INTERVENTION ON BEHALF OF THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY

BY

THE HON. DR. TIMOTHY HARRIS, MINISTER OF FOREIGN

AFFAIRS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER AND NEVIS, WITH REGARD

TO

THE CHALLENGE OF HIV IAIDS FOR THE REGION

AND ITS IMPLICATIONS AS AN ISSUE OF HUMAN SECURITY

Madame Chair

Secretary General

Assistant Secretary General

Ministerial Colleagues

Ambassadors/permanent Representatives

Other Distinguished Delegates

Ladies and Gentlemen

The challenges of human security have preoccupied mankind for longer than our written history can bear testimony to. And as these challenges to our security have taken on new dimensions, mankind has always ingeniously contrived ways of protecting himself and those dear to him, within his limitations, from threats, pestilence and disasters, natural and unnatural.

At no time in our history however Madam Chair, has our security concerns on many fronts been so overwhelming. Weare now confronted with a security challenge more formidable than any we have known before -the challenge of HIV / AIDS. It seems to me and to many others Madam Chair, that no security challenge facing mankind has ever had such comprehensive impact and such far-reaching implications as this challenge. As a social phenomenon this challenge seems to subsume all others.

For us in the Caribbean, the challenge of HIV / AIDS and its meaning in relation to our security as a people cannot be exaggerated. This is not merely another health challenge. Left unchecked HIV/AIDS will destroy not only individuals and families, it will decimate the most productive sector of our population –the 15 to 44 years age group -leaving us nations of orphans. It will comprehensively weaken and ultimately destroy the sheer fabric of our Caribbean society -medically, psychologically, socially, economically, demographically and in every other conceivable way.

As is widely known, the Caribbean as a region, is second only to Sub-Saharan Africa in reported cases of HIV / AIDS, the ove~all prevalence being about 2.1 %. About 80% of the reported cases in our region are secondary to heterosexual transmission, ie normal and socially accepted modes of sexual expression. Contrast this if you will Madam Chair with the 13% rate of heterosexual transmission in North America where drug use and homosexual transmission together account for over eighty percent of the cases -a complete reversal of trends. And whereas in North America prevalence rates are on the decline, in the Caribbean these rates are rising.

UNAIDS estimates that currently about half a million people in our region are living with the virus and some surveys report that the number of new cases among women is greater than among men. The peri-natal transmission of HIV in OAS member states is highest also in CARICOM States -7%. Contrast this again if you will with rates in North America of 1.1%. Our children too are dying.

Madam Chair, we cannot legislate behavior but it seems to us that short of a cure, survival requires that substantial investment must be made in strategies for modifying the sexual behavior of our people. Whether or not a cure is found, we as a people face the serious challenge of ensuring that our knowledge and attitudes are harmonized with good judgment, in the interest of our health, our welfare and our survival.

Madam Chair, the security of the peoples of CARICOM is under severe threat. Preliminary research data from the Health Economics Unit of the University of the West Indies demonstrates that the impact of HIV / AIDS on productivity, economic growth and competitive capability are in danger of serious erosion. Given what we know and the real prospects with which we are faced, we are constrained to make an urgent appeal for a level of understanding, collaboration and assistance in this matter befitting the magnitude of this challenge. Such understanding must take into consideration.The fact that the indebtedness of some of our CARICOM partners stymies their ability to respond to this catastrophe and in other instances small population size makes it difficult on a per capita basis to absorb the cost of care. And the fact that there is a widening gap between the resources available and the resources required to deal with the minimum estimated costs of prevention, care and treatment. With further delays in investments this gap will widen.

My Prime Minister, Madam Chair, in his capacity as CARICOM’s spokesman on Health, has aggressively sought partnerships, bilaterally and with international agencies as he continues to champion the cause of obtaining adequate funding for prevention strategies to minimize risk behaviors and for affordable treatment and support options for Caribbean persons who are infected or affected.

CARICOM recognizes the particular contributions to the Pan Caribbean Partnership from the USA, Canada, UK, and we recognize other contributions to our struggle with this challenge from many of our GAS partners. We are pleased with the establishment of a global fund for HIV / AIDS, and with the overall goodwill shown towards us as we attempt to address this challenge and we salute the work of P AHO, CAREC, UWI, in coordinating our response. We lament however the fact that some assistance is taking uncomfortably long to bear results and some others are scheduled to come into effect, in years rather than months. We urge this body and the Secretariat to hear what CARICOM is attempting to say and to work with us in any way possible to bring solution to this tumultuous challenge.

Madam Chair the health, social and economic implications of the HIV / AIDS phenomenon for CARl COM are wide and far reaching. Many related issues loom large and they require attention. Issues such as

1. Training and capacity building. In this context we welcome the proposal by CDC and HRSA for the Caribbean HIV / AID Regional Training Initiative (CHART) a resource center for training professionals.

2. Negotiation of cheaper anti-retroviral drugs (ARV) for the region

3. Revision of procedures for assessment of grants. We make specific reference to CARICOM in this regard, since our countries may be sidelined from benefits because the criteria of Human Development Index and GDP indicators. Mr. Chairman, our small states require that indicators which take into consideration our vulnerability and our capacity for recovery be used in any assessment of eligibility to access support.