AIDS WALK CARIBBEAN

By Rene Devis, Heritagekonpa Magazine

Caribbean AIDS WALK organizers and supporters are strapping on their running shoes and sporting red ribbons in preparation for the Seventh Annual AIDS Walk Caribbean to be held on Sunday June 16th in Brooklyn, New York.

This year, the theme of AIDS Walk Caribbean is "ONE LOVE", the organizers hope to bring together Caribbean participants from various walks of life, many with personal connections to HIV/AIDS. The walk will start at the junction of Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues at 9:00 am and conclude at Wingate Park.

The Caribbean has a particularly large problem with AIDS. The region has the second largest number of AIDS cases outside of Africa. The 29 countries of the Caribbean, which had an estimated adult HIV prevalence of 1.6% in 2005, is the second most-affected region in the world after sub-Saharan Africa. Approximately 330,000 adults and 37,000 children in the region are living with HIV, according to published reports by the United Nations AIDS agency and the World Heath Organization.

Among the twelve most affected countries in the region, Haiti has one of the highest national HIV prevalence with at least 3.5% of an estimated population of 8.3 million); The Bahamas has an adult-prevalence rate of over 2 percent; Jamaica, Guyana and the Dominican, are not far behind at 2 percent; and Barbados has just under 1.2 percent of their population infected with HIV virus. In actuality, the number of people affected with HIV or AIDS in the Caribbean is truly under-reported. Many more people are living with the virus and they do not even know they are infected, said experts ( click here to view complete report).

There are several factors, which contribute to the development and progression of HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean. These include risky sexual behaviors, poverty, inequality, lack of health care and lack of sexual education. Nearly 60 percent of the reported HIV/AIDS cases in the Caribbean are linked to heterosexual sex, 10 percent is attributed to homosexual and bisexual activity, and 25 percent of the reported HIV cases are of unknown origin.

Millions of men and woman are at risk of contracting AIDS in the Caribbean and the Diaspora. The AIDS epidemic crisis is looming in the Caribbean and abroad. It is important that you support Caribbean organizations that are working tirelessly to bring awareness to the AIDS epidemic facing the Caribbean Community and Caribbean Islands.

If you think that AIDS is a myth within the Caribbean Community, then you need to take a look at the 2004 statistics provided by the Office of AIDS Surveillance NYC Department of Health. AIDS IN NEW YORK CITY IMMIGRANTS:

AIDS IN NEW YORK CITY IMMIGRANTS ( click here to view complete report:
DISTRIBUTION OF CASES BY REGION OF ORIGIN:
– CARIBBEAN: CARIBBEAN: 46%
– LATIN AMERICA: LATIN AMERICA: 27%
– E.EUROPE/SOVIET: E.EUROPE/SOVIET: 17%
– FAR/NEAR EAST: FAR/NEAR EAST: 5%
– AFRICA: AFRICA: 3% 3%
– OTHER: OTHER: 2%

On June 17, 2007 Caribbean People International Collective along with Heritagekonpa Magazine invite you to join the Caribbean AIDS Walk Join us at the intersection of Flatbush and Nostrand Avenue as we walk to Wingate Park. You can register online today at Visit this link at www.aidswalkcaibbean.com to register your walkers. or call 718-282-9255.

AIDS Walk Caribbean

Join us Sunday, June 16, 2007 for AIDSWALK CARIBBEAN 2006 (Brooklyn, New York)

ONLINE -REGISTRATION

Visit our this link at www.aidswalkcaibbean.com to register your walkers.

Website: aidswalkcaribbean.com

For further information please call
Email: aidswalkcaribbean@aol.com
Website: http://www.aidswalkcaribbean.com/

Contact: Truda Hickman
Email: aidswalkcaribean@aol.com
Phone: 718 282-WALK