Dominican Republic
According to the 2007 Demographic and Health Survey, the adult prevalence of HIV in the Dominican Republic (DR) is 0.8 percent. The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS estimates the HIV prevalence rate is 1.1 percent and 62,000 Dominicans are HIV positive. The island of Hispaniola, which accounts for almost three-quarters of the Caribbean’s HIV cases, comprises the DR and neighboring Haiti. First reported in the Dominican Republic in 1983, the prevalence of HIV increased until the mid-1990s, when it began to decrease. Heterosexual intercourse is reported to be the primary form of transmission of the disease, accounting for 76 percent of HIV infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2007). However, because of strong stigma against homosexuality and same-sex behavior, it is possible that the number of infections resulting from men having sex with men has been underreported.
One component of the GHI and PEPFAR are country-led plans called Partnership Frameworks. The Dominican Republic was one of the first countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to develop an HIV PF through PEPFAR. In 2009, through PEPFAR, a Partnership Framework Implementation Plan was approved by the U.S. and Dominican Governments and other country stakeholders. This five-year plan will provide approximately $86 million to support HIV/AIDS activities in the country through four USG agencies (USAID, CDC, the Department of Defense, and the Peace Corps). The USG has committed approximately $47 million for the first three years of this program to bilateral HIV/AIDS programs through nongovernmental organizations and the Dominican Government.
View the full USAID HIV/AIDS Health Profile for the Dominican Republic - September 2010 [PDF, 138KB]
Related Links
|
