The Caribbean has recorded a 62% reduction in AIDS-related deaths between 2010 and 2024, the steepest decline among eight global regions, according to the latest Global AIDS Update Report released by UNAIDS.
The report, titled AIDS, Crisis and the Power to Transform, highlights that while AIDS-related deaths have fallen by 54% globally over the past 15 years, the Caribbean’s progress surpasses the global average. Other regions with notable declines include West & Central Africa (60%), Eastern & Southern Africa (59%), Asia & the Pacific (53%), and Western & Central Europe and North America (48%). However, Eastern Europe & Central Asia experienced a 48% increase in AIDS-related deaths during the same period.
UNAIDS commended governments, communities of people living with HIV, and key partners such as PEPFAR and The Global Fund for the region’s achievements. “The Caribbean’s stellar performance and achievements are commendable. It shows the resilience of a region constrained by a myriad of social, economic and other challenges such as high debt, declining external funding, and natural disasters and how critical political leadership is to safeguard people’s health without distinction,” said Dr. Richard Amenyah, Director of UNAIDS Multi-Country Office in the Caribbean. “Despite the ongoing challenges, the Caribbean continues to show that great things can be achieved when governments and all stakeholders, including people living with HIV and key populations, work together to protect and promote good health and well-being,” he added.
In 2010, only 53,000 people living with HIV were on treatment in the Caribbean, with 13,000 AIDS-related deaths that year. By 2024, treatment coverage increased to 250,000 people, with 50,000 added between 2020 and 2024. Currently, 85% of people living with HIV in the Caribbean know their status, 74% are on treatment, and 66% are virally suppressed—up from 33% in 2017. AIDS-related deaths dropped to 4,800 in 2024, down from 6,100 in 2020.
Despite this progress, UNAIDS expressed concern about the slower decline in new HIV infections in the Caribbean. Globally, new infections have fallen by 40% since 2010, but the Caribbean has seen only a 21% reduction. In 2024, there were 15,000 new HIV infections in the region, with Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Jamaica accounting for 90% of cases—Haiti alone contributing 38%. Young people aged 15–24 made up 25% of new infections.
The report stresses the importance of integrating HIV services into broader health systems, strengthening partnerships with civil society organizations and communities, and addressing social issues like stigma and discrimination to better prevent new infections and treatment interruptions. Caribbean governments are encouraged to increase ownership of HIV programmes, especially in light of shifting geopolitical funding landscapes, to ensure financial and programmatic sustainability in meeting the 2030 goal to end AIDS.
Domestic funding for the HIV response increased from 30% in 2023 to 38% in 2024, but UNAIDS urges more efforts. “Governments must continue to prioritize increasing domestic resources, integrate HIV into broader health systems, innovate to keep people living with HIV on treatment toward achieving viral suppression and ensure equitable access for young people and key populations to prevent new infections. Only through sustained partnership and greater country ownership can we end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 in the region,” Dr. Amenyah said.
