Scaling Up the Fight against HIV
The Caribbean nations are best known for their sugar-white beaches, majestic cascading waterfalls, tropical flora and breathtakingly beautiful mountain peaks. However, the region also has a rate of HIV infection second only to sub-Saharan Africa.
The main route of HIV transmission in the Caribbean is heterosexual sex. Behaviors such as early initiation and taboos related to sex and sexuality, stigma and poverty are some of the factors influencing vulnerability to HIV and AIDS in the region.
Although HIV and AIDS is a growing problem in the Caribbean, Jamaica has so far avoided a widespread epidemic. With a population of approximately 2.6 million, about 20,000 to 22,000 inhabitants are living with HIV/AIDS. It has a prevalence of 1.2 percent, a figure which is not nearly as high as that of neighbors Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
As in most other Caribbean countries, HIV/AIDS in Jamaica has spread to the general population, fuelled by commercial sex workers. Thirty-five percent of all reported HIV/AIDS cases in Jamaica are found in those from 30 to 39 years of age and twenty percent of all cases are in those 20 to 29.
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Photo below: At the Tower Street Correctional Centre, in Kingston, inmates have the opportunity to undergo tests in order to know their HIV status. HIV/AIDS remains a taboo subject in the correctional environment. Thirty peer educators have been trained to address HIV/AIDS related stigma through a program called "SEAS", which stands for Seriously Eliminating AIDS Stigma.
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