• Says youth infections remain major concern as region urged to intensify response

AIDS-RELATED deaths in the Caribbean have declined by more than 60 per cent since 2010, but rising infection rates, particularly among young people, remain a serious concern, Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony has warned.

Speaking at the opening of the Tenth Meeting of National AIDS Programme Managers and Key Partners in Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Anthony said the region has made significant progress in reducing mortality, but must now intensify efforts to curb new infections.

He highlighted significant progress in the Caribbean’s fight against Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), noting a more than 60 per cent decline in AIDS-related deaths since 2010, while warning that new infections, particularly among young people aged 15 to 24, remain a major concern.

Recent years have seen remarkable progress being made in the fight against AIDS, Minister Anthony shared. In the Caribbean in particular, mortality rates among those affected by AIDS have declined significantly, with Dr Anthony noting that AIDS-related deaths have fallen by more than 60 per cent.

This, he added, is one of the fastest declines seen internationally, stating, “According to UNAIDS, AIDS-related deaths have declined in our region, falling from 2010 by more than 60 percent. This is one of the steepest declines we have seen across the world,” he added, “In 2010, nearly 12,000 persons in the Caribbean died from HIV or AIDS-related illnesses. Today, that number has fallen to less than 5,000 persons.”

This shift, Dr Anthony emphasised, was not accidental, but rather a result of sustained work and investment by regional governments in treatment, prevention and care.

However, while the region has made significant strides in reducing mortality rates, infection rates continue to rise. As Minister Anthony explained, the rate of infection continues to grow steadily, while efforts to curb the spread of AIDS are not yet where the region needs them to be.

“While we have made significant progress, there is still much to be done. Because while deaths have fallen dramatically, we have seen new infections, and they are not declining as fast as we would like them to be in the region,” the minister said.

Growing infection rates, he added, are specifically impacting the region’s youth, with an estimated 15,000 persons being infected every year.

“Perhaps what is even more troubling is that one in four of those new infections occurs between the ages of 15 and 24 years. That means while we celebrate that we have been saving lives, we are seeing that the epidemic is going to continue in the new generation,” he warned.

Another important area the minister addressed is the level of awareness among those affected by AIDS in the region. As he explained, in the Caribbean, approximately 85 per cent of persons living with HIV know their status.

While this reflects tremendous progress over the last decade, there are still thousands of persons who do not know their status and are living with HIV. This, the minister explained, places a strain on the health sector, with many patients being diagnosed far too late.

Moreover, he shared that 74 per cent of persons who know their status are on treatment across the Caribbean, while two-thirds of those are virally suppressed.

Although these figures mark significant progress in AIDS care across the region, Minister Anthony noted that much more needs to be done in treatment and preventative measures, particularly in adopting new standards and practices being introduced globally.

“Traditionally, when we talked about prevention, we were focused a lot on education, condom distribution and then we added pre-exposure prophylaxis, and we added HIV self-testing. But this is not enough, because we now know that there are long-acting injectable medicines that are available,” he said.

Citing the hurdles to combatting AIDS, he highlighted the introduction of the drug Lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injection that can prevent people from getting HIV.

Minister Anthony added that while this has proved impactful, there are still issues with affordable access to the drug in the Caribbean.

“We in the Caribbean still do not have access to this drug. And it is not clear whether, when the price comes down to about US$40 per patient per year, we will be able to get access to it,” he said.

Moreover, financing, the minister added, is also a major hurdle.

“One of the international organisations that was set up especially to help fight HIV, TB, and malaria, the funding is now dissipating. When you think about and you go through the epidemiology of the disease, the two most affected regions in the world would be sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean,” he added.

To this end, he stated that the Caribbean must strategise, innovate and find new avenues in the fight against AIDS.

Making a passionate call to action, Minister Anthony urged regional health leaders to continue collaborating and advocating, both locally and on the wider international stage.

“We as a Caribbean, we need to look at what we are doing and to see how we can do it more efficiently. We probably need to examine the kinds of prevention efforts that we have, get rid of those that are not very effective, focus on those that would give us more value for the money that we are investing, and make sure that we invest more directly in those areas,” he said.

The Tenth Meeting of National AIDS Programme Managers and Key Partners, which began on Wednesday and ended on Friday, saw other stakeholders and regional health leaders continue discussions, share ideas, and chart a course forward in the fight against AIDS.