"We have to provide condoms because with nothing to do, many people will get intimate" - said Mr Terry Charles in his presentation on the HIV/AIDS response post Ivan and Emily.
Mr Charles is from the Grenada National AIDS Council.
["Getting intimate" we think is the official Grenadian translation of 'have sex' .
In other Caribbean places, Getting Intimate means sharing your landline telephone number, home address, last name, or kissing. Many people have sex without getting too intimate while others crave intimacy without having sex.]
The panel discussion organised by
PANCAP was titled "Universal Access in Post Disaster Situations : the Caribbean Experience" and featured a panel comprising Dr Ernest Massiah from UNAIDS; Mr Terry Charles from Grenada; Dr Rosaida Ochoa Soto from the
Ministry of Health in Cuba and Dr Patrice Joseph from
GHESKIO in Haiti. The moderator was Mr Carl Brown.
Dr Massiah reflected on the lessons learned from UNAIDS and noted that the humanitarian effort which follows disasters has to be managed to ensure that aid meets the needs of those who are affected by HIV. He noted that it would appear that HIV is not always a "conscious part" of the relief effort since many persons are focussed on dealing with needs such as shelter and food. He also stressed that civil society groups which worked with persons living with HIV/AIDS should be able to articulate the needs of those persons after a disaster situation.
The complexity of language continued. Dr Ernest Massiah in his conclusions remarked that the word 'vulnerable' had to redefined in the context of post-disaster situations since there will be people who are vulnerable who need food and other things which have to be provided to people living with HIV/AIDs.
Mr Charles reflected on the Grenada experience after Ivan and Emily, and noted that Grenada's National Disaster Plan now includes a component on support for HIV. He also cautioned that in post-disaster situations, there will be some people who while offering humanitarian aid, might also prey on the vulnerable. He noted the importance of teaching people to maintaining their
self respect and dignity.
Language now proved to be problematic. Mr Carl Brown announced that the costs of an interpreter were too high for PANCAP so that professional services could not be provided for Dr Soto. This he did after saying that PANCAP welcomed the contribution from Cuba.
Surely, after all that Cuba has done for the Caribbean, the PANCAP people could have adjusted the Vienna budget (perdiems, hotel costs, reduce the stay by one day) and paid for an interpreter. Dr Soto's power point was in English. Her presentation was the only one which directly talked about the vulnerable groups including MSM (men who have sex with men, or HSH in Spanish). The presentation reflected on Cuba's preoccupation with disaster planning and the involvement of people with AIDS in making those plans. She noted that Cuba also provided health services to other countries post disaster and that it was important to prepare those workers to deal with HIV in those other countries. The final recommendation from this presentation was that it was important to promote the values of solidarity and unity.
Dr Joseph spoke of the experience after Haiti and GHESKIO's involvement in post earthquake Haiti. He posited that even with the best disaster plan, the scale of the earthquake could not compensate for the destruction. Many of those who provided care were also affected, and Dr Joseph dedicated the presentation to those who worked despite losing their loved ones and having to sleep outside their destroyed homes .
GHESKIO was able however to reach out to their patients, and to offer health services . Their office was destroyed, so clinics had to be held in the courtyard.
The questions from the audience followed. One question referred to the UN guidelines for emergency response for HIV/AIDS.. Dr Massiah suggested that the guidelines existed but that nobody had time to read them and that the UN system in Haiti had also been caught off guard. A woman congratulated Dr Joseph on his presentation since she realised that Haitian people were actively involved in the HIV response in Haiti and she questioned why Dr Farmer was the only name which came up. Dr Joseph said that GHESKIO had excellet relationships with different agencies including Dr Farmer's PIH. A question was raised as to whether the military could play a role in improving responses, and it was noted that the military were usually involved in maintaining order after a disaster.
The question was asked about vulnerability for clarification and what lessons could be learned to protect the vulnerable. Sharon Mottley from Trinidad asked about the vulnerable groups as well. The response from Mr Charles was that it was important to protect single mothers, young girls and young boys who might be looking for money and who might want to be involved in economic activities. Dr Massiah restated that it would be necessary to redefine vulnerable to include all of those would demand services post-disaster and not just the "traditional groups"
Some Caribbean people started to leave to go to another protest activity.
A question was asked whether GHESKIO had a relationship with SeroVIE (Haitian NGO working with MSM and sex workers). Dr Joseph responded that GHESKIO had relationships with many NGOs.
Mr Brown restated that Pancap had relationships with CVC and other representatives from vulnerable communities and invited the participants to the Caribbean meet and greet on Wednesday 21 July at 7:30.
Sebastian, from St Lucia
