B.V.I. Monday, May 11 – A three-day HIV Clinical Management Training Workshop got underway this morning in the Virgin Islands (UK), attended by doctors, nurses, pharmacists, nutritionists, social workers, and Emergency Medical Technicians from the public and private sectors.

It is aimed, among other things, at increasing and enhancing the quality of clinical care in the area of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Sexually Transmitted Infections/Tuberculosis (HIV/STI/TB) care across the primary and secondary levels of the local health care system.

Delivering opening remarks, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social Development Mrs. Ritzia Turnbull-Smith noted Government’s commitment to strengthening its response to HIV, in underscoring the importance of this week’s workshop.

“The information that you will gain over the next three days will provide the foundation for the public and private health sectors to develop and sustain universal access to comprehensive treatment and care for people living with HIV, while expanding our response to the HIV situation within the BVI,” noted the Deputy Permanent Secretary.

Additionally, Mrs. Turnbull-Smith underscored the workshop’s objective to build the capacity of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals to provide comprehensive, standardized HIV/STI/TB clinical services. “I strongly believe that if we were to work from the same platform, we would realize a much more significant impact on the quality of services and how they are administered,” the Deputy Permanent Secretary told workshop participants.

The workshop will cover several topics including Epidemiology of HIV in the Virgin Islands (UK); the Role of Laboratory Monitoring in HIV/AIDS Management; Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission, Stigma, Discrimination, Legal, and Ethical Issues; and the National HIV/AIDS Response in the Virgin Islands (UK).

Dr. Nickolas Adomakoh of Barbados is the main facilitator for the workshop, which is funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), under a project called “Taking Action against HIV and AIDS in the UK Overseas Territories”.

The project’s main goal is to enable the UK Overseas Territories to expand their efforts to cope with HIV at the territorial and regional levels.  Similar assistance was provided to the governments of Anguilla, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development aspires to provide leadership that promotes health, social wellbeing, and a safe environment as positive resources for living and sustainable development of the Virgin Islands (UK)