Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Details for Mechanism ID: 16363
Country/Region: Caribbean Region
Year: 2010
Main Partner: Caribbean Community
Main Partner Program: Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV--AIDS (PANCAP)
Organizational Type: Implementing Agency
Funding Agency: USAID
Total Funding: $300,000

The defined mandate of the Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP), executed by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), is to manage and coordinate the regional response to HIV and AIDS. This done through the mechanism of the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS (CRSF) and includes coordinating the work of PANCAP partners, monitoring the implementation of programs/projects, and reporting on results. The USG continues to support the CRSF and efforts to harmonize this expanded regional response to the epidemic in the Caribbean. The strategic priorities for PANCAP over the next five years are articulated in the new CRSF (2008-2012), focusing on the central issues of fostering an enabling environment to achieve universal access to HIV/ AIDS-related services, capacity development, monitoring and evaluation, and research. The CRSF articulates the vision and collective priorities of Caribbean governments through their membership CARICOM and their support for PANCAP. The US-Caribbean Partnership Framework is designed in alignment with the national HIV and AIDS strategic plans of each partner country and with the CRSF.

In FY 2010, CARICOM/PANCAP will continue to advance take programmatic implementation of the new CRSF strategic priorities, including: providing technical assistance to national governments and regional organizations in accelerating access to HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support services; developing policies, guidelines, and legislation to reduce stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/ AIDS and other vulnerable groups; promoting adoption of model policies and implementation of workplace programs; and upgrading and maintaining the PANCAP website as a mechanism for sharing information with partners and the public. Several of these activities will be facilitated by resources provided through PANCAPs successful Round 9 Global Funds (GF) grant. These grant resources however, only provide support for a subset of the CRSF activities and only in relation to 16 of the 29 PANCAP member countries, 12 of which align with the PF. The GF grant also does not provided resources to facilitate PANCAPs core mandate of coordination of its programmatic activities which will move all 29 countries of the region towards a more cohesive and effective approach to fighting the AIDS epidemic.

CARICOM/ PANCAP continues to be recognized and supported as the lead entity with the defined mandate to manage and coordinate the collaborative regional response to HIV and AIDS and receives financial support from both CDC and USAID to accomplish this objective. The completion of the new CRSF 2008-2012, the successful award of a new Global Fund grant and the review and reorganization of its organizational structure and hiring of new staff are all positive accomplishments which the USG support has been instrumental in facilitating. These achievements build on the achievements of the first CRSF while addressing the weaknesses identified in its evaluation of the same. They also draw on lessons learned both from the region and international experiences in addressing HIV/AIDS. The CRSF strategies are designed to create an enabling social and policy environment, grapple with the thorny issues of stigma and discrimination and gender, to track and report on donor contributions, national and regional organizational HIV/AIDS prevention efforts and to fuel a mechanism for ongoing strategic communication among regional stakeholders. The financial and technical support of the USG and other donor partners will help to ensure that PANCAP continues to execute this role.

Funding for Health Systems Strengthening (OHSS): $300,000

CARICOM/ PANCAP continues to be recognized and supported as the lead entity with the defined mandate to manage and coordinate the collaborative regional response to HIV and AIDS and receives financial support from both CDC and USAID to accomplish this objective.