HHS Secretary to Convene Meeting on HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Caribbean

4/18/2002

From: HHS Press Office, 202-690-6343

News Advisory:

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson will convene a meeting April 20 in Georgetown, Guyana, between representatives from the United States and officials from the Caribbean to discuss further collaborative efforts to respond to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This meeting follows a commitment made by Thompson during the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV/AIDS last June, when he hosted a group of Caribbean Ministers on a tour of a community health clinic in New York funded by HHS, to organize a forum on HIV/AIDS between the United States and the Caribbean.

The meeting will include U.S. government officials from the White House, U.S. Agency for International Development, and the House of Representatives, leaders from Caribbean countries, representatives from the Secretariat of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), clinics and research institutions, nongovernmental organizations (NGO's) and the private sector. The meeting will conclude with the signing of a Pan-Caribbean Partnership Agreement to bolster U.S.-Caribbean collaborations on the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

Following are the events open to the media: Saturday, April 20 9-9:30 a.m., Opening Ceremony, Le Meridian Pegasus Hotel, Georgetown, Guyana 2-3 p.m., Lifeline Counseling Services Site Visit, 354 Cummings Street, Georgetown, Guyana, Phone: 592-226-8684 4:30-5 p.m., Signing Ceremony, Le Meridian Pegasus Hotel, Georgetown, Guyana