The 10th Anniversary Regional Testing Day in Jamaica received ringing endorsements from the Minister of Health Dr. Christopher Tufton, the UNAIDS Country Director to Jamaica Manoela Manova and the Executive Director of the Jamaica National Family Planning Board Dr. Denise Chevannes.

The support came on Friday June 30 during testing Day activities at Mandela Park in Half Way Tree St. Andrew. The Minister of Health congratulated LIVE UP: The Caribbean Media Alliance, Scotiabank and the Jamaica National Family Planning Board for the mounting of testing sites not only in Kingston but in Montego Bay, Mandeville and Ocho Rios. He encouraged Jamaicans to get HIV tests regularly because the first line of defense is prevention and advances in technology and medicine mean that a positive result does not mean a death sentence.

The UNAIDS Country Director to Jamaica Manoela Manova, who was also at Mandela Park, said her organization is responsible globally for expanding and accelerating the HIV response with the target of ending HIV AIDS by 2030. She said it is very important for people to start taking HIV tests as a part of regular health checks.

Dr. Denise Chevannes Executive Director of the Jamaica National Family Planning Board, which administered the HIV Tests, stressed that living with HIV in Jamaica and the World today is not a life shrouded by death. She pointed out that it is now possible to treat HIV like any other non-communicable disease through care and medication.

The National Family Planning Board Executive Director underscored the importance of Regional Testing Day because it normalizes the importance of HIV Testing which in turn erodes the fear that many people have. She stressed that a positive HIV result is not the end of the world because there are many people who have lived with HIV for decades.

Regional Testing Day (RTD) celebrated its 10th Anniversary on Friday June 30 when people from 21 countries across the Caribbean were afforded the opportunity to get tested for HIV at over three hundred (300) sites across the region. The aim is to test one hundred thousand (100,000) people across the region during this 10th anniversary year.

ABOUT SCOTIABANK

Scotiabank has been in the Caribbean and Central America since 1889, operating in 25 countries through nearly 370 branches and has a staff of about 10,160 people serving more than two million customers. Scotiabank is committed to supporting the well-being of communities in which it operates.

Recognized as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for its charitable donations and philanthropic activities, in 2007 the Bank provided more than $43 million in sponsorships and donations to a variety of projects and initiatives, primarily in the areas of healthcare, education, social services, the arts and culture. Please visit them at www.scotiabank.com.

ABOUT LIVE UP: THE CARIBBEAN MEDIA ALLIANCE

The genesis of LIVE UP was a Global Media AIDS Initiative established in 2004 by then UN Secretary General His Excellency Kofi Annan, UNAIDS, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation to leverage the power of the world’s media to share information on HIV, reduce stigma and discrimination and ultimately change behaviour. With initial 6-year funding support from the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Ford Foundation and Kaiser Family Foundation, the Caribbean partnership (CBMP) was launched in 2006 with 30 top broadcasters. The LIVE UP Campaign was launched at ICC Cricket World Cup in 2007.

After the first 6 years of HIV/AIDS public education campaigns and programmes, specific project funding from the Global Fund, PEPFAR, PSI/Caribbean, UNESCO, UNAIDS, UN Women, UNFPA and The Maria Holder Memorial Trust enabled LIVE UP in recent years to add even more to our creative and innovative Caribbean campaigns. For the past ten years, LIVE UP has been the only media-led campaign on HIV/AIDS to reach across the entire Caribbean.

It has expanded from 30 to 112 broadcasters (television and radio) from 24 countries that we trained to create accurate and sensitive programming on HIV, Key Populations, Gender Violence, Human Trafficking and Stigma and Discrimination.

It is the region’s first coordinated media response that developed into a movement, training more than 2000 broadcasters, producing hundreds of Public Service Campaigns and other radio and TV magazine and feature programmes. The LIVE UP coordinated campaign has changed the Caribbean health promotion and media landscape and made a significant contribution to the HIV response in the region.

With this expansion, the LIVE UP partnership has now evolved into LIVE UP: The Caribbean Media Alliance (LIVE UP), Registered Charity #1282. The health and social justice issues being addressed by LIVE UP will continue to grow in keeping with the needs of our small developing nations of the Caribbean. LIVE UP will continue to be the unique media brand, addressing HIV and issues of human rights and social justice to reduce pervasive stigma and discrimination in our Caribbean region.

The objective is to embolden prevention efforts and reduce all stigma and discrimination throughout the Caribbean. We all can Love, Protect and Respect each other, people with disabilities, the elderly and our environment and create a better life for all in the region. LIVE UP remains committed to saving lives and making a difference while training media members to be catalysts for change. For more information, visit www.iliveup.info and the LIVE UP Facebook page.

IMAGE:

L-R: Nkhensani Mathabathe UNAIDS Human Rights and Community Advisor, Dr. Denise Chevannes Executive Director of the Jamaica ntional family Planning Board and Manoela Manova UNAIDS Country Director to Jamaica

L-R; Jamaica’s Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton, Executive Director of the Jamaica National Family Planning Board Dr. Denise Chevannes, UNAIDS Country Director to Jamaica Manoela Manova and Hope McMillan Canaan |Scotiabank Jamaica ‘s Public & Corporate Affairs Manager at the Regional Testing Day event in Mandela Park on Friday June 30

 Jamaica’s Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton (left) proudly displays the finger where blood was taken for his HIV test. Sharing the moment are Hope McMillan Canaan Scotiabank Jamaica’s Public & Corporate Affairs Manager (centre) and the Executive Director of the Jamaica National Family Planning Board Dr. Denise Chevannes,