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The Pacific in Action Against HIV/AIDS – Putting the Pieces Together
2nd PIJAAG Regional Summit on HIV/AIDS in the Pacific
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The 2nd Regional PIJAAG Summit on HIV/AIDS in Pohnpei, Micronesia in April was a tremendous success! The Summit had over 120 participants and featured local and international presenters over the course of three days. Federated States of Micronesia’s HIV Coordinator, Johnny Hebel, and Life Foundation’s Pacific Trainer, Peter Tuiolosega Silva, co-chaired this groundbreaking Pacific event and presided over the Summit.
The theme of the conference, “Pacific In Action: Putting the Pieces Together,” called on participants to strengthen their response to HIV by sharing different perspectives and strategies on HIV prevention, testing, care and treatment, and community planning. People living with HIV played a pivotal role throughout the Summit, especially in the opening plenary which highlighted the lives of Angel Cruz of Guam and Peati Maiava of Samoa. Sessions were strongly led by country participants and provided an ideal setting in which to share the experiences and challenges of implementing HIV programs in their Pacific Island countries.
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The meeting was also a key opportunity to increase collaboration between donors and partners, and to bridge the north–south divide that exists in the Pacific HIV arena. “Seeing all the donors and partner agencies focusing on collaboration and discussing how they could coordinate their work was like a dream come true for us at a country level,” said PIJAAG co-chair Hana Ngiruchelbad, of Palau’s Health Ministry.
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The great success of the Summit is due in large part to all of our funders, especially Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Life Foundation, GUAHAN Project, Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Center, Office of Minority Health, AIDS Education Training Center, the Government of FSM, National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, Office of HIV/AIDS Policy, Tibotec Therapeutics, and Region IX Office of Women’s Health. In collaboration were also various international agencies serving the Pacific, including the AusAID-funded Pacific Regional HIV/AIDS Project, UNFPA, Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation and SPC.
The Planning Committee would also like to send a special thank you to Mr. Johnny Hebel and the local Pohnpei host committee. The coordination of transportation, lodging venues, and nightly receptions was remarkable.
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Xuan-Lan Doan, Deputy Director of Programs and Planning, perhaps best sums up the experience of all who attended, stating “I came back refreshed and re-inspired in the work we do; and we take the lessons and heartache from all those living and passed on from HIV to continue this important work.”
 
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