ROAD TOWN Tortola, BVI, November 16th 2011 - The delegation will be led by National AIDS Programme Coordinator, Mrs. Noelene Levons Clarke, and will include Chief of Drugs and Pharmaceutical Services, Ms. Gracia Wheatley, Statistician of the Development Planning Unit, Mr. Michael Malone and the Chairman of the BVI HIV/AIDS Foundation, Dr. Ronald McAnaney., – The Virgin Islands will share information on the results of the Youth Participatory Ethnographic Research and the Territory’s response to HIV/AIDS during the upcoming Caribbean HIV Conference in Nassau Bahamas from November 18 to November 21.

Other members of the delegation include Medical Internist with the BVI Health Services Authority, Dr. Nicole Wilson, Registered Nurse with the BVI Health Services Authority, Mrs. Christian Allen and Robert “Storm” Wright, Spiritual Advisor of the Virgin Islands New Day Foundation, a support group for persons infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

The multidisciplinary forum is designed to support local interests and public education. Participants will include Persons Living with HIV; members of vulnerable groups; researchers, clinicians, statisticians and other health care professionals; caregivers; patient advocates;
advocates for social justice; members of community-and faith-based organisations; regional and international governmental representatives; policy analysts and decision makers; civil society and regional media representatives.

According to the UNAIDS 2010 Global Report, adult HIV prevalence is higher in the Caribbean than in any region in the world outside of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Presenting on behalf of the Virgin Islands by the delegates will be Mrs. Levons Clarke, who will present the findings of the Youth Participatory Ethnographic Research (PEER) conducted in the Virgin Islands in February 2010, and Dr. McAnaney, whose presentation will expound on a community's response to HIV/AIDS. Ms. Gracia Wheatley will also present a research paper on the medical benefits of garlic.

This is the third Caribbean HIV conference in the past decade and it is designed to build on successes of the previous events, which demonstrated that regional cooperation and collaboration are key to confronting HIV in the Caribbean.

The conference provides a unique opportunity for participants to share, learn, and network, and in a forum that examines the many variables influencing HIV in the Caribbean in an effort to work collectively to prevent the spread of HIV, mitigate its impact in the region, and improve the overall response.

The National AIDS Programme is the arm of the Ministry of Health and Social Development designed to mitigate the health and socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS on individuals and the larger community of the Virgin Islands.

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