Education | Why You Should Care

Latin America and the Caribbean
According to UNAIDS, 1.6 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean are living with HIV. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in this region of the world parallels that in the United States, disproportionately affecting men who have sex with men (MSM), injection drug users, and women.

• Up to 30% of MSM in Mexico are believed to be living with HIV.
• In Brazil, one out of every four AIDS cases and HIV infections is among women.

According to UNAIDS, surveillance of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean is limited, and access to care, although better than in other areas of the developing world, remains patchy overall.

Eastern Europe
Until 1994, the number of people living with HIV in Eastern Europe was extraordinarily low. However, in the last four years, several countries of the former socialist economies of Eastern Europe have seen six-fold increases in HIV infections.

• In the Ukraine in 1994, 44 people were reportedly living with HIV, although UNAIDS believes the number was actually closer to 1,500. Now, the number of people living with HIV is estimated to be 110,000.
• In the Russian Federation, the number of reported new HIV infections in 1996 was 1,546. One year later, that number had increased nearly threefold – 4,399 new reported HIV infections.
• The bulk of new HIV infections in the Russian Federation are in injection drug users, accounting for approximately 80% of new diagnoses.

North Africa and the Middle East
Less than 1% of all HIV infections throughout the world are believed to be among people living in North Africa and the Middle East. Unfortunately, little is known about the HIV/AIDS pandemic in this region of the world However, the generally conservative social and political attitudes and traditions in many countries in North Africa and the Middle East present challenges to HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention efforts in these areas.   «

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