General statistics and prevalenceAt the end of 2005, an estimated 330,000 people were living with HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean. Some 37,000 people were newly infected during 2005, and there were 27,000 deaths due to AIDS.

In three of the seven countries in this region - the Bahamas, Haiti and Trinadad and Tobago - more than 2% of the adult population is living with HIV. Higher prevalence rates are found only in sub-Saharan Africa, making the Caribbean the second-most affected region in the world. More than half of adults living with the virus are women.

AIDS is now one of the leading causes of death in some of these countries, with Haiti being the worst affected. An estimated 16,000 lives are lost each year to AIDS in Haiti, and tens of thousands of children have been orphaned by the epidemic.

Trends and transmission routes
The predominant route of HIV transmission in the Caribbean is heterosexual contact. Much of this transmission is associated with commercial sex, but the virus is also spreading in the general population, especially in Haiti. Cultural and behavioural patterns (such as early initiation of sexual acts, and taboos related to sex and sexuality), gender inequalities, lack of confidentiality, stigmatization and economic need are some of the factors influencing vulnerability to HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean.

Haiti's prevalence levels have been very high since the late 1980s (the estimated rate in 2005 was 3.8%). With very low condom use among young people, and about 60% of the population under 24, much scope exists for renewed growth in Haiti's mainly heterosexually-transmitted epidemic. On the other side of Hispaniola Island, in the Dominican Republic, previously high prevalence has declined due to effective prevention efforts that encouraged people to reduce their number of sexual partners and increase condom use.

Provision of antiretrovirals
Countries in this region are making efforts to slow the epidemic and to limit its impact, most obviously through their efforts to provide antiretroviral drugs. In 2002, the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS signed an agreement with six pharmaceutical companies to provide access to cheaper antiretroviral drugs. However, actual access to these drugs remains unequal across the region as a whole, partly due to wide differences in drug prices.

Access to antiretriviral therapy is provided to all those in need in Cuba, and the Bahamas and Barbados are advancing towards this goal. However in Trinidad and Tobago, barely more than a third of those in need of treatment for AIDS were receiving it at the end of 2005, and rates were even lower in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

AVERT.org features further discussion of treatment and other issues connected with HIV & AIDS in the Caribbean, and information about treatment targets and results.

Estimated HIV/AIDS prevalence and deaths due to AIDS, end 2005


country All people Adult (15-49) Deaths due to
rate % AIDS during 2005
Bahamas 6,800 3.3 <500
Barbados 2,700 1.5 <500
Cuba 4,800 0.1 <500
Dominican Republic 66,000 1.1 6,700
Haiti 190,000 3.8 16,000
Jamaica 25,000 1.5 1,300
Trinidad and Tobago 27,000 2.6 1,900
Total 330,000 1.6 27,000

It should be noted that the above figures are estimates and are made with a large degree of uncertainty. For example, the number of people living with HIV in Haiti is estimated as being between 120,000 and 270,000, and the figure for the Bahamas lies in the range 3,300 to 22,000.

AVERT.org has many other HIV & AIDS statistics pages and a guide to understanding the statistics.