Kaselelia and Welcome,

The Pacific Island Jurisdictions AIDS Action Group (PIJAAG) is proud to announce their Second PIJAAG Regional Summit on HIV/AIDS entitled, “The Pacific in Action Against HIV/AIDS – Putting the Pieces Together.” This Summit will be held on the beautiful island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia on April 10 – 12, 2007. It will bring together over 100 people from the six U.S. affiliated Pacific Island Jurisdictions: American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Republic of Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau; as well as domestic and international agencies committed to the fight of HIV/AIDS in the Pacific.

• The Second PIJAAG Regional Summit on HIV/AIDS builds upon a series of gatherings in the Pacific designed to increase information sharing, collaboration opportunities and capacity for HIV prevention and care for these Pacific Nations. The Summit goals are four-fold: Identify and share HIV prevention strategies to reach at risk communities in the Pacific jurisdictions.
• Identify and share HIV counseling, testing, and referral strategies for at risk populations in the Pacific jurisdictions.
• Explore HIV/AIDS care and treatment options for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Pacific jurisdictions.
• Strengthen each jurisdiction’s capacity to implement an effective Pacific Island HIV/AIDS Community Action Network (PIHACAN) process.

This gathering of community members, health professionals, and policy makers is one of the critical activities we consider key in harnessing the talent across the Pacific to address the burgeoning HIV epidemic. The First Regional PIJAAG Summit HIV/AIDS: Building Bridges, Taking Action was held in Palau in April 2003 and was instrumental towards taking action in the communities affected by the HIV epidemic in the Pacific. With your participation, the Second PIJAAG Regional Summit on HIV/AIDS will continue that work and expand efforts across the region.

They hope that you will be able to join them in fighting HIV/AIDS in the Pacific. These are the registration forms, transportation and lodging information, and a scholarship applications. The registration fee is $75. The deadline for scholarships is February 7th and only a limited number of scholarships are available, so please return the application as quickly as possible. If you are selected, you will be notified by February 28th.

If you or your agency would like to be featured in our summit program book, advertising space can be purchased by contacting Lina Sheth at lina@apiwellness.org.

Your participation is crucial to making the Second PIJAAG Regional Summit on HIV/AIDS a success! We look forward to learning, sharing, and working along side one another to make a difference in our beloved island communities.

Kalangan,

Johnny Hebel, Summit Co-Chair
Department of Health, Education and Social Affairs
Pohnpei, FSM
(691)320 6219
jhebel@fsmhealth.fm

Peter Tuiolosega Silva, Summit Co-Chair
Life Foundation
Hawai’i, USA
(808)521-2437 ext. 246
peter@lifefoundation.org