Caribbean sets pace in global decline of AIDS-related fatalities

BRIDGETOWN (CMC):

The Caribbean has achieved global success by recording a 62 per cent reduction in AIDS related deaths between 2020 and 2024 – the sharpest decline among eight regions globally.

This is according to the Global AIDS Update Report, released by UNAIDS.

The report, titled – AIDS, Crisis and the Power to Transform, noted that over the last 15 years, there has been a 54 per cent decline in AIDS-related deaths globally.

The report credits the widespread availability of anti-retroviral treatment (ART) for the progress made since 2010.

Reductions have also been recorded in West & Central Africa (60 per cent), Eastern & Southern Africa (59 per cent), Asia & the Pacific (53 per cent), Western & Central Europe and North America (48 per cent), Latin America (31 per cent) and the Middle East & North Africa (six per cent) while Eastern Europe & Central Asia reported a 48 per cent increase over the same period.

UNAIDS on Thursday commended governments, communities of people living with and most affected by HIV, and key partners, including PEPFAR and The Global Fund, among others for the progress made across the region.

“The Caribbean’s stellar performance and achievements are commendable. It shows the resilience of a region constrained by a myriad of social, economic and other challenges such as high debt, declining external funding, and natural disasters and how critical political leadership is to safeguard people’s health without distinction,” said Dr Richard Amenyah, the director of UNAIDS Multi-Country Office in the Caribbean.

“Despite the ongoing challenges, the Caribbean continues to show that great things can be achieved when governments and all stakeholders, including people living with HIV and key populations, work together to protect and promote good health and well-being,” Amenyah noted.

INTERNATIONALLY AGREED TARGETS

In 2010, only 53,000 people living with HIV were on treatment in the Caribbean. 13,000 adults and children lost their lives due to AIDS-related conditions that year.

However, by 2024, this number climbed to 250,000 people on treatment—with 50,000 of them added between 2020 and 2024.

Today, 85 per cent of people living with HIV in the Caribbean know their status, 74 per cent are on treatment, and 66 per cent are virally suppressed (up from 33 per cent in 2017).

Last year, deaths declined to 4,800 deaths (down from 6,100 people in 2020).

While the organisation applauds stakeholders for the progress in reducing AIDS-related deaths, UNAIDS said it is concerned about the rate of decline in new infections across the region.

Noting that the progress is insufficient to reach the targets to end AIDS, UNAIDS urged political leaders, healthcare workers and other stakeholders to do more to prevent new HIV infections.

Globally, new HIV infections have been reduced by 40 per cent since 2010 but only 21 per cent of new infections have been reduced in the Caribbean. In 2024, there were 15,000 new infections with Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Jamaica accounting for 90 per cent (Haiti contributed 38 per cent) and young people (15–24 years) account for 25 per cent of new infections overall.

UNAIDS’ new report emphasises integrating HIV into broader health systems, strengthening partnerships with CSOs and communities, and addressing social determinants like stigma and discrimination to prevent new HIV infections, especially among young people and key populations and prevent treatment interruptions

Caribbean governments are also being encouraged to take greater ownership to navigate geopolitical funding shifts, ensuring financial and programmatic sustainability to achieve the 2030 goal of ending AIDS.

Noting that domestic funding for the HIV response moved from 30 per cent in 2023 to 38 per cent in 2024, UNAIDS said more needs to be done to achieve the internationally agreed targets to end AIDS as a public health threat.

“Governments must continue to prioritise increasing domestic resources, integrate HIV into broader health systems, innovate to keep people living with HIV on treatment toward achieving viral suppression and ensure equitable access for young people and key populations to prevent new infections. Only through sustained partnership and greater country ownership can we end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 in the region,” Amenyah said.