But there is hope on the horizon for the Caribbean's battle with AIDS, suggests Cleghorn pointing to islands such as Bermuda, Barbados and the Bahamas. Bermuda's AIDS fight has benefited from its wealth, its proximity to the United States, the presence of American physicians and the spread of the disease largely through intravenous drug users, compared to sexual transmission, which is more difficult to contain. Barbados turned to an infusion of World Bank funds to undergird its response to AIDS and today has "a less than 1 percent infection rate," says Cleghorn of the island that also has successfully monitored and treated its disease cases. And the islands of the Bahamas are beginning to see a reduction in its AIDS rate as well, which over time spiked when an influx of Haitian and other immigrants sought refuge on its shores. The Bahamas, Cleghorn says, also benefits from a healthy economy.
The successes these island nations have realized, however, didn't happen overnight, Cleghorn cautions. A country's real response to the AIDS epidemic, he says, has the potential to reduce the spread of the disease, lower the disease rate and ultimately mitigate its impact. But a sufficient response to AIDS, Cleghorn says, "costs money and requires a real investment."
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