A banner hangs over a downtown street in Roseau, Dominica.Paul and I have recently travelled to several countries in the chain of Caribbean islands. We were pleased to see the evidence of various HIV awareness campaigns and programs running on several islands.Banners, posters, and even scrolling marquees, could be found in the streets of the capital towns and cities, and by several dockyards, and at times we saw locals wearing T-Shirts promoting positive living and HIV prevention.
According to AVERT, "at the end of 2007, an estimated 230,000 people were living with HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean. Some 17,000 people were newly infected during 2007, and there were 11,000 deaths due to AIDS."
HIV transmission is primarily heterosexual in the Caribbean, and factors such as sexual behavioural patterns, gender inequality, economic need and commercial sex are believed to increase the vulnerability of the Caribbean to the spread of HIV/AIDS.Only statistics for the larger countries, such as Haiti, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica are available. We visited much smaller countries (Saba, Sint Maarten, Antigua, The British Virgin Islands, and Dominica), and HIV statistics are not yet available. The presence of HIV in these locations, however, is made apparent through their campaigns to promote and respond to the spread of the disease.
Paul and I have recently travelled to several countries in the chain of Caribbean islands. We were pleased to see the evidence of various HIV awareness campaigns and programs running on several islands.Banners, posters, and even scrolling marquees, could be found in the streets of the capital towns and cities, and by several dockyards, and at times we saw locals wearing T-Shirts promoting positive living and HIV prevention.
According to AVERT, "at the end of 2007, an estimated 230,000 people were living with HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean. Some 17,000 people were newly infected during 2007, and there were 11,000 deaths due to AIDS."
HIV transmission is primarily heterosexual in the Caribbean, and factors such as sexual behavioural patterns, gender inequality, economic need and commercial sex are believed to increase the vulnerability of the Caribbean to the spread of HIV/AIDS.Only statistics for the larger countries, such as Haiti, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica are available. We visited much smaller countries (Saba, Sint Maarten, Antigua, The British Virgin Islands, and Dominica), and HIV statistics are not yet available. The presence of HIV in these locations, however, is made apparent through their campaigns to promote and respond to the spread of the disease.