Today’s Video: Prevention

Today is World AIDS Day and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have certainly not been immune from the effects of the deadly pandemic. According to international AIDS charity Avert over two million people in the region are hit with HIV, "more than in the U.S., Canada, Japan and the UK combined." Furthermore, Avert's comprenhensive analysis of HIV/AIDS in LAC found that certain groups, such as sex workers and migrants are more susceptible to the disease than others.

Worse is that there may be a problem with funding to prevent AIDS as the former director of the U.N.'s AIDS program told Bloomberg. “There is clearly AIDS fatigue,” said Peter Piot who also noted that funding needs to be more selective:

“In Latin America, for example, most HIV-prevention programs are directed towards the general public, people who are not at high risk and there is not much going on in the gay community where the problem is,” said Piot. “That’s a waste of money then. My mother doesn’t need HIV prevention, she’s 87.”

Not all is doom and gloom regarding HIV/AIDS prevention in LAC. Take the case of Entre Amigos (Among Friends), a Salvadoran charity aimed at the country's LGBT community. Their work has been invaluable in trying to remove the stigmas related to HIV/AIDS as well as homosexuality:

Online Sources - Avert, Bloomberg
Video Source - YouTube