In the Caribbean, HIV/AIDS has becomethe major cause of death among men under the age of 45.Official figures show more than 360,000 people living withAIDS, but estimates place the number at over 500,000 due tounderreporting. More than 80,000 children have been orphanedby the epidemic, and the infection rate is estimated to havereached 12 percent in some urban areas, spreading in manycountries from high-risk groups to the general population.The Caribbean Regional Strategic Plan of Action for HIV/AIDSwill support national programs based on the countries'own needs. While the general population will benefit from areduction in the rate of new infections, the program willparticularly benefit high-risk groups and the300,000-500,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, by increasingtheir care quality and coverage. The program (see Table 1,on back page) will focus its support on a participatoryapproach to facilitate government work in partnership withpatients, community groups, religious organizations, NGOs,health professionals and the private sector. The five-yearprogram includes: Communications campaigns to raiseawareness; scaling up prevention activities, at the nationaland community levels; strengthening care of people livingwith HIV/AIDS by improving treatment, including sexuallytransmitted infections and opportunistic infections liketuberculosis; supporting research and surveillance; andcapacity building to improve program coordination andresource management.
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