HIV and black Caribbean Communities in the UK

National AIDS Trust (NAT) has just published a report highlighting the neglected HIV-related needs of black Caribbean communities in the UK. Whilst HIV prevalence remains much lower than amongst gay men and African communities, it is still three times higher among black Caribbeans than in the British-born white heterosexual population. About half of those diagnosed HIV positive were born in the UK and half were born in the Caribbean. One quarter of black Caribbean people living with HIV in UK are men who have sex with men, while the remaining three quarters contracted HIV heterosexually.

Whilst there is some good work being done around HIV and sexual health at the local level, black Caribbeans are not currently served by a national HIV prevention programme. NAT is calling for a national strategic approach to prevent both HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in black Caribbean communities, with appropriate needs assessments and funding. The new report also recommends that healthcare workers in the UK implement the UK guidelines for HIV testing and offer HIV tests to people from the nine Caribbean countries with generalised HIV epidemics. Read the report at www.nat.org.uk