RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CMC) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the global health initiative, Unitaid, to intensify collaboration in advancing the HIV response in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

PAHO said that the US$5m grant is aimed at reducing HIV deaths in the region by addressing the prevention and management of advanced HIV disease.

“The project will focus on identifying gaps and barriers in national HIV programmes, strengthening HIV surveillance, accelerating the introduction of new tests and treatment, and training healthcare workers,” PAHO said.

PAHO Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa said during the signing of the agreement that “to improve access to prevention and treatment, we must decentralize HIV care so that it is closer to patients.”

“This grant will allow us to support countries to incorporate tools that will enable us to move even faster towards the elimination of HIV-related deaths,” he said.

“This new agreement is part of our effort to support countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to get the innovation they need to fight HIV and it will consolidate the work we are already doing,” said Unitaid Executive Director Philippe Duneton.

“As we move ahead in the fight against HIV, I am optimistic that bringing in new tools and new public health approaches will result in the impact we want on advanced HIV disease in the Americas.”

Unitaid is a hosted partnership of the World Health Organization.

PAHO said an estimated 2.3 million people live with HIV in Latin America and 340,000 in the Caribbean.

It said thanks to modern treatment options, the number of HIV-related deaths has declined over the past 10 years in both Latin America and the Caribbean by 28 and 57 per cent, respectively.

However, in 2023, PAHO said new infections increased by nine per cent in Latin America, despite reductions of 22 per cent in the Caribbean and 51 per cent globally, “highlighting an urgent need for more targeted interventions.

“Advances in medicine and public health have enabled rapid diagnosis, as well as the development of methods for combined prevention and effective treatment against the virus,” PAHO said.

It said a person with HIV who adheres to treatment no longer transmits the virus, and people who are at substantial risk can avoid HIV infection by taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) that ensures 99 per cent protection.

Since 2020, PAHO said it and Unitaid have collaborated to support health innovations in the region of the Americas.