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Untitled May 17, 2008 
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  • Untitled Global overview
  • Untitled Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Untitled Middle East and North Africa
  • Untitled Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia
  • Untitled Asia and the Pacific
  • Untitled Latin America and the Caribbean
  • Untitled More Developed Countries (MDCs)

    Untitled Latin America and the Caribbean
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    Around 1.6 million people (range: 1.2–2.1 million) are living with Untitled HIV in Latin America. In 2003, around 84 000 people (range: 65 000–110 000) died of Untitled AIDS , and 200 000 (range: 140 000–340 000) were newly infected. Among young people 15–24 years of age, 0.5% of women (range: 0.4–0.6%) and 0.8% of men (range: 0.6–0.9%) were living with Untitled HIV by the end of 2003. In Latin America, Untitled HIV infection tends to be highly concentrated among populations at particular risk, rather than being generalized. In most South American countries, almost all infections are caused by contaminated drug-injecting equipment or sex between men. Low national prevalence is disguising some very serious epidemics. For example, in Brazil—the most populous country in the region, and home to more than one in four of all those living with Untitled HIV —national prevalence is well below 1%. But infection levels above 60% have been reported among injecting drug users in some cities. Moreover, the picture varies considerably from one part of the country to another. In Puerto Rico, more than half of all infections in 2002 were associated with injecting drug use, and about one-quarter were heterosexually transmitted.

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    Untitled Click on figure for the latest pictographic image of the estimated annual number of new HIV infections worldwide (2003), and by region, 1988 to 2003 (pdf, 2 MB)
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    Spread of HIV in Latin America & Caribbean (1984-1999) (figure) and read the latest Untitled AIDS Epidemic Update in Untitled Latin America and the Caribbean 30


    In Central America, injecting drug use plays less of a role, and the virus is spread predominantly through sex. A recent international study shows that Untitled HIV prevalence among female sex workers ranges from less than 1% in Nicaragua, 2% in Panama, 4% in El Salvador and 5% in Guatemala, to over 10% in Honduras.

    Among men who have sex with men, levels of Untitled HIV infection appear to be uniformly high, ranging from 9% in Nicaragua to 24% in Argentina (see Fig. 2).

    HIV prevalence among men having sex with men

    Figure 2



    Sex between men is the predominant mode of transmission in several countries, notably Colombia and Peru. However, conditions appear ripe for the virus to spread more widely, as large numbers of men who have sex with men also have sex with women. Peru is a case in point: in a survey of young men and women (aged 18–29), 9% of men indicated that at least one of their last three sexual partners was a man and that condoms were not used in 70% of those contacts.

    Caribbean


    Around 430 000 people (range: 270 000–760 000) are living with Untitled HIV in the Caribbean. In 2003, around 35 000 people (range: 23 000–59 000) died of Untitled AIDS , and 52 000 (range: 26 000–140 000) were newly infected. Among young people 15–24 years of age, 2.9% of women (range: 2.4–5.8%) and 1.2% of men (range: 1.0–2.2%) were living with Untitled HIV by the end of 2003.

    Of the seven countries in the Caribbean region, three have national Untitled HIV prevalence levels of at least 3%: the Bahamas, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago. Barbados is at 1.5% (range: 0.4–5.4%) and Cuba’s prevalence is well below 1%. The Caribbean epidemic is predominantly heterosexual, and is concentrated among sex workers in many places. But the virus is also spreading in the general population. The worst-affected country is Haiti, where national prevalence is around 5.6% (range: 2.5–11.9%). However, Untitled HIV spread is uneven: sentinel surveillance reveals prevalence ranging from 13% in the north-west of the country, to 2–3% in the south.

    Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, which also has a serious Untitled HIV epidemic. However, in the Dominican Republic, previously high prevalence has declined, due to effective prevention efforts that encouraged people to reduce the number of sexual partners and increase condom use (see Fig. 3). Over 50% of males aged 15–29 used a condom with a non-cohabiting partner. In the capital, Santo Domingo, prevalence among pregnant women declined from around 3% in 1995 to below 1% at the end of 2003. But high levels are still reported elsewhere, and range from under 1% to nearly 5%. In 2000, Untitled HIV prevalence among female sex workers ranged from 4.5% in the eastern province tourist centre of La Romana, to 12.4% in the southern province of Bani.

    Condom use with a non-cohabiting partner, Dominican Republic, 2002

    Figure 3

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    The excerpted text and figures integrated herein were mainly from the: unless indicated, otherwise.
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