 |
|
Photo: St. Kitts and Nevis' Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas (right) holds an unidentified child at an Orphanage for HIV/AIDS children during a visit to the Dominican Republic in May 2004, as United States Virgin Islands Delegate to Congress Hon. Donna Christian-Christiensen (l) and nuns who are in charge of the orphanage look on. PM Douglas was the Featured Speaker at an International AIDS Conference. (Photo by Erasmus Williams) |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, AUGUST 15TH 2006 - St. Kitts and Nevis' Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas is in Toronto, Canada, to attend the 16th International HIV/AIDS Conference.
The St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister is among several world leaders and celebrities, among them former United States President, Hon. Bill Clinton and Chairman of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates attending the Conference.
Dr. Douglas, who is also Chairman of the Pan-Caribbean Partnership on HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) was meeting Tuesday with Caribbean delegates and officials of the Clinton Foundation. He is down to deliver the welcome remarks and representatives of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Pan-Caribbean Partnership on HIV/AIDS and the University of the West Indies will also participate.
Prime Minister Douglas, who is also CARICOM's lead spokesman on HIV/AIDS and other health issues, will give the closing remarks during a UNAIDS Satellite panel on 'Making Universal Access a Reality' on Wednesday.
The major event is a panel discussion on 'Intensifying HIV/AIDS Prevention: Leveraging the Global Community' on Thursday 17th August from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Among the other panelist are Dr. Peter Piot and political leaders from China, India and South Africa.
Prime Minister Douglas will also meet privately with former U.S. President, Hon. Bill Clinton.
The AIDS 2006 Conference theme, 'Time to Deliver,' underscores the continued urgency in bringing effective HIV prevention and treatment strategies to communities the world over. Twenty-five years after the first reports of what was later to be known as AIDS appeared in the CDC's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, the magnitude of this epidemic demands increased accountability from all stakeholders to fulfill their commitments, be they financial, programmatic or political.
While additional resources and continued scientific research are critical to an effective global response, the theme recognises that the scientific knowledge and tools to prevent new infections and prolong life among those living with HIV/AIDS already exist, even in the poorest settings.
The challenge at hand is to garner the resources and the collective will to translate that knowledge and experience into broadly available HIV treatment and prevention programs.
The International AIDS Conference exists for exactly these reasons. It is one of the most important gatherings for the release and discussion of key scientific developments in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
AIDS 2006 will bring together the movement of people responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic to share their lessons and together stake out the road ahead. In doing this, the Conference directly affects the lives of those living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. AIDS 2006 is a catalyst for change.
AIDS 2006 is rooted firmly in the vision that the International AIDS Conference must foster an environment of scientific inquiry, forthright dialogue, collective action, and greater accountability among all parties. The conference theme for AIDS 2006 is 'Time to Deliver,' is a reminder of past and present commitments for action on HIV/AIDS and demanding accountability for those promises at every level of the response. AIDS 2006 will be a landmark opportunity to review our collective experience with the epidemic and set an agenda for future action.
Specifically, the Conference seeks to:
expand public awareness of the continued impact of and global response to HIV/AIDS;
highlight recent successes, as well as current challenges, and the potential to overcome them; underscore the central role of basic, clinical and prevention science in the global response to HIV/AIDS and the need for evidence-based programming that is based on sound research; influence key policy makers to increase commitment and responsible action based on evidence; support the engagement and destigmatisation of PLWHAs and those working professionally in HIV/AIDS; enable those working in the field of HIV/AIDS to be better prepared to meet the needs of those affected by and living with HIV/AIDS; enable those working in the field of HIV/AIDS to be better prepared to meet the needs of those affected by and living with HIV/AIDS; and be inclusive of those engaged in the response to AIDS, and transparent in the way that it is planned and implemented.
As a gathering that brings together so many people to focus on such a politically charged life and death issue, the Conference will always generate controversy. It must also be a place that focuses attention on evidence and outcomes over rhetoric.
To that end, the AIDS 2006 programme and related activities will acknowledge and disseminate best practices, nurture productive discourse, highlight successes and shortfalls in the response to AIDS, and engage the global AIDS community to collectively tackle the key challenges before us.
The ability to accomplish these goals depends not just on the structure and content of the Conference Programme and activities, but also on the effective engagement of the broadest possible array of stakeholders.
The expansion of the scholarship programmes, an abstract mentoring programme, reduced registration fees' -including substantial reductions for those from less-developed nations'-and greater online dissemination of Conference proceedings for those who cannot attend will enrich the Conference proceedings and enhance our collective ability to transfer knowledge to those settings where it is most needed.
The Conference Organising Committee and the other programme committees, reflecting the three components of the Conference programme-'science, community and leadership'-and guided by the ideals and goals described above, are working collaboratively to translate the vision for AIDS 2006 into reality.
