PANCAP Meeting

Joint Regional Dialogue with Faith Leaders, Parliamentarians, Civil Society Leaders, National AIDS Programme Managers and Youth Leaders, April 24­–25, 2018, Hyatt Hotel, Port of Spain

April 24 press release

Tuesday, 24 April, 2018 (PANCAP Coordinating Unit, CARICOM Secretariat): The Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), the mechanism that provides a structured and unified approach to the Caribbean’s response to the HIV epidemic, commenced the Joint Regional Dialogue with Faith Leaders, Parliamentarians, Civil Society Leaders, National AIDS Programme (NAP) Managers and Youth Leaders in Port-of-Spain, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago with approximately 60 delegates.

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Notes taken during meeting of Faith Leaders: Session 4, 25 April, 2018 – Stakeholder collaboration for sustaining the response and ending AIDS.

1. We endorse the Justice For All Road Map because we believe in the transcendent dignity of the human person/the inherent, inalienable dignity of each human person made in God’s image and likeness. We are called to protect and promote the dignity of every human person.
2. We commit tostrengthen our response to HIV and AIDS and to build on the important work that we do to raise awareness among the Faithful/educate members of our respective communities – at all levels, about issues relating to HIV and AIDS. This include:

• educating from the pulpit re the need for everyone to show love, compassion, empathy for those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS and to avoid discrimination of those infected and affected;
• striving to ensure that our Churches are places of hospitality – intentionally welcoming ALL. This requires our various Ministries e.g. Family Life and Youth to be sensitive to the needs of those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS; to take action to eliminate stigma and discrimination;  to provide information about services that are available – what, when, where; to journey with those infected and affected e.g. accompanying individuals and offering continued support to those who wish to get tested; offering counselling and other services;
• sharing best practices within our respective faith communities;
• promoting effective partnerships within and between our various faith communities;
• sharing and commenting on e.g. Government’s, PANCAP’s Draft Policies relating to this issue.

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3. We request that PANCAP produces a Guide that will inform dialogue between Faith Communities and other Stakeholders within PANCAP. Such a guide should include ground-rules for respecting the values and beliefs of various Partners.
4. PANCAP should provide further basic educational programmes, including Voluntary Counselling and Testing training for Parliamentarians and Local Government Officials/Councillors. This will help to re-sensitise them on issues relating to HIV and AIDS. This should assist them in making informed decisions e.g. during budget making – in the allocation of funds to facilitate work to eliminate AIDS in our Region by 2030.
5. Faith Leaders believe that itis critical to engage Parliamentarians regularly and seek to raise their awareness of the kind of policies that are needed to achieve PANCAP’s goal i.e. An AIDS free Caribbean by 2030.
6. All partners must pay attention to those individuals in high risk groups e.g. drug users. Examples were given of Church Members
   – going out into communities where there are drug users and distributing clean needles;
   –  opening food banks and finding creative ways of making food accessible to those infected – without any stigma attached. They need to eat as they take their anti-retroviral medication.
   The National AIDS Committee in each country should provide data about drug users so that we will have a sense of the extent of the population and Partners can work together to meet their needs, particularly those who are infected.

   There may be persons infected among deportees. This is another vulnerable group. We should seek data from e.g. the Ministry of National Security/Ministry of Social Development – or similar Ministries in our own countries and seek to offer assistance to those who may be infected e.g. sharing information about services that are available and so on.

7. Faith Leaders require more information about what a Comprehensive Sexuality Education Programme will comprise.  It was stated that the HFLE (Health and Family Life Education) programme is outdated. However, Faith Leaders cannot embrace CSE unless we know what it entails.
8. Hon Nicolette Henry, Minister of Education, Guyana, stated that although, in her opinion, abstinence is outdated, it is still useful to urge youths to abstain, Faith Leaders believe that many young people are able to abstain. What they also need, including those who are under 13 years of age, are life skills e.g. to help them understand their bodies. The Churches should take a lead in this area, involving parents/families in discussions on family values etc.

   While we acknowledge that it is illegal for young people under the age of 16 to engage in sexual acts, Faith Leaders should familiarize themselves with the processes to follow in case we need to act on information e.g. where can we get help for those young people who may become pregnant e.g. Contact details for Children’s Authority, Family Life Ministries in our Churches/Countries and so on.

   In seeking to reduce risky behaviour, we will educate youths about the responsibilities associated with sex e.g. engage young people to consider issues relating to
   a. the need for emotional/biological maturity on both sides – male and female. If one is not mature enough, such an experience could lead one to be sexually dissatisfied;
   b. the risk of becoming a parent;
   c. the possibility of the father not taking ‘ownership’;
   d. the possibility of contracting communicable diseases/STDs;
   e. financial responsibility;
   f. the possible impact on one’s education e.g. if the girl becomes pregnant.

   Faith Leaders will continue to work with Partners to find common ground through respective dialogue, with the shared vision of realizing an AIDS free Caribbean. We remind Partners that the various Faith Communities represented do not form a homogenous group. There are certain values and beliefs which each Faith Community hold dear and which those in the Community will not compromise.