The UWI HIV/AIDS Response Programme

Abstract

Prologue At the core of this paper is the belief that strong political will confront the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV/AIDS) epidemic in an organized way is the key progress in mitigating the impact of this disaster. The paper describes the formation and early development of the University of the West Indies HIV/AIDS Response Programme (UWI HARP) and identifies the requirements for its sustainability and success. The leaders of the UWI HIV/AIDS Response Programme (UWI HARP) describe the university's programme as a partnership to promote awareness and appropriate action in response the HIV/AIDS The UWI HARP leadership warns, Let us neither over-emphasize nor under-emphasize Early History Discussions leading the formation of UWI HARP began in the year 2000 when the UWI Vice-Chancellor approached three academic leaders and called for increased UWI involvement in the response HIV/AIDS. A meeting of representatives from the three campuses was held in March 2001 acknowledge and review the involvement of UWI staff in HIV prevention and care , research and community service and brainstorm the future shape of UWI's response the growing epidemic. The consensus of that meeting was that UWI needed organize and accelerate its activities in the face of the growing threat posed by HIV/AIDS. The meeting recognized HIV/AIDS as a multifaceted threat requiring a multidisciplinary response. Delegates accepted that the university as a communal institution had a responsibility join the regional response the epidemic and that a range of talented persons within the university had the potential ability mount a meaningful response in collaboration with other contributors in the field. Following the March meeting, the first UWI HARP Committee was formed on the Mona Campus under the chairmanship of Professor Brendan Bain in August 2001. Then, in February 2002, similar committees were started on the Cave Hill and St Augustine Campuses at the time of Professor Michael Kelly's first visit the Caribbean. Almost coinciding with the Vice-Chancellor's call for a more obvious response the HIV/AIDS epidemic from the university community was an invitation UWI from the Caribbean Community Secretariat in Guyana participate in a project aimed at Strengthening the Institutional Response HIV/AIDS/STI in the Caribbean (SIRHASC). This project had begun in December 2000 and, in fact, was provide the first significant external funding UWI HARP - a grant of approximately Euro $2.7 million over a three-and-a half year period from the European Union (EU). The EU grant enabled UWI join five other regional organizations in the SIRHASC project. Under the aegis of the project, UWI has employed a project officer and six lectures and has embarked on a programme of systematic curriculum review and development in areas relevant HIV/AIDS. In addition, lecturers from Cave Hill and St Augustine have undertaken ground-breaking studies document the current and possible future socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS in Barbados, Guyana and Suriname. Also through the project, the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication on the Mona Campus has collaborated with the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) in sensitizing Caribbean media owners and practitioners issues pertaining HIV/AIDS. While building capacity within the university, UWI HARP is beginning reach out other tertiary level institutions and is helping strengthen other national and regional organizations, including the Caribbean Regional Network of persons living with HIV/AIDS. Mission and Aims The mission statement of UWI HARP is To build and harness capacity within the university in order contribute maximally the national, regional (Caribbean) and international effort control the HIV/AIDS epidemic and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS on the university itself and on the wider society. …