HIV/AIDS Nevis Office Celebrates Anniversary Since Its Relocation
By Pauline Waruguru
Nevis Reporter - SKNVibes.com
HIV/AIDS Coordinating Unit (NACU) yesterday (Sunday) celebrated its first anniversary since the Unit relocated to Charlestown Chapel Street.
According to acting HIV/AIDS Coordinator, Nicole Slack Liburd the Unit was established in September 2001 but has served people of Nevis for the past six years.
“Our services have been multifaceted. As the coordinating mechanism for HIV/AIDS in Nevis, we have spearheaded activities in a number of priority areas including prevention, advocacy, and treatment care and support. We have been guided by the National Strategic Plan 2001 – 2005.”
Liburd was speaking to guests at the mid morning ceremony. The guests included Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Joslyn Liburd, the head of Nevis Christian Council Father Ernest Flemming, the President of Nevis HIV/AIDS Committee (NeHAC) Meredith Amory, Loston Nisbett the Pharmacist at Alexandra Hospital and Clester Roberts in charge of the hospital’s laboratory.~~Adz:Right~~
“The Unit’s partnership with the public is what will determine our success. Many members of the public have participated in an exercise in the last few weeks, namely the national consultation for the development of the national strategic plan 2008-2012. With the assistance of MEASURE EVALUATION and CHRC, we were able to identify our vulnerable populations here in Nevis, in other words, the groups in our society are most at risk for HIV/AIDS. Now that we know our targets, our next step is to develop strategies to reach these populations,” Liburd said.
New initiatives Liburd highlighted include establishment of a human rights desk and improvement of data collection and analysis capabilities, as well as monitoring and evaluation our programmes. The staff will soon be expanded to scale up programming.
Liburd appealed to the members of the public to join NeHAC through their associations and institutions, “There are many avenues through which HIV/AIDS messages can be communicated such as sports, dance, and drama. To the leaders of these groups the NACU and NeHAC can advise you as to how your group can make an impact. The same goes for government departments outside of the Ministry of Health.”
“As we commence another we invite everyone’s support as we aim to serve the people of Nevis in all areas of HIV/AIDS prevention, advocacy, treatment, care and support,” Liburd said.
