In-depth: Haiti and HIV: "Gen espwa" - new hope dawns HAITI:
Fighting HIV a task as tough as the island PORT-AU-PRINCE, 26
October 2007 (IRIN) - A fall in HIV rates in Haiti over the last
few years is welcome news but celebrations may be premature: the
country's political fragility and endemic poverty are serious
challenges to maintaining those gains. HIV prevalence was
estimated at 5.6 percent by the United Nations in 2003; in 2006
it had dropped to 3.6 percent, but the rate still remains the
highest in the Caribbean and Latin American regions. Some AIDS
workers treat the new figures with caution, pointing out that
the survey was not conducted in the same number of sentinel
sites or among the same section of the population as in 2003.
Others are more willing to err on the side of optimism. "It is
true that there have been many deaths, which could account for
part of the decline, but we must also acknowledge work being
undertaken to combat this epidemic," said Dr Brunel Delonnay of
the Ministry of Public Heal