I greet you warmly to the Official Opening of the 15th Ordinary Meeting of the Regional Coordinating Mechanism of PANCAP that is being held here in the beautiful resort town of Montego Bay and, in so doing to also record our profound gratitude to the Government and wonderful people of Jamaica for the remarkable hospitality and tangible support provided in completing the arrangements for this meeting.

Jamaica is a land of great national pride and demonstrated resilience. It is also a country that has nurtured countless famous sons and daughters in the fields of academia, the arts and sports and who have left very large footprints on the world stage. Once again, we salute this great land of wood and water that continues to be a source of inspiration to the entire Caribbean!

At the outset, I would also like to recognize the presence among us today of Mr. Patrik Silborn, the Global Fund Portfolio Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean, and to extend to him warmest Caribbean greetings. His presence at this meeting today is tangible evidence of a maturing relationship between PANCAP and the Global Fund that started in 2004 when PANCAP created history by becoming the first regional entity anywhere in the world to win a Global Fund Grant.

In similar vein, we look forward to welcoming Prof. Michel Kazak-skine, the Executive Director of the Global Fund, to the Caribbean in the very near future. Prof. Kazak-skine has graciously consented to be one of the featured speakers at the celebratory 10th Annual General Meeting of PANCAP that will be held from 31 October to 2 November 2010 in St. Maarten which, by that time, would have become the newest independent country in the Caribbean.

I might also state, parenthetically, that the Financing Agreement for the most recent Global Fund Grant won by PANCAP in the amount of US$31 million will also be signed during the Opening Ceremony of PANCAP Ten. It is moment to which we all look forward with eager anticipation.

Mr. Chairman, despite this imminent financial injection by the Global Fund and the continuing support from some other development partners, PANCAP now faces the stark reality of declining grant funds with huge adverse implications for its programmatic outreach.

For us in the Caribbean, the signals are worrying. Currently, all Caribbean economies are reeling from the effects of the global downturn. Contractions in the vital tourism sector, falling demand for exports, reduced foreign investment, tightening of capital, and dwindling remittances combine to undermine the ability of regional governments to respond to legitimate development demands.

At the same time, the economies of the developed world continue to struggle to break free of the global financial contagion that has precipitated a contraction in development assistance that in the past had buoyed entities such as PANCAP.

Add to this discourse the construct of “eligibility criteria” that is now being invoked widely by development agencies in their allocation of resources, and which has resounded to the severe disadvantage of middle-income regions such as the Caribbean, and one begins to get a grasp of the creeping financial vulnerability faced by institutions such as PANCAP.

I cite these financial challenges not as a cry of despair or a bleating of helplessness or hopelessness. Rather, I do so to make the case for the Caribbean to once again assert its own toughness and to reach deep within its collective core to find the answers. It is part of our legacy to triumph above adversity and we must once again demonstrate our resilience in this period of global financial uncertainty.

What then are the options that are open to PANCAP in the environment that I have just described? I table two overarching principles for consideration.

Firstly, I would posit that PANCAP must commit as a matter of great urgency to the ideal of achieving higher levels of efficiency and effectiveness in its operations. Results-based programming must be elevated from fashionable platitude to become the central practice of the PANCAP religion.

In this context, I ask rhetorically, can we “make the money work better”? Can we deliver the regional and national public goods and services contemplated by the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS for less than the estimated cost of US$120 million, without in any way sacrificing the quality and quantity of the results? I answer to myself and say that we can and must. Of course, this same principle of efficiency gains must also be applied with equal conviction and consistency at the national level.

Secondly, the HIV response in the Caribbean cannot be sustained without the injection of adequate financial resources. To my mind, there are three main sources of such financing that are available to us:

We must continue to make the case to our traditional development partners that the war against HIV in the Caribbean is far from won and that their support remains indispensable. That case must be made in every quarter – through our embassies and our ambassadors in the capitals of Ottawa, and London and Washington and Frankfurt and Brussels; in international fora such as the United Nations General Assembly and in the Board rooms of the Global Fund and UNAIDS; and in our discourses with functionaries at every level.

At the same time, it is critical that we seek to expand our resource base through constructive engagement of non-traditional development partners such as the private sector and private foundations – at the national, regional and international levels. Personally, I look forward to the day very soon when the private sector in the region will step forward and assume a greater role in financing the HIV response as a part of their corporate responsibility.

And, thirdly, it is clear that governments will be required to assume greater fiscal responsibility moving forwards, notwithstanding the prevailing economic crunch. More than likely, such greater involvement on the part of the State will require a review of strategic directions, re-allocation of resources and re-organization of services. Whatever course of action is taken, the bottom line must be a greater commitment of national resources to the HIV response in the region.

Since this august body last met in April 2010 at its birthplace in Barbados, much has happened within the Partnership:

The PANCAP Biennial Operational Plan that gives life to the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS has been finalized and endorsed by all regional support agencies.

Progress has been made with the establishment of the PANCAP Regional Support Facility that is being undertaken jointly with UNAIDS. Currently a database of regional experts is being compiled from which technical support to countries and regional institutions will be drawn.

Regional legal experts and other technocrats have been working assiduously in developing the first-ever PANCAP constitution and the instrument has begun to take on both form and substance.

The twelve countries that will benefit from the Caribbean Regional Component of PEPFAR II have signed formal agreements with the United States Government that confirmed their status as beneficiaries. Negotiations between the Principal Recipient and Global Fund in respect of the PANCAP Round 9 Grant are well advanced and the signing of the Financing Agreement is now firmly in sight.

A Financing Agreement has been finalized with the German Technical Cooperation that will provide resources in the amount of 2.5 million Euros for improving access to HIV services for mobile populations and implementation is due to commence in the next month.

And, finally, I had the honour of leading the PANCAP delegation to the just-concluded 19th International AIDS Conference in Vienna where our presence was registered quite emphatically.

On the debit side, I have been disappointed that more progress has not been made in the resuscitation of the regional and national networks of persons living with HIV. I have made the point before and I do so again, that the success of PANCAP is linked inextricably to its ability to mobilize and engage networks of persons living with HIV in a central and meaningful way. It is a matter that I will again place before this meeting for its deliberate attention and action.

Mr. Chairman, as you are aware, the 10th Annual General Meeting will be held in St Maarten in just over one month from now under the theme “PANCAP at Ten: A Time for Reflection and Renewal”. Over the next two days, the RCM will formalize a programme befitting the achievement of this significant milestone in the life of PANCAP.

However, I can hint to you that one of the highlights of this meeting will be the presentation of the PANCAP Award for Excellence to five persons who have contributed significantly to the national and regional response to HIV over the past decade.

This Annual General Meeting will also reflect the true Pan-Caribbeanism of the partnership with substantive presentations, for the first time, from the from the French and Spanish-speaking countries. You would recall that one of goals of my tenure that I enunciated at the outset was the expansion of the reach of PANCAP beyond the English-speaking Caribbean to meaningfully embrace all other language groups and I am absolutely fascinated by the fact that Cuba, Haiti and the French departments of the Americas will all play central roles in the Meeting.

I look forward to a most productive next two days and I have great pleasure in declaring this 15th Ordinary Meeting of the Regional Coordinating Mechanism of PANCAP duly opened.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org