November 6, 2007

Central America’s Rising AIDS Crisis

Central America has the highest HIV/AIDS rates in Latin America, according to new data released by UNAIDS on Monday, November 5 (xinhua.net, 11/5).

Of the 1.7 million people living with HIV in Central America, over 208,000 have progressed to an AIDS diagnosis.

These startling numbers were released this week as part of the fifth Central American People with HIV/AIDS Encounter, which began in Managua—Nicaragua’s capital—on Sunday. The meeting is a networking opportunity for people infected and affected by HIV, with an emphasis on women and children living with the virus.

Experts with UNAIDS fear that if left unchecked, the HIV/AIDS infection rate may represent up to 2 percent of the adult population in Central America by 2010.

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