[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 81 (Wednesday, June 21, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1227-E1228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS ARE KEY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS IN THE 
                               CARIBBEAN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 20, 2006

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the 
necessity of worldwide cooperation in the battle against HIV/AIDS in 
the Caribbean. Today, the Caribbean nations rank only second to sub-
Sahara Africa in prevalence of the HIV virus. However, some countries 
in the region also have some of the highest per capita incomes among 
developing countries, which make these countries ineligible for foreign 
assistance.
  I would like to submit an article for the Record from the June 13th 
issue of CaribNews entitled CARlCOM's Need for Universal Access in HIV/
AIDS Fight. In this article, author Tony Best describes the dilemma 
that many Caribbean countries face when attempting to secure aid for 
HIV/AIDS programs while possessing high per capita income, thus 
disqualifying them as priority recipients.
  The article is based on an address made by CARICOM's lead spokesman 
on health, Dr. Denzil Douglas' address to a special United Nations High 
Level meeting on HIV/AIDS. In this address, Dr. Douglas expressed his 
concern on behalf of the Caribbean community about the criteria 
established by the international donor community regarding financial 
support for programs to reduce HIV/AIDS in the region. The main 
criterion of concern is that the international donor community will not 
grant middle income nations, such as those in the Caribbean, to collect 
grants for HIV/AIDS programs. Instead, these countries must apply for 
loans if they wish to obtain some support. Furthermore, the only way 
that a middle income country can become eligible for aid is if their 
HIV prevalence rate rises above five percent.
  Dr. Douglas opined that this requirement of five percent prevalence 
rate will only hinder in a successful fight against HIV/AIDS due to the 
fact that the time wasted in waiting for the five percent mark to be 
recorded will allow the disease to advance so far that the economic and 
social costs may be unbearable at that point. For the moment, some 
countries in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and 
other groups such as the Clinton Foundation and Global Fund have 
provided some aid to these countries. However, this aid has only 
resulted in the expansion of retroviral coverage for already infected 
persons.
  Thus, the Caribbean region still lags behind in any progress in 
prevention of HIV incidence. The area has not been able to decrease the 
number of new cases of HIV, and so CARICOM feels that a social system 
based on an integrated network of services such as prevention, 
diagnosis and treatment can provide the best medium for prevailing in 
the fight against HIV/AIDS.
  The global community is a vital player in helping create this 
visionary system of social services. By agreeing to provide aid despite 
of per capita income, international authorities can further strengthen 
the partnerships they have with the Caribbean nations and be of utmost 
benefit in the defeat of HIV/AIDS, not just in the Caribbean, but 
worldwide. After all, a united effort will prove to be much more 
successful than minor individual efforts striving towards a common 
goal.

                  [From the Carib News, June 13, 2006]

         CARICOM's Need for Universal Access in HIV/AIDS Fight

                             (By Tony Best)

       Dr. Denzil Douglas, CARICOM's lead spokesman on Health, has 
     called on the international community to make it easier for 
     middle-income Caribbean nations to boost the level of care 
     provided to victims of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
       In an address to a special United Nations High Level 
     meeting on HIV/AIDS and in a session with Carib News 
     Editorial Board on Monday morning Dr. Douglas, St. Kitts-
     Nevis' Prime Minister appealed for a new that would enable 
     donor agencies and institutions to provide help to the region 
     hard hit by HIV/AIDS virus. Many of the countries, he said, 
     were being forced to bear the brunt of the financial burden 
     of providing care to HIV sufferers and information to the 
     general public about the dangers of the disease.
       ``We are concerned about the criteria established by the 
     international donor community with regard to access to 
     financing for fighting HIV/AIDS,'' he told Carib news editors 
     and community leaders, including Yvonne Graham, Brooklyn 
     Borough President, Michael Flanigan, Citibank Community 
     Relations Director, and Leyland Hazelwood, an international 
     business executive.
       ``One of the important criteria is that it (international 
     donor community) will not allow middle income countries to 
     have grants,'' he pointed out. ``Rather, you have to go 
     through the process of loans. Also unless the prevalence 
     rates get beyond five per cent, you are not going to be able 
     to access the financing that is required.''
       The trouble is that although the Caribbean region may have 
     some of the highest per capita incomes among developing 
     countries, the countries collectively are second only to 
     subSahara Africa when it comes to the prevalence of the HIV 
     virus. But their rates of infection are below the five per 
     cent threshold. Hence they are ineligible for assistance.
       ``I made the point to the General Assembly of the United 
     Nations that if we are going to wait until we get to five per 
     cent, what is the point,'' he said. ``It is almost foolhardy 
     to wait until the disease has reached a certain level in the 
     population to give us the required assistance. We need the 
     assistance now so that we don't reach there.''
       Dr. Douglas, himself a physician, said that if the 
     countries were forced to wait until the five per cent mark 
     was recorded, then they would be faced with unthinkable 
     economic and social consequences.
       ``If we wait for that stage with our small populations in 
     the region, it can have very, very serious setbacks in the 
     development of the Caribbean, especially in view of the gains 
     we have recorded in the last few years,'' he asserted.
       The Prime Minister pointed out that several Caribbean 
     countries, especially those in the OECS, Organization of 
     Eastern Caribbean States, were receiving help from Brazil in 
     the form of free medication for HIV sufferers while the 
     Clinton Foundation and Global Fund had ``come on board with 
     assistance.''
       As a result, states had been able to slow down the growth 
     in the incidence of the virus, cut the number of deaths and 
     slash mother to child transmission of the virus. ``More still 
     remains to be done and must be done,'' he said.
       Caricom nations are aiming for ``harmonized international 
     partnership'' that

[[Page E1228]]

     would result in an acceleration of care during the next 15 
     years.
       Dr. Douglas' appeals to the international community were 
     designed to ``sustain the harmonized partnership'' and expand 
     care and the dissemination of information, he explained.
       ``By 2010, we are hoping that our health and social system 
     would form the basis of an improved and integrated network of 
     services, from prevention, diagnosis and treatment to care 
     and support,'' he added. ``The main issue is how we can we 
     sustain the services that we have put in place to prevent and 
     manage the disease. That is a concern.''
       A major hurdle in the Caribbean centers on ``the issue of 
     prevention,'' he pointed out. ``We have not been able to 
     scale back the number of new cases that are occurring in the 
     Caribbean region,'' he said. ``While we have been able to 
     manage those who have the disease in terms of providing the 
     necessary anti-retroviral drugs we have not succeeded on the 
     issue of prevention. We believe that if we are to scale back 
     the prevalence we must be able to prevent its spread.''

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