Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)According to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the adult prevalence rate of the human immunodeficiency virus and the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in the Caribbean region was 1.2 percent in 2006, second only to sub-Saharan Africa. (2)Some 250,000 people in the Caribbean region were estimated to be living with HIV in 2006, including 15,000 children. (3)An estimated 27,000 people in the Caribbean region became infected with HIV in 2006, including 2,400 children. (4)The AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 19,000 lives in the Caribbean region in 2006, including 2,000 children. (5)AIDS is one of the leading causes of death among adults aged 15–44 years in the Caribbean region. (6)The countries of the Caribbean region with the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in 2006 were the Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, with rates between 2 to 4 percent; and Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Suriname, with rates between 1 to 2 percent. (7)In contrast to other parts of the Western Hemisphere, the mode of transmission of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region has been primarily through unprotected contact, which makes it difficult to contain the epidemic because it affects the general population. (8)Stigma and discrimination, which drives people away from services for HIV, have fueled the spread of HIV in the Caribbean region. (9)According to UNAIDS, women account for one-half of adults living with HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean region. (10)A 2004 report by the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS maintained that the epidemic is taking its greatest toll on younger people who traditionally have been the most productive human resources. (11)The AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean region has begun to have negative consequences for economic and social development, with life expectancy and infant mortality already affected in some countries. In 2006, UNAIDS reported that life expectancy in the Dominican Republic was estimated to be three years lower than without the AIDS epidemic, and that AIDS mortality in Trinidad and Tobago would begin to reduce the country’s overall population by 2010. (12)Because of high population mobility in the region, Caribbean countries have called for an inclusive approach to the AIDS crisis involving all countries in the region. Ambassadors of Caribbean countries to the United States maintain that high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates can overwhelm the region’s health care capacity, destabilize economies, and increase migration flows, which could pose a security risk to the United States because of its proximity to the Caribbean. (13)Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States Albert Ramdin stated in January 2007 that HIV/AIDS, if not effectively and urgently tackled, poses a clear threat to the sustainable development, social stability, and human security of the Caribbean..