In the Caribbean, an estimated 230,000 men, women and children live with HIV. With an HIV prevalence rate second only to sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS is the leading cause of death among adults aged 15 to 44 in the region. Substantial socio-economic disparities compound the HIV epidemic as the highest-risk populations confront significant barriers of access to health information and services. Since CARISMA’s inception in 2005 the project has targeted its HIV prevention efforts at those groups most vulnerable to new infections, including: Spanish and Creole-speaking migrant populations, disadvantaged “youth on the block,” and sex workers.
The impact of HIV among Spanish and Creole-speaking immigrants is exacerbated by social discrimination, cultural and linguistic isolation, and the practice of continual economic migration. This marginalised existence, where people routinely face barriers to health services, compounds their vulnerability to new HIV infections. For example, in the traditionally Haitian-dominated batey settlements in the Dominican Republic, HIV prevalence for female residents aged 45–49 is 8%, and 9% for men aged 40–44, compared with under 1% for the general population. Similarly, in the English-speaking Caribbean, sex work is a common method of economic survival for migrant women. These women, who are often undocumented and subject to frequent movement between islands in search of work, constitute a previously overlooked group in regional HIV prevention campaigns.
In response to the distinct needs of these migrant groups, CARISMA SMOs have worked together to develop targeted, culturally sensitive outreach and behaviour change communication (BCC) campaigns. On the island of Hispaniola, PSI/DR and PSI/Haiti share their respective Spanish-language and Creole-language BCC materials so that each can better communicate with minority-language migrant populations. Through knowledge sharing and intra-regional training on best practices – both with Spanish-speaking sex workers in Haiti and Haitian economic migrants in the DR – CARISMA partners have built on each other’s lessons learnt to devise effective and high-impact peer education, mass media, and one-on-one counselling strategies. PSI/DR’s pioneering Amor de Batey television mini-series, directly informed by the findings of qualitative formative research, used the medium of a culturally resonant soap opera to deliver safe sex messages to batey residents.
In the Eastern Caribbean, PSI/EC adapted Spanish-language materials created by PASMO and PSI in Latin America to strengthen their work with Spanish-speaking sex workers in Antigua/Barbuda, Saint Maarten and Dominica. When research revealed the high-levels of consistent, yet incorrect, levels of condom use among Spanish-speaking sex workers, PSI/EC intensified their interpersonal communications and peer education outreach efforts. By the end of phase I, they had reached 5,328 Spanish-speaking sex workers with these initiatives.
The impact of HIV among Spanish and Creole-speaking immigrants is exacerbated by social discrimination, cultural and linguistic isolation, and the practice of continual economic migration. This marginalised existence, where people routinely face barriers to health services, compounds their vulnerability to new HIV infections. For example, in the traditionally Haitian-dominated batey settlements in the Dominican Republic, HIV prevalence for female residents aged 45–49 is 8%, and 9% for men aged 40–44, compared with under 1% for the general population. Similarly, in the English-speaking Caribbean, sex work is a common method of economic survival for migrant women. These women, who are often undocumented and subject to frequent movement between islands in search of work, constitute a previously overlooked group in regional HIV prevention campaigns.
In response to the distinct needs of these migrant groups, CARISMA SMOs have worked together to develop targeted, culturally sensitive outreach and behaviour change communication (BCC) campaigns. On the island of Hispaniola, PSI/DR and PSI/Haiti share their respective Spanish-language and Creole-language BCC materials so that each can better communicate with minority-language migrant populations. Through knowledge sharing and intra-regional training on best practices – both with Spanish-speaking sex workers in Haiti and Haitian economic migrants in the DR – CARISMA partners have built on each other’s lessons learnt to devise effective and high-impact peer education, mass media, and one-on-one counselling strategies. PSI/DR’s pioneering Amor de Batey television mini-series, directly informed by the findings of qualitative formative research, used the medium of a culturally resonant soap opera to deliver safe sex messages to batey residents.
In the Eastern Caribbean, PSI/EC adapted Spanish-language materials created by PASMO and PSI in Latin America to strengthen their work with Spanish-speaking sex workers in Antigua/Barbuda, Saint Maarten and Dominica. When research revealed the high-levels of consistent, yet incorrect, levels of condom use among Spanish-speaking sex workers, PSI/EC intensified their interpersonal communications and peer education outreach efforts. By the end of phase I, they had reached 5,328 Spanish-speaking sex workers with these initiatives.
