HIV positive Caribbean Women
Thursday, August 10, 2006
HIV and AIDS are quickly becoming an epidemic in the Caribbean and women are the primary targets.
In 2005, about 27,000 people contracted AIDS in the Caribbean, making it the leading cause of death among adults between 15 and 44 years old.
More than 330,000 people in the Caribbean are infected with HIV and women are contracting the disease at far greater rates than men. Most new cases of HIV result from heterosexual intercourse, indicating that women are having intimate relations with men who are infected but may not know their disease status.
Since medication for HIV and AIDS have improved, infected individuals can live a long, healthy life.
However, the Caribbean is known to stigmatise HIV positive people, causing many to ignore their disease status or refuse to seek treatment.
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