy frameworks; identify and pilot effective financing mechanisms and models; identify and strengthen organisations representing the interests of target populations; and enhance the number of public, private and non-governmental entities offering HIV services tailored to the specific needs of migrants and mobile populations.
The RAG was chosen in February 2011 and provides technical guidance through the combined strengths of their individual professional contributions on project components to ensure successful implementation of the project, Caricom said. The first RAG meeting was held from May 30-31 in 2011 in Georgetown.
