Haiti
- Population: 8.4 million (from UN)
- People living with HIV: 120,000 – 600,000
- People receiving ART: 3,919
The Epidemic
Haiti has the highest prevalence of HIV infection in Latin America and the Caribbean. It faces the worst AIDS epidemic outside Africa and bears the greatest burden of HIV in the
Western Hemisphere. The epidemic began in the late 1970s and has spread widely throughout the country. Today Haiti faces a generalized epidemic fueled by endemic poverty, high
illiteracy rates and inadequate health and social services that have been further weakened by chronic political instability, high internal migration rates and a high prevalence of
sexually transmitted infections. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS among adults was estimated to be between 2.5% and 11.9% in 2003. An estimated 280 000 adults and children were
living with HIV/AIDS at the end of 2003, and an estimated 24 000 adults and children died from AIDS during 2003. Analysis of the causes of death, which started when hospital death
certificates began to be collected in 1997, shows that AIDS is the leading cause of death in the country. The high prevalence of HIV/AIDS has also aggravated the tuberculosis (TB)
epidemic. HIV seroprevalence surveys of pregnant women indicate rates of 6.0% in 1993, 5.9% in 1996, 4.5% in 2000 and 2.9% in 2003. HIV infection rates may no longer be rising
and may potentially be declining in some areas; however, these data should be interpreted cautiously because limited information is available.
Statistics and information from UNAIDS.org, 2011, unless otherwise stated.
