Latin America and Caribbean – overview
There are an estimated 2.1 million people now living with HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean. Around 230,000 people contracted HIV in 2005, and at least 86,000 died of AIDS in the same year. The Caribbean has the second highest rate of HIV infection in the world after sub-Saharan Africa, with 300,000 people living with HIV. Under-diagnosis, under-reporting and delayed reporting are recognised problems in this region.
In most countries in Latin America, HIV is still primarily a concentrated epidemic, although it is gradually moving out into the general population, and to women in particular. While heterosexual contact is considered to be the main method of transmission in the Caribbean, there is evidence that gay men and men who have sex with men actually account for a significant number of cases. Injecting drug use has also played a central role in the HIV epidemic in some areas of South America.
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance's (the Alliance) approach is to concentrate its resources on work with key populations – the communities most at risk from the epidemic and whose involvement is most essential for a successful response. The Alliance works closely with partner organisations in the region and with affected communities. The key populations are men who have sex with men, sex workers, people living with HIV and injecting drug users. During the development of its Latin America and Caribbean three-year regional strategy, the Alliance decided that it could make most impact by working with three of these key populations – men who have sex with men, sex workers and people living with HIV. In this region, these populations suffer high levels of stigma and discrimination. At best, they are ignored or neglected by governments and official institutions. At worst, they are repressed or driven underground by institutional or societal violence.
Because of the high levels of homophobia and violence against gay men in the region, many men who have sex with men are forced to hide their sexuality. This increases the likelihood of individuals engaging in high-risk behaviour and decreases the likelihood that they will come forward for early diagnosis or regular health care.
Transgenders often have to sell sex to make a living because of high levels of discrimination, but there are few programmes for them in the region. Male sex work is common in all large cities in Latin America, and in tourist areas such as Caribbean beach resorts, but there is hardly any statistical data available on this.
What we do
Within this region, the Alliance runs programmes in Ecuador, Mexico, Brazil, and the East Caribbean as well as a Regional Programme taking forward work in most countries in the region and with seven regional networks. In 2005/6 through the Regional Programme, the Alliance began work in Peru, Bolivia and Haiti.
Future plans
In 2007 the Alliance will continue to prioritise its current work in Ecuador, Mexico and the East Caribbean and will continue to build programmes in the Andes region and in Haiti. With financial support from the UK Department for International Development, USAID and GSK, the Alliance will continue its regional programming, strengthening its country programmes and work with regional community networks.
Related resources
Working with the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID)The Alliance has been selected as one of DfID’s 12 key partners in the region. The Programme Partnership Arrangement (PPA) will see further funding to the region delivered through a unified strategy.
The PPA was launched on 9th December 2008. You can find further information and a speech from the launch event on DfID's website.
A publication describing the Programme Partnership Arrangement and the work of the 12 agencies involved is available in English, Spanish or Portuguese.
