IPS examines HIV in the Caribbean, highlights challenges in addressing at-risk populations

Nov 23 2011

Inter Press Service examines HIV in the Caribbean, where "the HIV burden varies considerably among and within countries" in the region. "'I think the prevention programs in many countries are not reaching the right people,' Michel de Groulards, regional program adviser of the UNAIDS Caribbean Regional Support Team, told IPS," the news service writes, adding, "One factor, de Groulards believed, may be that after 25 years of providing treatment, some countries have reached a plateau. In other cases, people considered at risk, including [men who have sex with men], are not targeted." IPS writes that "even as Caribbean politicians, scientists, researchers, academics and other stakeholders continue to examine ways of dealing with the virus, 30 years after the first case was recorded in the region, there is growing recognition that cuts in overseas funding could seriously hamper future success" (Richards, 11/21).