KINGSTON, JAMAICA – December 1, 2025 – On World AIDS Day 2025, the Caribbean region confronts a perfect storm of challenges threatening to reverse decades of progress in HIV/AIDS elimination. The UNAIDS Multi-Country Office for the Caribbean has issued an urgent call for global solidarity as external HIV funding declines by 30-40% while climate disasters and economic pressures cripple healthcare systems.
The region’s vulnerability stems from its heavy dependence on international financing, which constitutes 66% of HIV resources in 2024. This dependency becomes increasingly precarious as climate catastrophes like Hurricane Melissa have recently devastated Jamaica, Haiti, and Cuba, displacing communities and severing access to essential HIV treatment and prevention services.
Alarming new data reveals that despite treatment advances, approximately 90,000 people living with HIV in the Caribbean remain outside the care system, with many likely presenting advanced disease progression. Even among those receiving treatment, significant numbers experience treatment interruptions and fail to achieve viral suppression.
The compounding crises—including climate emergencies, unsustainable debt burdens, and sluggish economic growth—have severely constrained national budgets for health, education, and social protection programs. These pressures threaten to widen existing inequalities and create dangerous gaps in HIV prevention and community services.
Nevertheless, Caribbean nations demonstrate remarkable resilience through innovative community-led solutions and strengthened regional partnerships. UNAIDS emphasizes that ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 remains achievable but requires immediate action on multiple fronts: strengthening health systems, scaling community-led responses, ensuring uninterrupted service access, and addressing persistent stigma and discrimination.
The organization urges Caribbean leaders to embrace the forthcoming Global AIDS Strategy 2026–2031 and advance Sustainable Development Goal targets by increasing domestic investments in sustainable, community-led HIV responses capable of withstanding future shocks. This World AIDS Day serves as both a warning and a call to action—the region’s progress remains fragile, and without renewed commitment and international support, hard-won gains could be lost.