Wayne Campbell | High rates of HIV a wakeup call for the Caribbean

The United Nations Population Fund states that the Caribbean has the highest incidence rate of reported AIDS cases in the Americas.  With between 350,000 and 590,000 Caribbean people living with HIV/AIDS, the region has an adult HIV prevalence rate between 1.9% and 3.1%, second only to Africa (7.5% and 8.5%). 

Of that number, 83 per cent know their status and 68 per cent of them are on treatment. However, only 57 per cent of people living with HIV are virally suppressed and thus have a reduced risk of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners.

As a whole, the Caribbean is facing a generalised epidemic. HIV/AIDS is well entrenched here, with a national prevalence of at least 1% in 12 countries, all of them in the Caribbean Basin. 

The most recent national estimates showed HIV prevalence among pregnant women reaching or exceeding 2% in eight countries:  the Bahamas, Belize, The Dominican Republic, Haiti, St Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Over 30,000 people are living with HIV in Jamaica. This is a significant percentage of the HIV population in the Caribbean region.

The statistics regarding the high rates of HIV cases should serve as a wakeup call for those of us who live in the Caribbean. However, as we enter the fourth decade of HIV/AIDS, many of us who are older may have dropped our guards since the days when HIV was viewed as a painful death sentence.  That once sense of urgency mixed with fear has been replaced with complacency as more modern medications have emerged to manage HIV/AIDS. 

The development of new antiretroviral treatments has transformed HIV infection into a chronic but manageable health condition. Additionally, mortality rates due to AIDS have fallen throughout developed and developing societies.

Today, the global community commemorates World AIDS Day 2025 under the theme "Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response", calling for sustained political leadership, international cooperation, and human-rights-centered approaches to end AIDS by 2030. 

The World Health Organization states that after decades of progress, the HIV response stands at a crossroads. Life-saving services are being disrupted and many communities face heightened risks and vulnerabilities. In 2025, a historic funding crisis is threatening to unravel decades of progress. Globally, HIV prevention services are severely disrupted.

Given also the displacement resulting from a natural disaster such as Hurricane Melissa which made landfall in Jamaica on October 28, we must be mindful that sexual health is important in the recovery effort. Importantly, such a conversation, though uncomfortable for some, must be had to address the sexual needs.

Global political leadership is essential to advance policies that address structural inequalities and protect vulnerable populations. Among the spaces of structural inequalities are poverty, racism, gender inequality, and sexual oppression.

This year, the commemoration of World AIDS Day should be a time for us to revisit the messaging, especially with the proliferation of social media. Those who are tasked with developing public education campaigns must be intentional regarding the targeted groups as the HIV epidemic continues in large part unencumbered by formal public health and education programmes.

We must be mindful that in many spaces frequently grounded in patriarchy there is a thriving culture of misinformation surrounding HIV/AIDS which oftentimes receives much traction on social media. As a result, the myths and misconceptions about HIV/AIDS must be countered with scientific data.

This World AIDS Day calls for transformative and culturally practical solutions to improve access to HIV services, eliminate stigma and discrimination once and for all, and ensure the protection of rights for women, girls, and other marginalised communities that continue to face disproportionate barriers in accessing healthcare. 

On this World AIDS Day, gift yourself the peace of mind that comes with knowledge and find out your HIV status.