Vivian Gray writes for the Gleaner Newspaper of January 7, 2007

"...Few things are more banal these days than matters related to HIV and AIDS. Dozens of conferences are convened every year, hosting thousands of AIDS professionals from all over the world; radio and television advertisements abound, telling us to protect, beware and refrain from discrimination. Yet, despite all the soundings and back-breaking work over two decades, by those involved in the National response we have not yet seen the type of commitment from policymakers or society at large when it comes to recognizing HIV as a development issue – an issue so devastating in scale that it affects human welfare, productivity, life expectancy and one which is undermining economic stability in the region, cutting labour productivity, leaving orphans and school dropouts behind (as parents and teachers die) and contributing to poverty..."

read more