The terminal disease has become the leading cause of death for residents between 20 and 44, Health Secretary Ron Pinder told delegates at a Caribbean AIDS awareness conference Wednesday.
“We have two options,” Pinder said. “Either completely abstain [from sex] or protect ourselves using a condom.”
Of the archipelago’s 300,000 people, 9,764 have been diagnosed with HIV while 4,549 people are living with full-blown AIDS, according to health officials. Over 3,000 people have died of AIDS on the islands over the past two decades.
The Caribbean has the second highest rate of HIV infection in the world after sub-Saharan Africa.
Miami Herald
November 12, 2004
