Speeches

HIV/AIDS Grants Fund Presentation

September 29, 2005

 

I am very pleased this morning to be presenting grants to three of the leading HIV/AIDS organizations in The Bahamas.

HIV/AIDS continues to be the greatest health crisis of our time.  Around the world more than 40 million people live with HIV/AIDS.  Millions die every year.  Millions more are newly infected each year, many of them children.  The numbers are staggering, but it's important to remember that each case is a person with friends and family and their own particular story.  Each person struggles with the disease in their own way as best as they can.  It is a human tragedy unlike any we've ever seen, taking place one person at a time.

Here at home, the efforts of the health care community have made The Bahamas a world leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS, particularly in the areas of monitoring and evaluation, in providing access to appropriate care, and in the reduction of mother to child transmission.

As Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, said in a speech to the UN Security Council in July of this year, the reasons for the real signs of success in The Bahamas are the committed leadership and diligent efforts of people like those I am about to recognize.

This year's recipients -- all of whom have received grants in the past -- are at the forefront of preventing new infections and improving and extending the lives of those already infected.

The Embassy is proud to be associated with these organizations and to be able to assist, in some small way, in their important work.

As I announce each grant, I ask a representative of the recipient organization to come forward and say a few words.

The Samaritan Ministry: $4,714 to launch an HIV/AIDS adolescent group for infected and affected children, including the establishment of an associated website.

The AIDS Foundation: $4,799 for a series of skill-building training events for persons living with HIV/AIDS, caretakers, and spouses.

The HIV/AIDS Secretariat: a total of $10,394.  $5,394 to support a “train-the-trainers” workshop for people living with HIV/AIDS who will then be assigned to work in the National AIDS Program on their home islands.  $5,000 for the production of public service announcements for a "Getting to Know Your HIV/AIDS Status" campaign.

We thank these three groups for everything they do for the people of The Bahamas.

In closing, I would like to preview an event the Embassy will be hosting next week.

On October 3rd and 4th, all of the U.S. ambassadors in the Caribbean region will be meeting here in Nassau for an HIV/AIDS conference.  We'll be discussing HIV/AIDS issues with prominent health officials, regional experts, NGOs, the private sector, and others. 

We're thrilled that Prime Minister Christie will be delivering opening remarks on Monday morning, as will Ambassador Randall Tobias, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.  Ambassador Tobias manages the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Reduction (PEPFAR), a 5-year, $15 billion initiative launched by President Bush in 2003.

Throughout the course of the conference's two days, we'll also hear from Minister of Health Dr. Marcus Bethel, Director of the Bahamas National HIV/AIDS Program Dr. Perry Gomez, and the three organizations that received grants here today.  

I attended last year's conference in Santo Domingo and really had my eyes opened.

We are very excited about this event and look forward to increasing awareness about HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.