The Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Mr. Edwin Carrington, said June 19 that, according to a survey made by the Caribbean Epidemiological Centre (CAREC), the Region is the region hardest hit in the world by HIV/AIDS, second only to sub-Saharan Africa.

"Nine of the 12 countries with the highest HIV prevalence in the Americas are in the Caribbean Basin," he said "They (CAREC) said the situation is likely to deteriorate even further unless drastic changes are made to the approach of most member-states to this epidemic," Mr. Carrington said.

He was addressing CARICOM's Fifth Annual Media Clinic, which was held at the Radisson Cable Beach Resort, and a presentation of the CARICOM Secretariat and The Bahamas Information Services.

Mr. Carrington said that the report stated that without immediate strategic intervention, adequate allocation of resources and backing of national HIV/AIDS programmes at the highest levels, the epidemic will spread exponentially, causing destruction to countries' economies and to specific sectors such as agriculture, education, health, tourism and business.

"An estimated 60,000 adults and children became infected during 2000 in the Caribbean," Mr. Carrington said. "By the end of 2000, some 390,000 adults and children were estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in the region, compared with 360,000 at the end of 1999."

However, he said, the lack of consistent data from some countries, and the uncertainty around such estimates suggest that the real number could well be closer to 500,000.

According to the survey, Mr. Carrington said, one of the critical reasons for the trend is the deadly combination of early sexual activity and partner-exchange by young people.

He said the focus must be towards fighting this disease. The first step to doing this was to have resources. This, Mr. Carrington said, is a massive struggle, and needs such monies.

He said CARICOM held a Caribbean conference of regional donors on HIV/AIDS in Barbados in September, 2000, to increase resources to fight the disease in the region. Since then, Mr. Carrington said, the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Countries and the European Union signed a 20-million-euro agreement to support regional co-operation in HIV/AIDS across all ACP states. Of that amount, seven million euros (about $7 million) was allocated to the Caribbean. Also, Canada has committed to "a significant figure" to the cause, he said.

"We recognize, however, that you are not going to solve this problem by just throwing money at it," Mr. Carrington said. Therefore, he added, in February, CARICOM entered into a partnership with the donor committee. Sir George Alleyene, Director-General of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), also signed the agreement on behalf of PAHO and the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as Ms. Yolanda Simon, founder and regional co-ordinator of the Caribbean Network for People Living with AIDS.

"The Health Unit of the University of West Indies (UWI) has estimated that the cost of the strategic plan for AIDS in the Caribbean requires $ 260 million (US) per year for the next five years," Mr. Carrington said. "We are nowhere near that amount of resources."

He said the plan also argues that unless the region invests heavily in AIDS reduction, apart from the deaths, other serious consequences will arise. Among them, Mr. Carrington said, are reductions in productivity, large declines in the gross domestic product, and slippage in the Region's economic competitiveness.

"It is a disastrous scenario," he said.

As a result of this information and more, Mr. Carrington said, CARICOM Heads of Government will participate at a United Nations (UN) Special Session on AIDS, June 25-27, 2001 . Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham is among those attending this event, he said. A number of non-governmental organizations that deal with the disease will also be in attendance.

He said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is currently calling for a global fund of about $7-10 billion to combat AIDS.

"Already he has commented on the initiatives of the Caribbean as a model among developing countries," Mr. Carrington said. "We intend to push it further at this event."

One of the areas that CARICOM will be looking at during the session, Mr. Carrington said, is strategies for collaborating on drug therapies and access to cheaper, quality drugs.

CARICOM leaders, he said, are hoping to come out of the UN session with positions on prevention and care, as well as on AIDS and human rights.

However, Mr. Carrington said there is a social stigma around this issue, and it is up to journalists to inform the public of the truth surrounding the disease. At the same time, research into HIV/AIDS would be done by UWI and CAREC, the advocacy in the Region will be by UN AIDS and CRN + (people living with AIDS group), the prevention and cure work by CAREC and the CRN +, and the resource mobilization mainly by the CARICOM Secretariat.

"We see the resource mobilization not just as mobilizing funds, but as mobilizing people to help transmit the message and to help educate our population to help save our countries," Mr. Carrington told journalists. "You are part of that resource."

June 20, 2001