Caribbean HIV infection rate down significantly - report

The number of children born with the deadly HIV declined significantly in the Caribbean

during the period 2009 and 2011, according to the 2012 global report by UNAIDS.

The report noted that the Caribbean, which has the second highest incidence of HIV/AIDS after Sub Saharan Africa, also recorded the highest decline in AIDS-related deaths of any region between 2005 and 2011.

“The number of people (adults and children) acquiring HIV infection in 2011 was 20 per cent lower than in 2001. The sharpest declines in the numbers of people acquiring HIV infection since 2001 have occurred in the Caribbean (42 per cent) and sub-Saharan Africa (25 per cent),” said the report released ahead of World AIDS day on December 1.

World AIDS Day will be observed under the theme “Zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths, zero discrimination".

The report said aggressive efforts by governments worldwide to combat the disease by pumping more money into research and making drugs more available have also led to reduction in AIDS-related death.