Leadership role for Caribbean Conference of Churches
in fight against HIV and AIDS Pandemic

Wednesday 19th April, 2006 will see the General Secretary of the Caribbean Conference of Churches (CCC), Gerard Granado, in the role of chair to a meeting of the Committee of Champions for Change II, which has been called together by the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), an agency of CARICOM. This Committee Meeting will be taking place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Port of Spain, Trinidad from 9.00 a.m.

The CCC was nominated to a leadership role in taking the process forward, in collaboration with CARICOM/PANCAP, to establish a Committee to work on the Plan of Action arising from the Champions for Change II Regional Conference of Faith-Based Organisations to Reduce Stigma and Discrimination. That conference took place from November 22-23, 2005 in Georgetown, Guyana.

Leaders and representatives of Faith Based Organisations of the CARICOM region have already committed themselves and their membership to staying informed about the HIV and AIDS pandemic and to inform their membership in order to strengthen their response.

The Faith Based Organisations (FBOs) of the CARICOM region will be represented on the Committee by – Fr. Clyde Harvey, Ms. Elizabeth Nicholas, Bishop Juan Edghill, Rev. Cyril Paul, Mr. Nico Wagmeester, Fr. Harcourt Blackett, Mr. Laurence Coward, Rev. Gerry Seale, Pundit Bramdeo Maharaj, Mr. Sheikh Majid Ali, Ms. Angela Stultz.

As co-ordinators of the Champions for Change II, from the CARICOM Secretariat, Dr. Edward Greene, the Assistant Secretary General, Human and Social Development will attend; and Ms. Beverly Reynolds, PANCAP Deputy Programme Manager, Health Sector Development.

Several other representatives from regional agencies including, Caribbean Regional Network for People Living with HIV and AIDS (CRN+), Caribbean Coalition of National AIDS Programme Coordinators (CCNAPC),  Department for International Development (DFID), and UNAIDS will also be in attendance.