The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has the highest prevalence of chronic noncommunicableĀ diseases (NCDs) in the region ofĀ theĀ Americas.
This dueĀ in largeĀ partĀ to PrimaryĀ HealthĀ CareĀ (PHC) programmeĀ successes in preventingĀ andĀ controllingĀ communicable diseases,Ā aging
of the population, economicĀ developmentĀ andĀ unhealthy behaviours.
Ā Global and localĀ influences Ā have shaped consumptionĀ lifestylesĀ which haveĀ fueledĀ theĀ epidemiologicalĀ transitionĀ inĀ theĀ Caribbean, so
health sector development
Every human being is entitled to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health conducive to living in dignity. Access to health care, which includes access to essential medicines,
is a prerequisite for realising that right. National medicines expenditures, as a proportion of total health expenditures, currently range from 7% to 66% worldwide.
It is often pointed out that the groups most vulnerable to HIV infection are men who have sex with men, sex workers and injecting drug users and that, as the epidemic spreads, females are more vulnerable than males. It is less often pointed out that large proportions of people in all of those categories are young and that more than half of the people newly infected with HIV each year are under the age of 25 (UNAIDS, 2006a; UNAIDS Inter-agency Task Team on Young People, 2006).