HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean

As of 2024, the Caribbean continues to face a generalized epidemic with an average HIV prevalence rate of 1.2% annually since 2020. As of 2024, approximately 340,000 people in the Caribbean are living with HIV. In 2024, there were approximately 15,000 new HIV infections (13,000 of which were among adults aged 15 and older) and 4,800 AIDS-related deaths. The Caribbean has been the second-most-affected region in the world after Sub-Saharan Africa, and as of 2024 has similar HIV adult prevalence rates to UNAIDS regions of West and Central Africa (1.1 - 1.2%) and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (1.1–1.2%).

As of 2024, there was a national prevalence of at least 1% in the majority of Caribbean countries. These 2024 estimates also showed HIV prevalence among pregnant women reaching or exceeding 2% in eight countries: the Bahamas, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. According to The World Factbook in 2020, the Bahamas had an HIV/AIDS prevalence rate of 3.3%, which was the highest rate outside of Africa - there has since been a reduction in prevalence to as low as 1.1%.

Several factors influence this epidemic, including poverty, gender, sex tourism, and stigma. HIV incidence in the Caribbean declined 49% between 2001 and 2012, with a continued reduction in both new HIV infections and AIDS related deaths from 2010 - 2024. Different countries have employed a variety of responses to the disease, with a range of challenges and successes.

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