U.S. Pacific isles plan summit on HIV/AIDS war
Star-Bulletin staff
More than 100 people from six U.S.-affiliated Pacific island jurisdictions are expected at a summit to discuss strategies to fight HIV/AIDS April 10-12 in Pohnpei.
"Pacific in Action Against HIV/AIDS -- Putting the Pieces Together" is the second summit of the Pacific Island Jurisdictions AIDS Action Group.
Attending will be decision-makers from American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Marshall Islands and Palau.
The three-day event will feature workshops, training and cultural celebrations.
The Life Foundation, the largest and oldest nonprofit organization fighting AIDS in Hawaii and the Pacific, is one of the organizers.
Other organizations represented will be the Secretariat of Pacific Commission, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and AIDS organizations or health representatives from the six Pacific island jurisdictions.
The Pacific Island Jurisdictions HIV/AIDS Action Group was formed in February 2001 to speak as one voice on HIV/AIDS and meet regional needs, according to a Life Foundation news release.
The first summit in April 2003, "Building Bridges, Taking Action," had more than 100 participants who began taking action in Pacific communities affected by the HIV epidemic, the foundation said.