Jamaica Gleaner News - AIDS committee focuses on parish group strengthening - Monday

Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

The National AIDS Committee (NAC) will be focusing on the institutional strengthening of its Parish AIDS Associations (PAAs) this year in its bid to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in the island.

"We are about to have some regional meetings to plan and set agendas for the year. We will be offering support to the PAAs in capacity building and will be sourcing funds for some of their major projects," programme officer at the NAC, Fabian Thomas, told The Gleaner Thursday.

"We are redirecting and refocusing the PAAs to maximise their effectiveness and strengthen the ones that have less structure and systems, and get the stronger ones to be more effective," he added.

Thomas said the NAC would also be continuing its support and advocacy for persons living with HIV/AIDS by way of skills building; back-to-school assistance for children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, human-rights advocacy and anti-stigma and through the national redress programme.

Decentralisation process

PAAs were formed by the NAC as part of the decentralisation process to provide a multidisciplinary community-based response to the needs of persons infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The NAC was established in 1988 by the Ministry of Health to coordinate the national multisectoral response to HIV/AIDS epidemic in Jamaica. Its core functions are to advise the Ministry of Health on policy issues relevant to HIV/AIDS, involve all sectors of society in efforts to prevent and control HIV/AIDS, act as a central body for the sharing of ideas, experiences and questions relating to HIV/AIDS and to "provide a sustainable means of supporting the initiatives of the NAC and member organisations by eliciting funds from fund-raising activities, public- and private-sector participation".

The most recent country progress report from the Ministry of Health, presented to the secretary general of the United Nations at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session, indicated that, as of 2007, approximately 25,000 persons or 1.3 per cent of the Jamaican adult population is infected with HIV/AIDS. The report noted that almost two-thirds of HIV-positive persons are unaware of their status.