The establishment of the T&T Training Centre was the outcome of ongoing discussions with several stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health (MOH), the National AIDS Coordinating Committee (NACC), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the CHART Network Regional Coordinating Unit (CHART RCU), the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC), the Medical Research Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago, University of the West Indies Faculty of Medical Sciences at Mount Hope (UWIFMSMH), the five regional health authorities, specifically the South West Regional Health Authority, the Tobago House of Assembly and the International Training and Education Center on HIV (I-TECH). Discussions began in 2002 during the planning stages for the establishment of the CHART Initiative and intensified over the last year. During a significant consultative meeting in November 2006, it was agreed that the UWIFMSMH would be responsible for the management and administration of the Training Centre. Consequently, a series of planning meetings and deliberations for setting up the centre were held with the various stakeholders with UWI at the helm. The first activities conducted by the Centre have been a training needs assessment and the creation of a one year training plan for the proposed centre. The assessment confirmed the urgent need to expedite the establishment of the Training Centre.

The centre’s purpose is in line with the Ministry of Health’s vision of providing “universal access to comprehensive HIV/AIDS care and treatment for persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Trinidad and Tobago.” The overall objective of the centre is to scale up access to care, treatment and support for people living with HIV and AIDS by developing a cadre of trained health care workers capable of delivering high quality care, treatment and support to PLWHA.