CARIBBEAN: Too Many Still Dying of AIDS: UN

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

CARIBBEAN: Too Many Still Dying of AIDS: UN

Inter Press Service (12.09.08) - Friday, December 12, 2008
Peter Richards

The Caribbean needs to focus prevention efforts on vulnerable groups and combat stigma that deters people from testing and receiving treatment, a recent regional UN report said. Populations needing more targeted prevention interventions include sex workers, men who have sex with men, crack cocaine users, young women, and vulnerable children.

Last year, 10,000 people were put on AIDS treatment in the region while another 20,000 people became newly infected. Without a reduction in new infections, "there will be no sustained treatment programs," said Karen Sealy, director of the UNAIDS Caribbean Regional Support Team. If prevention programs do not target those at risk, "we will not see an end to the HIV epidemic," she said.

"If this situation is to change, all interventions need to be scaled up, and beyond that, decision makers need to tackle stigma and discrimination effectively and implement legislative reform" to ensure human rights, said Sealy.

In a promising development, the political will to tackle HIV/AIDS has grown in the Caribbean, the report said. Several countries have national AIDS bodies, including some under the direction of government leaders. In addition, a project- oriented approach "is being slowly replaced by joint planning and reporting through national programs, including monitoring and evaluation structure," the report said.

While the epidemic has stabilized in many countries, "it has done so at a high level," said the report. Every day, 55 people in the region are newly infected and 38 people die of AIDS, or about 20,000 new infections and 14,000 deaths annually.
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