CASTRIES (CMC):

Education ministers from member countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have agreed to incorporate HIV/AIDS education into school curricula across the subregion.

The decision was made here earlier this week after a meeting of the ministers and stakeholder groups from OECS territories.

St. Lucia's Education Minister, Arsen James, said the delegates agreed that the disease will no longer be considered as solely part of the health sector but moved into the developmental agenda of the OECS.

He said that St. Lucia will be taking the lead in incorporating HIV/AIDS education into the educational curriculum.

"St. Lucia is the only OECS member state that has already carried out HIV advocacy and leadership tutoring for the upper and administrative management level of the Ministry of Education, so we have been given the mandate to take the lead in taking this agenda one step further," he said Friday.

Director of the National AIDS Programme Secretariat, Nehum Jn Baptiste, who also attended the talks, welcomed the decision of the ministers, noting it was time that the disease was placed on the developmental agenda of the subregion.

"In that regard the islands will be looking at a policy for the education sector, the provision of different services, integrating HIV/AIDS into the curriculum, fighting stigma and discrimination and creating a supportive environment for educators and learners infected or affected by the epidemic," Jn Baptiste told CMC.