This is equivalent to a prevalence of 0.5% and 1.2%, respectively. Latin America has made little progress in reducing new HIV infections in the region since 2000, with an increase of 5% between 2010 and 2021. Furthermore, the Caribbean continues to have the highest prevalence after sub-Saharan Africa. Countries in the region continue to struggle against political, cultural, social, and programmatic barriers to eliminate new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths and discrimination.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in association with UNAIDS join efforts for the elimination of AIDS by 2030, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, UNFPA works in the region and at the country level supporting initiatives that promote the integration of responses to HIV in sexual and reproductive health services, focusing on the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV and sexually transmitted infections ( STIs).
Undoubtedly, the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on a wide range of health, economic, social and personal decisions. In this context, considerations of the specific impact that the pandemic had on people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights were not a priority in most countries. In 2021 in the Caribbean 330,000 4 UNFPA contribution to HIV programming in Latin America and the Caribbean.
This report presents a wide range of national experiences focused on HIV incidence and prevention. The selected experiences highlight important technical areas and demonstrate aspects that make them promising practices, capable of stimulating the development of new approaches and adding value to initiatives already underway. It describes HIV programming activities in 10 countries of the region (Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela:
Comprehensive programming of female condoms in Costa Rica.
Comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents in Cuba and Venezuela.
Integration of HIV services with prenatal care in the Dominican Republic.
A high-impact communication campaign through social networks about the stigma and discrimination of people with HIV in Peru. Humanitarian responses linked to the COVID-19 pandemic for people with HIV and LGBT people in Argentina and Uruguay.
Community interventions to reach the populations most left behind in Brazil and Guyana.
The development and enactment of laws and regulations to protect the rights of people with HIV in Paraguay. The aforementioned interventions demonstrate that the fight against HIV and AIDS requires multidimensional approaches. Below we present the experiences and dimensions addressed in each of the promising practices.
Source: United Nations Population Fund