St. Lucia Calls for Grant Funding in Aids Fight

Contact: Rose Marie Harris

Wednesday, June 27, 2001 – St. Lucia is advocating that any international funding being set aside for the specific purpose of combating the spread of HIV/AIDS, be made available in the form of grants to beneficiary countries, especially small vulnerable states.

Minister of Health, Hon. Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, put forward the proposal in an address in New York on Wednesday to a special session of the United Nations General Assembly, convened to discuss the AIDS pandemic.

She said St. Lucia was looking forward to open, transparent discussion on the governance, use and criteria for access of the proposed global fund, which the UN is establishing as part of a stepped-up international fight against the killer disease.

Endorsing the positions of other CARICOM states, Mrs. Flood-Beaubrun said it was important that the fight against AIDS in the Caribbean is treated as a collective, as opposed to an individual, effort.

She supported Barbados’ view that the response to AIDS required a three-pronged approach which includes the search for a cure. She also said there should be adequate allocation of UN AIDS funding to the Caribbean as it was the second hardest hit area after Sub-Saharan Africa.

The minister called for an immediate adjustment of World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, in particular the TRIPS Agreement, to permit countries to produce affordable AIDS drugs to deal with the crisis.

With sustained commitment and initiatives of the UN, backed by the necessary international support, Mrs. Flood-Beaubrun said a solution to AIDS should soon be at hand.

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