An estimated 1.9 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean are living with HIV/AIDS, according to the United Nations. In 2002, 102,000 people in the region died of AIDS. CARE works to prevent the spread of AIDS and alleviate the suffering of people living with the disease in the following Latin American countries: Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Note: Program coordinators are available for press interviews. Please contact Rick Perera in Atlanta (rperera@care.org and 404-979-9453).

Guatemala
The Integrated Health of the Adolescent and Prevention of HIV/AIDS (SINAVIH) project seeks to strengthen the response to HIV/AIDS in two municipalities, Puerto Barrios and Livingston, in partnership with the private sector and the ministry of Health. The project seeks to prevent STDs, HIV and AIDS through the promotion of healthy behaviors, and includes Information, Education and Communication components.

Haiti
Haiti’s HIV/AIDS crisis is the worst in the Western Hemisphere, with more than 6 percent of the adult population infected and 200,000 children orphaned by AIDS. CARE has two projects addressing HIV/AIDS in Haiti: the Support to the Reduction of Mother to Child HIV/AIDS Transmission Program and Haiti's Response to HIV/AIDS. These projects aim to strengthen the delivery of health services, promote HIV/AIDS education, improve the health and nutrition of vulnerable groups and improve community-based care and prevention activities.

Honduras
Although only 17% of the population of Central America lives in Honduras, the country has reported 48% of the HIV/AIDS cases in the region. Over 60% of cases are reported from the country’s North Coast, and it is here that CARE’s HIV/AIDS work is focused. In partnership with the private sector, CARE offers HIV/AIDS-prevention education at the work place to thousands of men and women. By offering information and training local volunteer peer educators, CARE is improving people’s knowledge, attitude and access to quality reproductive health care services. With lower infection rates, both the employees and private enterprises benefit.

Nicaragua
CARE is reaching out to young Nicaraguans through the Adolescent Reproductive Health project, which includes an HIV/AIDS component. This project, focused in rural and peri-urban areas, seeks to improve the quality and availability to adolescents of reproductive health information and services, including counseling.