HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Latin America and Caribbean Region is faced with diverse HIV epidemics.  There are differences in the epidemic between the two sub-regions and within each of the sub-regions.  UNAIDS’s 08 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic estimated an adult prevalence rate of 0.5% in 2007 in Latin America with approximately 1.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), 140,000 newly infected and 63,000 AIDS related deaths.  Unprotected sex between men is an important mode of transmission in Latin America.  Sex workers and injecting drug users, to a lesser extent, are also fueling the epidemic.  In the Caribbean, adult HIV prevalence was 1.1% in 2007, there were 230,000 PLWHA, 20,000 were newly infected and 14,000 died of AIDS. Unprotected heterosexual intercourse is the main mode of HIV transmission in the Caribbean and though there have been indications that the epidemic is stabilizing, there are population groups with very high HIV prevalence rates such as commercial sex workers and injecting drug users.