Health Officials Launch Project To Fight HIV/AIDS In Caribbean

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 18 Mar 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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Caribbean health officials gathered on Tuesday in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, to launch a project aimed at fighting HIV/AIDS in the region, the Caribbean Media Corporation reports.

The HIV Epidemic and Response Synthesis project is part of a global effort led by the World Bank and regional institutions to examine HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean, the Caribbean Media Corporation reports. UNAIDS Regional Director for the Caribbean Karen Sealey during the launch said data show that 47 people contracted HIV daily in the region last year. Officials also said 31 people in the Caribbean are dying daily from AIDS-related illnesses.

Sealey said the project will assist national and regional officials in reshaping and developing strategies to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. "Despite the progress accomplished in recent years in the struggle against HIV, serious challenges remain," she said. Jodi Zall Kusek, monitoring and evaluation manager at the World Bank, said that the project's "objective is to make available to decision-makers a synthesis of the HIV epidemic and the response to it." Kusek added that the project also aims to "describe the way forward in terms of evidence-based programming to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment care and support."

An estimated 230,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean at the end of 2007, according to data. There were about 17,000 new HIV cases and 11,000 AIDS-related deaths reported during 2007 (Caribbean Media Corporation, 3/13).

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