PRESS RELEASES 2007

US Embassy supports the National HIV/STI Program

Dr. Kevin Harvey, Senior Medical Officer at the Ministry of Health’s HIV/STI Program, has been selected by the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy in Kingston to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention. Dr. Harvey departed for Washington, DC, on Tuesday, November 13, 2007.

This IVLP program was designed by the U.S. State Department for medical professionals, educators, community organizers, NGOs and government representatives involved in HIV/AIDS policy formulation, and will examine trends in the education, prevention, treatment and management of HIV/AIDS at the national, state and local levels.

While in Washington, DC, Dr. Harvey will meet counterparts from 26 other countries, including Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.

According to Dr. Harvey, the program provides a useful opportunity to develop linkage for technical support and cooperation with the Center for Disease Control (CDC), as well as an opportunity to experience the management initiative to stem the HIV epidemic from a developed country’s perspective. This experience, Dr. Harvey notes, will help build management capacity and exposure to the best practices, which may be adopted to suit the Jamaican experience.

The participants will also visit several other cities, including Seattle, Washington; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Houston, Texas and New York City.

They will have an opportunity to examine the research and clinical findings that have contributed to reducing incidents of HIV/AIDS infection, with particular emphasis on the CDC education and research program in the US and abroad for at-risk populations.

The program, which runs from November 15 to December 6, 2007, will also highlight the contributions of non-governmental organizations in educating the public about HIV/AIDS, and supporting individuals and communities affected by the disease.