KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) has appointed Dr Rosmond Adams as the new director effective March 2, 2020.

The Vincentian is a medical doctor by training and holds Master of Science degrees in both Public Health and Bioethics, PANCAP said in a release.

He is a public health specialist with more than ten years of experience in the health sector both at the national and regional levels in the areas of surveillance, communicable diseases including HIV, emergency response and health security.

Adams began his public health career as the Coordinator of the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) programme in the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

He then served as the National Epidemiologist where his work focused on strengthening public health surveillance and strategic information to guide health policy, programmes and action.

In his previous post, he served as the Head of Health Information, Communicable Diseases and Emergency Response at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) where he led the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Caribbean Regional Health Security Strategy as a common strategic framework for the CARPHA Member States to strengthen their capacity to manage and respond to emerging disease threats and other public health emergencies, PANCAP said.

Dr Adams serves on numerous national, regional and international public health advisory committees, including the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Coordinating Mechanism (GCM) on NCDs.

Asked about his immediate priority, the director emphasised that the sustainability of the region’s HIV response is paramount.

“The HIV and AIDS epidemic is a threat to Regional Health Security considering that our productive population is being impacted,” stated Dr Adams, “I am optimistic that the region can end AIDS, but a lot of work must be done and the gains made so far must be sustained whilst ensuring that we scale up our response and renew our commitment to this goal.”

Dr Adams succeeds Dereck Springer, whose tenure ends on February 28.