Latin America and the Caribbean

Overall HIV Trends The HIV epidemic in Latin America is stable, and the adult HIV prevalence, at 0.4 percent, has remained unchanged between 2001 and 2010. The epidemic in the Caribbean has slowed significantly since the mid-1990s. The adult HIV prevalence in the Caribbean declined from 1.0 in 2001 to 0.9 in 2010. In 2010, about 76,000 people in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries died of AIDS, and 112,000 were newly infected. Although the number of people newly infected with HIV is declining, the absolute number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is increasing as more people are tested and have access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). The number of PLWHA in LAC is estimated to be 1.7 million. Two-thirds of PLWHA reside in five countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, and Mexico. The Caribbean and Central American subregions have higher adult prevalence rates than South America, with countries such as Haiti, the Bahamas, and Belize having rates in 2009 as high as 1.9, 3.1, and 2.3 percent, respectively (see figure on page 2). With its large population, Brazil accounts for about one-third of PLWHA in Central and South America. However, as a result of an early, well-coordinated response and protection of human rights among at-risk groups, Brazil’s adult HIV prevalence never reached 1 percent.