David Plummer
Alumni of ANU College of Medicine, Biology & Environment
Then: PhD 1998 (NCEPH)
Now: Commonwealth/UNESCO Chair in HIV/AIDS Education, University of West Indies
David Plummer completed his PhD within the National Centre of Epidemiology and Public Health (NCEPH) and since then has been appointed as the Commonwealth/UNESCO Chair in HIV/AIDS Education based at the University of the West Indies. This is the inaugural Chair of this kind, and is being seen as a pilot for extending the model to elsewhere in the world. The post is generously supported by key international donors and is part of the international response to the increasingly severe HIV epidemic in parts of the Caribbean. Significantly, there is a high variability in HIV rates from country to country, much like the Asia-Pacific Region.
The University of the West Indies is now the keystone university of the Caribbean covering 16 English speaking (Commonwealth) countries and Territories in the Caribbean and Central America. These countries are: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and the Turks & Caicos Islands.
David is located on the Trinidad campus at St Augustine and will be travelling extensively. One of the important roles of the post will be to establish collaborations, particularly with other Commonwealth and English-speaking countries. David is involved in interesting work with international donors, including the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Commonwealth, the UN, the EU, and key US institutionsas well as liasing with contacts within the Global Fund on AIDS, TB and Malaria (GFATM)
More information about HIV/AIDS Education: www.uwi.edu