UNESCO Official Pledges To Continue HIV/AIDS Initiative in Jamaica
Kwame Boafo, the newly appointed Director of UNESCO's Office in the Caribbean, recently said the agency from 2006 through 2008 will continue funding a program to fight HIV/AIDS in Jamaica, the Caribbean Media Corporation reports. The initiative -- titled "EDUCAIDS" -- is funded primarily by the Japanese government; the Global Fund To Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; UNICEF; and the World Bank. There are several countries involved in EDUCAIDS, but Jamaica is the only island in the Caribbean region that is participating in the initiative, according to Boafo. EDUCAIDS in Jamaica will focus primarily on improving professional development and strategic planning to fight the spread of HIV and will help produce HIV/AIDS educational materials in support of the Ministry of Education and Youth, Boafo said. "We recognize the need for great visibility of our organization in the Caribbean, and we are currently embarking on new programs geared towards keeping the general public informed of our ongoing work with their governments and nongovernmental organization and, at the same time, engage them in dialogue that will indicate to us what are their needs and interests," Boafo said. The Caribbean has the second highest HIV incidence in the world behind sub-Saharan Africa, the CMC reports (Caribbean Media Corporation, 9/25).
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