Moving to Action to Address HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean

Since 1999, HHD Global Programs have been working to reduce the impact and burden of HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean, a region where the prevalence of HIV is the second highest in the world.

The outcomes of a recent HHD-led meeting, which brought together Ministers of Education and HIV coordinators from each of the nine Organization for Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries, will accelerate the pace of achieving this objective.

This one-day meeting gave Ministers the opportunity to engage in a dialogue on developing a comprehensive response to HIV and AIDS in the education sector. 

But shortly after the meeting began, the agenda was cut short to allow the Ministers to move to immediate action – to develop an HIV and AIDS declaration for all OECS countries.  This fifteen-point declaration, entitled The Roseau Declaration on the Education Sector’s Response to HIV and AIDS, marks an important first step in advancing HIV and AIDS-related policies and programs that impact students, teachers, and managers within the education sector.

“Although schools are both learning environments and workplaces that employ thousands of people in the Caribbean, the education sector lacks a comprehensive approach for responding to the HIV and AIDS crisis” says Connie Constantine, Senior Project Director at HHD and lead organizer of the meeting.  “The Ministers are in a unique position to develop, implement and enforce policies that guide education officials on how to respond to the threat of HIV and AIDS in the education sector.  HHD was pleased to have been part of the advocacy and capacity-building work that developed the campaign, oversaw the meeting, and guided them to move to action to address HIV/AIDS in this region.”   

If left untreated, the HIV and AIDS epidemic could have a profound impact on the education sector in this region.  Families affected by HIV and AIDS may withdraw children, especially girls, from school to care for infected relatives and fewer families may be able support their children’s education.  Teachers infected by the virus may also no longer be able to work and provide quality education.

An important resolution from this declaration is the Ministers’ agreement to establish a unified education sector HIV and AIDS policy for OECS countries.  No longer conceiving of HIV and AIDS as solely a health issue, the declaration signals the Ministers’ public commitment to do more than just incorporate HIV and AIDS education into the school curriculum – it highlights their pledge to include HIV and AIDS in work place policy and ensure access to education and healthcare for children infected with HIV, among other things.

Dr. Stephen King, Chef Medical Officer in Saint Lucia and presenter at the meeting, was quoted as saying, “In OECS countries, AIDS is now the leading cause of death among young adults.  The education sector must adopt a multi-pronged and comprehensive approach to fight HIV and AIDS, one that goes beyond a classroom-based HIV and AIDS prevention curriculum – to truly fight HIV and AIDS, the education sector must address the other aspects and challenges posed by the disease, including the need for a safe and secure learning environment in which one can work and learn.”

The meeting, which was supported by the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Office for Caribbean, was an extension of an HHD-led advocacy and leadership campaign entitled “Leading the Way in the Education Sector: Advocating for a Comprehensive Approach to HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean,” aimed at strengthening the education sector’s response to HIV and AIDS in the region. 

To learn more about HHD’s work to fight HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean and throughout the world, please contact Connie Constantine, 617-618-2459.

July 3, 2007