The demographic features and outcome indicators of the Barbados HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Program, 2018-2019.

Objective: To assess the demographics, risk profiles and outcome indicators of one of the few government-supported programs on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Methods: Chart review of all persons enrolled into the national PrEP Program from its inception on March 1 2018 to November 30 2019, with a descriptive summary analysis of the data extracted.

Results: Of the 134 persons enrolled into the program most identified as men who have sex with men (67.

HIV Viral Load Trends in Six Eastern Caribbean Countries Utilizing a Regional Laboratory Referral Service: Implications for Treatment as Prevention.

Objective: Since 2009, seven countries in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines, have been utilizing a laboratory referral service for HIV-1 viral load (VL) offered by The Ladymeade Reference Unit (LRU) Laboratory, Barbados.

Ten year trends in community HIV viral load in Barbados: implications for treatment as prevention.

Background: Treatment as prevention is a paradigm in HIV medicine which describes the public health benefit of antiretroviral therapy (ART). It is based on research showing substantial reductions in the risk of HIV transmission in persons with optimally suppressed HIV-1 Viral Loads (VL). The present study describes ten year VL trends at the national HIV treatment unit and estimates VL suppression at a population level in Barbados, a Caribbean island with a population of 277,000, an estimated adult HIV prevalence of 1.

Strengthening national laboratory health systems in the Caribbean Region.

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programme for the Caribbean Region was established in 2008 to address health system challenges, including fragile laboratory services and systems. The laboratory component of this programme consisted of several phases: assessment of laboratory needs of all 12 countries engaged in the programme; addressing gaps identified during the assessment; and monitoring and evaluation of the progress achieved. After one year of PEPFAR collaboration with national governments and other partners, laboratory services and systems greatly improved.