Aids WorkshopHeld in BVI for Journalists
A contingent of five Caymanian journalistsrecently returned from an HIV/AIDS workshop for media professionalsin Roadtown, Tortola, British Virgin Islands (BVI).
They joined about 24 journalists from theBVIs and Bermuda for "The Mass Media & the HIV/AIDS Epidemicin Small Island Economies", which was held at the ProspectReef Resort.
The seminar was conducted by the CaribbeanEpidemiology Centre (CAREC), in association with PAHO (Pan AmericanHealth Organisation and the World Health Organisation (WHO) SpecialProgramme on Sexually Transmitted Infections (SPSTI), in collaborationwith the BVIs' Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The Caribbean region as a whole has thesecond highest rate of HIV/AIDS infection in the world (afterSub-Saharan Africa).
BVI's Minister of Health and Welfare, MsEthlyn Smith, said the British Virgin Islands is at a crossroads,noting that although the numbers there were small, the nearbyUnited States Virgin Islands is No. 5 for HIV/AIDS cases. Shesaid that the BVI was at very high risk for this devastating epidemic,therefore the problem was a priority for her ministry.
Ms Smith pointed out several of the factorsthat lead to infection that were prevalent in the BVIs. Theseinclude early sexual activity, multiple partnering and prostitution.She lamented the absence of a sense of collective and individualsense of immediacy to the problem.
"This is where the media comes in.You are a powerful agent for change. You are the ones they turnto for information", she stressed.
She added that HIV/AIDS was more than justa health problem, since it affected development, social advancementand the economies of small-state nations.
This, she revealed, is why the BVIs arein the process of developing a national action plan. Currently,they are searching the region for someone to fill the role ofHIV/AIDS National Co-coordinator.
She challenged the media to view HIV/AIDSas a larger problem.
"All too often the news is about numbers.What about the human impact?" she asked. "Why is itspreading when so many are aware of what to do?"
Some 41 million individuals worldwide men, women and babies are living with AIDS. There were 5million new infections last year alone. Five young people areinfected ever minute of every day.