Only 40% of regional HIV patients have undetectable viral load levels -PANCAP

By Stabroek News On In Guyana News |
(L-R) Dr Douglas Slater, Assistant Secretary-General, Human and Social Development, CARICOM Secretariat; Dr Donald T. Simeon, Chair, Priority Areas Coordinating Committee (PACC) and Deputy Chair of the PANCAP Executive Board and Dereck Springer, Director of PANCAP
(L-R) Dr Douglas Slater, Assistant Secretary-General, Human and Social Development, CARICOM Secretariat; Dr Donald T. Simeon, Chair, Priority Areas Coordinating Committee (PACC) and Deputy Chair of the PANCAP Executive Board and Dereck Springer, Director of PANCAP

A recent evaluation of the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework on HIV and AIDS (CRSF) has found that only 40% of those living with HIV in the region, significantly less than the 90% target, have been able to reduce their viral load to an undetectable level.

According to a press release from the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) while there has been progress the region’s prevention response has been inadequate particularly among key populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and sex workers (SW).

 The annual number of new HIV infections among adults in the Caribbean declined by a mere 18% between 2010 and 2017, the release states explaining that in 2010 an average of 19,000 new infections were recorded across the region while in 2017 that average had dropped to 15,000.