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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"> HIV infections fell slightly in...ribbean360 )...</span>
The Caribbean remains the region with the second highest HIV prevalence rate in the world, still second only to sub-Saharan Africa, but a United Nations report says new infections and deaths have declined. According to the Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2010, produced by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), new infections fell to an estimated 17,000 in 2009 from about 20,000 in 2001. AIDS-related deaths are also falling, with an estimated 12,000 people dying last year, compared to 19,000 in 2001.This is in line with the global situation, according to the report.UNAIDS noted that unprotected sex between men and women - especially paid sex - is believed to be the main mode of HIV transmission in the region. The report noted that "the Caribbean remains the only region, besides sub-Saharan Africa, where women and girls outnumber men and boys among people living with HIV...High infection levels have been found among female sex workers, including four percent in the Dominican Republic , nine percent in Jamaica, and 27 percent in Guyana."The reported added that unsafe sex between men is a significant but largely hidden facet of the epidemics in this region, where several countries still criminalize sexual relations between men. It noted that in Trinidad and Tobago, a survey showed that one in five men having sex with men was living with HIV, for example, and one in four regularly also had sex with women. In Jamaica, a study found an HIV prevalence of 32 percent among men who have sex with men and evidence indicates increasing HIV infections among men who have sex with men in Cuba and the Dominican Republic.In Bermuda and Puerto Rico, it said, unsafe injecting drug use contributes significantly to the spread of HIV. Overall, UNAIDS said, the global effort to halt and reverse HIV/AIDS is showing some results, with the number of people newly infected declining and AIDS-related deaths falling.The report contains basic HIV data from 182 countries and includes country-by-country scorecards. It shows that an estimated 2.6 million people became newly infected with HIV, nearly 20 percent fewer than the 3.1 million people infected in 1999. In 2009, 1.8 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses, nearly one-fifth lower than the 2.1 million people who died in 2004."We are breaking the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic with bold actions and smart choices," said the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé. "Investments in the AIDS response are paying off, but gains are fragile - the challenge now is how we can all work to accelerate progress."According to the report, from 2001 to 2009, the rate of new HIV infections stabilized or decreased by more than 25 percent in at least 56 countries around the world, including 34 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.Of the five countries with the largest epidemics in the region, four countries - Ethiopia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe - have reduced rates of new HIV infections by more than 25 percent, while Nigeria's epidemic has stabilized.The report also contains new data which shows that human rights efforts are increasingly being integrated into national AIDS strategies, with 89 per cent of countries explicitly acknowledging or addressing human rights in their AIDS strategies and 91 per cent having programmes in place to reduce stigma and discrimination. However, it said, punitive laws continue to hamper access to AIDS-related services. It noted that 79 countries worldwide criminalize same sex relations and six apply the death penalty.
<span style="font-weight: bold"> HIV infections fell slightly in...ribbean360 )...</span>
The Caribbean remains the region with the second highest HIV prevalence rate in the world, still second only to sub-Saharan Africa, but a United Nations report says new infections and deaths have declined. According to the Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2010, produced by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), new infections fell to an estimated 17,000 in 2009 from about 20,000 in 2001. AIDS-related deaths are also falling, with an estimated 12,000 people dying last year, compared to 19,000 in 2001.This is in line with the global situation, according to the report.UNAIDS noted that unprotected sex between men and women - especially paid sex - is believed to be the main mode of HIV transmission in the region. The report noted that "the Caribbean remains the only region, besides sub-Saharan Africa, where women and girls outnumber men and boys among people living with HIV...High infection levels have been found among female sex workers, including four percent in the Dominican Republic , nine percent in Jamaica, and 27 percent in Guyana."The reported added that unsafe sex between men is a significant but largely hidden facet of the epidemics in this region, where several countries still criminalize sexual relations between men. It noted that in Trinidad and Tobago, a survey showed that one in five men having sex with men was living with HIV, for example, and one in four regularly also had sex with women. In Jamaica, a study found an HIV prevalence of 32 percent among men who have sex with men and evidence indicates increasing HIV infections among men who have sex with men in Cuba and the Dominican Republic.In Bermuda and Puerto Rico, it said, unsafe injecting drug use contributes significantly to the spread of HIV. Overall, UNAIDS said, the global effort to halt and reverse HIV/AIDS is showing some results, with the number of people newly infected declining and AIDS-related deaths falling.The report contains basic HIV data from 182 countries and includes country-by-country scorecards. It shows that an estimated 2.6 million people became newly infected with HIV, nearly 20 percent fewer than the 3.1 million people infected in 1999. In 2009, 1.8 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses, nearly one-fifth lower than the 2.1 million people who died in 2004."We are breaking the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic with bold actions and smart choices," said the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé. "Investments in the AIDS response are paying off, but gains are fragile - the challenge now is how we can all work to accelerate progress."According to the report, from 2001 to 2009, the rate of new HIV infections stabilized or decreased by more than 25 percent in at least 56 countries around the world, including 34 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.Of the five countries with the largest epidemics in the region, four countries - Ethiopia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe - have reduced rates of new HIV infections by more than 25 percent, while Nigeria's epidemic has stabilized.The report also contains new data which shows that human rights efforts are increasingly being integrated into national AIDS strategies, with 89 per cent of countries explicitly acknowledging or addressing human rights in their AIDS strategies and 91 per cent having programmes in place to reduce stigma and discrimination. However, it said, punitive laws continue to hamper access to AIDS-related services. It noted that 79 countries worldwide criminalize same sex relations and six apply the death penalty.
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