VIHvos & VIHsibles

The case for VIHvos is neither programmatic nor discretionary — it is epidemiological. Latin America is one of only three regions in the world where new HIV infections continue to rise, in contrast to the sustained global downward trend. Between 2010 and 2024, new infections in the region grew by 13%, from 110,000 to 120,000 cases per year, according to the Pan American Health Organization. In 2023 alone, one person was newly infected with HIV every four minutes in Latin America and the Caribbean.^[1,6]

The diagnostic gap compounds this picture. An estimated 14% of people living with HIV in Latin America do not know their serological status, and roughly one in three reach the health system already in an advanced stage of disease, with fewer than 200 CD4 cells per cubic millimeter of blood. Layered on top of this diagnostic gap is an equally critical treatment gap: 25% of people living with the virus in the region still lack access to antiretroviral therapy — a figure that represents not only a failure of care but an active epidemiological risk.^[2]

But diagnosis alone does not end the epidemic. Scientific evidence from across Latin America shows that adherence to antiretroviral therapy averages around 70% in the region — a level that can be insufficient to ensure sustained long-term viral suppression. The mechanism behind this figure is clear and consistent across multiple studies: the social stigma surrounding HIV is a measurable clinical determinant of non-adherence. People who experience stigma are significantly less likely to sustain treatment adherence, and stigma within health services themselves remains one of the most frequently documented barriers.^[3,4]

The main barriers to adherence identified in Latin American contexts include discrimination by healthcare staff, the absence of privacy in clinical settings, the lack of psychological support after diagnosis, and insufficient active follow-up networks. Together, these factors produce a well-documented phenomenon: those close to the health system get diagnosed and treated, while those who never reach it — pushed away by stigma, exclusion, or social invisibility — remain off the epidemiological and clinical radar.^[5]

In a region where new HIV infections rose by 13% over the past decade and 25% of people living with the virus lack access to treatment, VIHvos operates in the space between the community and the health system. Education, community prevention, psychosocial support, and referral to the public health system — in coordination with international cooperation partners. Treatment is provided by the public system; PPF educates, accompanies, and refers.

Program Components