To co-chair session on addressing HIV Stigma and Discrimination
The Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot Williams will be attending the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington DC from the 22nd to the 27th of July 2012.
The Prime Minister will be chairing the session on addressing HIV-Related Stigma and Discrimination with the aim of changing the effects of HIV stigma within local communities.
HIV stigma and discrimination are consistently recognized as critical barriers to the uptake of treatment, disclosure of status, timely entry into care and adherence. Yet investments in community level stigma and discrimination reduction efforts remain small in comparison to the stated need. The session chaired by the Prime Minister will look at critical areas that may be hindering, or working to facilitate, a more concerted response to stigma and discrimination, and thereby influencing the successful roll out of treatment as prevention and the elimination of vertical transmission of HIV.
The Prime Minister will also be a featured speaker at the Regional Session: Sustainable Development and HIV – A Caribbean Agenda, also during the AIDS 2012 Conference.
The Prime Minister will be giving her talk during a session that has as its aim the development of an agenda for sustainable development and HIV beyond 2015 and the Millennium Development Goals. The agenda for that particular session will be based on a new Sustainable Development Agenda with HIV, Gender and economic development; Rethinking Equity and Human Rights; Facilitating Gender, the participation of Caribbean women and girls and men and how to address domestic violence, reach poor women and change men’s perceptions; and Rethinking Partnerships on how to encourage partnerships with bi-laterals, foundations, social media, and cultural leaders within the region.
The International AIDS Conference is the largest international meeting on a single health issue where every two years 20,000 participants representing all stakeholders in the global response to HIV meet to assess progress and identify future priorities. With more than 2,000 international journalists expected to attend, the conference is the single most widely covered HIV event in the world. The AIDS 2012 is organized by the International AIDS Society (IAS) in partnership with a number of international and local partners. The conference theme, “Turning the Tide Together”, reflects a unique moment in time, emphasizing that the HIV epidemic has reached a defining moment. By acting decisively on recent scientific advances in HIV treatment and biomedical prevention, the momentum for a cure, and the continuing evidence of the ability to scale-up key interventions in the most-needed settings there is now the potential to end the HIV epidemic. The Prime Minister will be departing for the conference in Washington DC on 21st of July and will be returning on the 28th. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by HIV/ AIDS program Manager for St. Maarten Suzette Moses-Burton who will also be session co-chairing during the conference.