UNAIDS Executive Director to visit Jamaica

Winifred Byanyima, Under Secretary-General and Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme for HIV/AIDS, will visit Jamaica from November 6 to 11.

Byanyima will deliver the keynote address at the National HIV Annual Review on November 9.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, along with senior health officials from the UNAIDS country office in Jamaica will welcome Byanyima at the Norman Manley International Airport today.

“Jamaica is pleased to host Winnie Byanyima as we renew and strengthen our commitment to address HIV/AIDS and its associated challenge, including mother-to-child transmission, stigma and discrimination. I anticipate that this visit will further advance efforts to create an enabling environment for those affected by HIV/AIDS,” Cuthbert-Flynn said in a statement.

As the leader of the UN’s work to end AIDS, Byanyima will observe various aspects of Jamaica’s national HIV response and learn approaches put in place to address challenges, including stigma and discrimination.

Her visit will inform means by which to reinforce the country’s response mechanism.

“Despite the impressive strides being made by Jamaica and other Caribbean countries in the AIDS response, the health and development of people in the Caribbean is threatened by the fallout of the succession of global crises from COVID-19, climate change, the war in Ukraine, and the impact of these on households and national resources,” Byanyima was quoted as saying.

Byanyima said that the United Nations is pleased to continue its support of Jamaica’s HIV programme and advance the nation’s goals to restrain the spread of the disease.

“I stand in solidarity with the people of Jamaica and align the UN’s technical and other global resources with national efforts to enable Jamaica and the Caribbean region to succeed,” she assured.

While in Jamaica, Byanyima will participate in a series of meetings and events with the Ministry of Health & Wellness and UNAIDS.

She will pay courtesy calls to Government ministers, including Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton; Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith; and Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment & Sports, Olivia Grange.

Byanyima will also engage in talks with civil society organisations such as the Jamaican Network of Sero-positives and Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL).