World Aids Day: Reducing Aids-related deaths in the Caribbean

World Aids Day was established by the World Health Organization in 1988. It is an international day dedicated to raising awareness about HIV/Aids and remembering those affected by the disease. Observed each year on December 1, it serves to honour the lives lost, show solidarity with people living with HIV and highlight ongoing efforts in the global response.

This year’s theme is Overcoming disruption, transforming the Aids response,’ underscoring the need to address emerging challenges and accelerate progress toward ending Aids by 2030.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks and gradually weakens the body’s immune system. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (Aids) is the most advanced stage of HIV infection.

HIV specifically targets white blood cells, reducing the body’s ability to fight off illnesses. As the immune system becomes weaker, a person becomes more vulnerable to infections such as tuberculosis, other serious diseases, and certain cancers.

The virus is transmitted through the body fluids of an infected person – including blood, breast milk, semen, and vaginal fluids. It is not spread through casual contact such as kissing, hugging, or sharing food. HIV can also be passed from a mother to her baby.

Reduction in Aids-related deaths

According to data from the latest Global Aids Update Report, released by UNAIDS in July, the Caribbean recorded a 62 per cent reduction in Aids-related deaths, between 2010-2024, the steepest decline among eight regions globally.

According to the report – Aids, Crisis and the Power to Transform, Aids-related deaths have declined by 54 per cent globally over the past 15 years. The Caribbean is well above the global average at 62 per cent. The report credits the widespread availability of anti-retroviral treatment (ART) for the progress made since 2010. Reductions have also been recorded in West and Central Africa (60 per cent), Eastern and Southern Africa (59 per cent), Asia and the Pacific (53 per cent), Western and Central Europe and North America (48 per cent), Latin America (31 per cent) and the Middle East and North Africa (six per cent) while Eastern Europe and Central Asia reported a 48 per cent increase over the same period.

UNAIDS 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,” Dr Richard Amenyah, the director of UNAIDS Multi-Country Office in the Caribbean said. “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 said.

In 2010, only 53,000 people living with HIV were on treatment in the Caribbean. Thirteen thousand 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 UNAIDS – with 50,000 of them added between 2020-2024. 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.