The Caribbean’s HIV response has made important gains over the past five years, but urgent action is needed to ensure that progress is not reversed, as the region prepares for the 2026 High-Level Meeting on HIV.
This was the central message emerging from a virtual Caribbean Multistakeholder Consultation held on April 27, 2026, and convened jointly by the Caribbean Network of People Living with HIV (CRN+), the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP), a programme of CARICOM, Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC), and UNAIDS. The consultation brought together 58 participants to reflect on regional progress, identify persistent gaps, and agree on priorities for stronger action between 2026 and 2031.
Participants acknowledged that the Caribbean has made meaningful progress, particularly in expanding access to HIV treatment and advancing the “treat all” approach. More people living with HIV are now being placed on treatment and achieving viral suppression. The region has also seen stronger collaboration among governments, civil society, and development partners, alongside gains in the elimination of mother-to-child transmission and increased access to HIV self-testing.
However, the consultation made clear that treatment gains alone are not enough. Persistent stigma, low testing uptake, limited health literacy among young people, and weak prevention efforts continue to slow progress. Participants also warned that declining donor funding has resulted in the loss of valuable knowledge, capacity, and programme continuity across the region.
A strong theme throughout the discussions was the need to move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches. People living with HIV, sex workers, women, transgender people, migrants, people who use drugs, adolescents, and young people all face different risks and barriers. These include violence, homelessness, high service costs, migration-related exclusion, mental health challenges, weak social protection, and stigma within healthcare settings.
For this reason, participants called for more differentiated, integrated, and person-centred services. This includes tailored case management for people living with HIV, comprehensive healthcare for sex workers, stronger support for adolescents transitioning into adult care, harm reduction and mental health services for people who use drugs, and improved legal protections for people affected by gender-based violence.
Community leadership was identified as one of the Caribbean’s greatest strengths. Participants highlighted community-led models that support adherence, improve retention in care, monitor service quality, document stigma and discrimination, and build trust between communities and formal health systems. Examples included Jamaica’s community facilitator programme, the Jamaica Anti-Discrimination and Redress System, community liaison work in Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Stigma Index, and community scorecards.
These approaches demonstrate that communities are not simply beneficiaries of the HIV response. They are essential partners in innovation, accountability, and service delivery. Yet participants warned that community-led work remains fragile when it is not backed by reliable financing, institutional recognition, and political commitment.
Additionally, financing emerged as one of the most urgent concerns. The consultation noted that prevention and community-led responses remain underfunded, even as many countries continue to depend heavily on external donors. Participants called for stronger domestic investment, more efficient use of resources, and social contracting mechanisms that formally support civil society’s role in the HIV response.
As the Caribbean moves toward the 2026 High-Level Meeting, participants emphasized that the region already knows many of the actions required. The challenge now is implementation. Priorities must be translated into funded, accountable plans aligned with the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework 2026–2030.
The consultation ended with a clear call: protect and finance community-led action, strengthen differentiated services, address stigma and discrimination, and ensure that no population is left behind in the next phase of the Caribbean’s HIV response.
