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HHD Works With the Education Sector in Trinidad and Tobago to Respond to HIV/AIDS
HHD and UNESCO, in collaboration with Caribbean leaders in Trinidad and Tobago, have developed an advocacy and leadership campaign to advance the education sector’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The education sector has the opportunity to impact hundreds of thousands of students, educators, and their families by adopting a comprehensive response to HIV and AIDS. “The response of the education sector is critical since HIV/AIDS is a health problem that is deeply rooted in the cultural, economic, and societal factors of any country,” says Connie Constantine, Senior Project Director.
FAST FACTS
- The Caribbean has the second highest regional HIV prevalence
rate in the world.
- Trinidad and Tobago’s
estimated adult HIV prevalence rate is 3.2% (28,000 people).
- AIDS is the leading cause of death among young adults
in Trinidad and Tobago.
Source: UNAIDS, 2004 Report on the Global AIDS
Epidemic |
The campaign began in Trinidad and Tobago on November 14-15, 2005. The
first day HHD trained nine leaders from Trinidad and Tobago’s business,
academic, union, advocacy, and religious communities to play a broad
leadership role with their colleagues in the education sector. This training
focused on understanding the elements of a comprehensive approach to
HIV and AIDS and why it was important for the country to adopt. (See
sidebar for the four elements of a comprehensive approach).
The following day, sixty senior level staff from the Ministry of Education,
including the Minister of Education, Mrs. Hazel Manning, participated
in a day-long retreat led by the nine key leaders emphasizing the importance
of adopting a comprehensive approach to HIV and AIDS in all divisions
of the Ministry. After the retreat, these Ministry of Education staff
will work together to implement a comprehensive approach in each of their
divisions.
HHD’s role in the campaign is to develop all the materials and
trainings with input from Caribbean leaders, inspire the local leaders,
and then support them in their work with the education sector. “For
a campaign to take hold, those promoting it must first embrace it themselves,” says
Constantine.
According to Dr. Amery Browne, technical director for Trinidad and Tobago’s
National AIDS Coordinating Committee, “this Leadership and Advocacy
Campaign is a wonderful platform upon which Trinidad and Tobago’s
education sector HIV response can further be elevated. Its objectives
are fully in keeping with our country’s National HIV/AIDS Strategic
Plan.”
Leela Ramdeen, a leader from the Catholic Commission for Social Justice,
added, "I firmly believe that if we are to mount a coordinated response
to HIV/AIDS, then faith-based groups, the public and private sectors,
NGOs, and CBOs all have a key role to play in combating the pandemic.
It is for this reason that I am committed to do what I can to further
this advocacy and leadership campaign. I hope to assist those in the
education sector in identifying and using strategies that are in
keeping with my faith to promote and protect the health of stakeholders
within the sector, and to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on the education
system and in the wider community."
March 7, 2006 |
