AHF Jamaica warns more than 13,000 people with HIV not documented on treatment

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Jamaica is calling for urgent action to get more than 13,000 people living with HIV into treatment, warning that thousands remain outside documented care despite significant progress in testing and diagnosis.

According to national data from December 2025, Jamaica has an estimated 28,000 people living with HIV, of whom approximately 26,500, or 95 per cent, have been diagnosed.

However, only 14,716, representing 53 per cent of the estimated total, are documented as receiving treatment.

AHF Jamaica says the figures highlight a significant gap between diagnosis and treatment, with potentially serious consequences for both individual health and efforts to prevent new infections.

“Diagnosis is not the finish line,” said Sannia Sutherland, country programme manager at AHF Jamaica.

“With only half of Jamaicans living with HIV on treatment, too many are being left behind. We have a duty to strengthen every step between diagnosis and treatment, so that everyone diagnosed is brought into care and supported to stay there,” she added.

HIV treatment helps people maintain their health and live long lives. When treatment suppresses the virus to undetectable levels, it also prevents sexual transmission of HIV.

AHF Jamaica acknowledged the Government’s continued leadership of the national HIV response through the Ministry of Health and Wellness, including efforts to expand prevention and treatment options.

These include the proposed introduction of long-acting injectable medicines. However, the organisation stressed that new treatment options would have limited impact unless people living with HIV were connected to care and supported to remain on treatment.

CALLS FOR NATIONAL PATIENT COUNT

AHF Jamaica said it was not yet clear why so many people were not documented as receiving treatment.

Some may have stopped attending clinics, transferred to other facilities or continued receiving medication without their treatment being captured in national records.

The organisation is therefore calling for a national count of patients receiving HIV treatment, with records matched against National Health Fund pharmacy data across public and private facilities.

It is also recommending targeted support for treatment sites where patients are frequently lost to follow-up, along with timely contact with people who miss appointments or discontinue treatment.

AHF Jamaica said national progress should be measured against the estimated 28,000 people living with HIV, including those who remain undiagnosed, have never started treatment, have discontinued care or are missing from official records.

CIVIL SOCIETY PARTNERSHIP

The organisation, in collaboration with the Civil Society Forum, is calling on the Government, healthcare providers, civil society groups and community partners to work together to reach and retain more people in treatment.

The Civil Society Forum is scheduled to meet on Friday to advance the call for action.

AHF Jamaica provides HIV and sexually transmitted infection prevention, testing and treatment support through its Kingston Medical Centre, St Ann Wellness Centre and community outreach programmes.

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