Ending AIDS

Nov 12, 2026 Editorial, News

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(Kaieteur News) – The Caribbean has made significant strides in the fight against HIV/AIDS, but the latest figures from the United Nations’ HIV/AIDS agency serve as a sobering reminder that the battle is far from over. With 13,000 new HIV infections and 4,800 AIDS-related deaths recorded across the region in 2025, there is little room for complacency.

An estimated 340,000 people were living with HIV in the Caribbean last year. While new infections declined by 30 per cent between 2010 and 2025, and AIDS-related deaths fell by 65 per cent, these gains must not create a false sense of security. They represent progress, but not victory.

As World AIDS Day approaches on December 1, under the theme “Ending AIDS starts with access,” the warning from UNAIDS deserves the serious attention of Caribbean governments and their international partners. The objective of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 remains achievable, but the region cannot reach that destination by weakening the very programmes that have helped bring infections and deaths down.

The most troubling aspect of the UNAIDS assessment is the warning that declining international funding threatens to reverse years of progress. External financing for HIV programmes fell by 18 per cent in 2025, the largest reduction in almost two decades. This has consequences for prevention, testing, treatment and the lives of vulnerable people who depend on these services.

There is a tendency in public health responses to concentrate heavily on treatment, while overlooking the importance of preventing new infections. Both are essential. The decline in AIDS-related deaths across the Caribbean demonstrates what access to antiretroviral treatment can achieve. But allowing prevention programmes to deteriorate would be a costly mistake.

The reported decline in the delivery of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), particularly among vulnerable populations, should be cause for concern. Community-led organisations are often best positioned to reach people who may be reluctant or unable to access conventional healthcare services. Cutting their funding weakens an important line of defence against the epidemic.

Equally concerning is the persistence of stigma and discrimination. People living with HIV should not have to confront humiliation, rejection or denial of healthcare when seeking medical attention. Yet UNAIDS reports that across 36 countries, half of adults surveyed held discriminatory attitudes towards people living with HIV. In another disturbing finding, 12 per cent of people living with HIV who sought non-HIV-related healthcare in 25 countries said they were denied services altogether.

These findings reinforce a fundamental point: access to healthcare must mean more than the physical availability of a clinic or medication. It must also mean that people can seek assistance without fear of discrimination, judgement or punishment.

Caribbean governments must pay particular attention to the most vulnerable groups and ensure that laws, policies and public attitudes do not drive people away from testing and treatment. An epidemic cannot be effectively controlled when those most at risk are discouraged from accessing the services designed to protect them. The findings concerning children are also deeply troubling. Only about one in four children living with HIV in the Caribbean has achieved viral suppression. This is an unacceptable gap in a region that has demonstrated the capacity to make considerable progress against the disease. Children must not be left behind because of weaknesses in healthcare delivery.

There is, nevertheless, reason for optimism. Advances such as lenacapavir, a long-acting injectable HIV prevention medication administered twice annually, offer significant possibilities. But scientific breakthroughs are meaningful only when ordinary people can access them. New technologies must complement, not replace, established prevention methods, including condoms, testing and education.

The commitments made by United Nations Member States in June 2026 provide a framework for accelerating the global response. However, declarations and targets will accomplish little without sustained financing, political will and accountability.

Caribbean governments must therefore examine their own HIV responses, identify gaps in prevention and treatment, and ensure that available resources reach the communities that need them most. International partners must also recognise that withdrawing support at this critical stage could undermine years of investment and sacrifice. As UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima observed: “The science has done its part. The system must now do ours.”

That statement captures the challenge before the region. The world has made remarkable advances in understanding and treating HIV. What remains is the determination to make those advances accessible to everyone, without discrimination or financial barriers. Ending AIDS by 2030 must be treated as more than an international promise. It must become a public health priority backed by resources, compassion and action. The Caribbean has made progress, but the next phase of the fight will be determined by whether governments choose to protect those gains or allow them to slip away.

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• AIDS, Editorial, HIV

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