There are powerful signs that many people throughout the region
aren’t yet under the umbrella of protective information,
behaviour and services. Rates of early sexual initiation and
child sexual abuse remain high. HIV-related knowledge is
moderate to low. Teen pregnancy is prevalent. People continue to
have a great number of high risk sexual encounters. Condom-use
is merely moderate. And for the Caribbean as a whole the unmet
family planning need is a high 20 percent. Geeta Sethi, Director
of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Sub-regional
Office for the Caribbean, says that there is an increasing
understanding of how and why people are left off the development
train. “There are layers and layers of who we leave out,” she
explained. “Sometimes it’s linked to religion, ethnicity, socio-
economics, class, education and, surprisingly here, even age.”
She noted that there has been a shift in the global approach to
targets surrounding HIV and family planning. Governments,
development agencies and other stak