KINGSTON, Jamaica —The prevention of human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is at risk due to the lack of funding and access to condoms.

This is according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS’ (UNAIDS) Global AIDS Update 2025, which noted that between 2016 and 2022 the international purchase of condoms fell by about 30 per cent compared to the period 2010-2016.

Additionally, condom promotion efforts in low and middle-income countries have dropped by nearly 50 per cent since 2010, weakening both condom use promotion and availability in key communities.

As the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is set to mark International Condom Day on February 13, the organisation is calling on individuals, especially youth, to use condoms correctly, and for governments to ensure condoms are widely available.

“We cannot talk about ending HIV while quietly allowing condom access to shrink,” said Sannia Sutherland, the country programme manager at AHF Jamaica, in a news release on Thursday.

“With approximately 28,000 Jamaicans living with HIV, condoms remain one of the most effective and affordable prevention tools we have. If we are serious about achieving a Jamaica free of new infections, prevention must be visible, accessible and backed by real political and societal will,” she added.

According to the AHF, in Jamaica, condom access remains a critical pillar of HIV and STI prevention. The national HIV prevalence rate stands at approximately 1.1 per cent, with an estimated 28,000 people living with HIV.

“While Jamaica has achieved a 35 per cent reduction in new infections since 2010 and eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis in 2024, persistent challenges, including stigma, discrimination and high levels of sexual activity among adolescents, continue to create prevention gaps,” it said.

With a third of the population living below the poverty line in Latin America and the Caribbean, and with a percentage that rises to almost 50 per cent in the case of young people, AHF highlighted the urgent need to ensure that condoms are available free of charge and without stigma in places such as public health centres and entertainment spaces.

“In the Caribbean and Latin America, HIV continues to rise, with new infections increasing by 13 per cent between 2010 and 2024. Young people aged 15 to 24 account for more than a quarter of new infections, underscoring the consequences of weakened prevention efforts across the region,” AHF said.

It said sustaining the progress made on HIV and preventing further setbacks does not depend on new technologies, but on clear policy decisions to invest sustainably and to ensure that condoms are free or affordable and available to those who need them most.

Between 2020 and 2022, cases increased by more than 30 per cent in adults aged 15 to 49 in the Americas region, according to a report by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

“In Latin America and the Caribbean, HIV remains a major concern, and rising rates of sexually transmitted infections, particularly syphilis, make it clear that prevention is failing,” AHF Bureau Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Dr Patricia Campos said.

“Condoms still work, are accessible and allow people to protect themselves, but access remains unequal and stigma remains a barrier. If we want to curb new HIV infections and other STIs, governments must treat condoms as a public responsibility and not as a personal luxury,” she added.