HIV Prevention in the Spotlight. An analysis from the perspective of the health sector in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2017

Abstract

[Executive summary]. The governments of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have made a commitment to putting an end to the AIDS epidemic by 2030. This commitment is aligned with the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS issued by the United Nations General Assembly in June 2016, with specific targets set in Latin America for 2020 and 2030. Within this context, the purpose of this publication is to highlight the efforts and challenges to preventing infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in LAC through a critical review of the HIV prevention measures adopted by the health sector. The report was prepared with a participatory multisectoral approach involving the compilation of published data and additional data collection through questionnaires and both face-to-face and virtual consultations. The review and recommendations focus on the health sector and three key populations: female sex workers (FSWs), trans women, and gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM). This report is particularly relevant and timely, because the number of new HIV cases in LAC is the same as it was in 2010—that is, approximately 120,000 new infections each year—and the number of new infections in adult males is estimated to have increased between 2010 and 2016. Furthermore, in 2016, young men between the ages of 15 and 24 continued to account for one third of all new HIV infections...This publication aims to help the countries of the Region rapidly accelerate the improvement and expansion of HIV prevention. It presents a critical analysis of the HIV prevention measures adopted by the health sector to encourage dialogue and national and local decision-making for HIV prevention. The report focuses primarily on three of the Region’s key populations: gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), female sex workers (FSWs), and transgender women.