Next to sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean has the world’s highest HIV infection rate, with Haiti and the Dominican Republic together accounting for 85% of the region’s HIV infections. At the end of 2006, an estimated 250,000 people were living with HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean, with 27,000 new infections occurring that year alone. AIDS is now one of the leading causes of death among those aged 15-44. More than half of adults living with the virus are women, and heterosexual sex is the primary form of transmission in the region.   Through the Caribbean Initiative, the M·A·C AIDS Fund has sought to fund a wide range of organizations addressing critical aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean. In 2007 and 2008, the M·A·C AIDS Fund awarded grants totaling more than USD$4.5 million to address HIV/AIDS specifically in the Caribbean region. The goals of the Initiative are threefold: to seed new programs and strengthen existing prevention, care, treatment, and advocacy programs in the region; to shine a light on the challenges in the region through the support of media efforts; and to work to attract and encourage increased private and public donor support for HIV programs in the region. As with all of its funding, the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund has targeted its support to vulnerable populations and to programs that support individuals in greatest need. Due to the high burden of disease in these countries, much of the Fund’s work is targeted to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.   The M∙A∙C AIDS Fund has made a commitment to supporting direct services for persons living with HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean. In Jamaica, the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund is working with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Malaria and the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) to support HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment services. The Fund also partners with CHAI in the Dominican Republic where it has focused much of its work on providing care and treatment to Haitian immigrants living with HIV/AIDS who are not otherwise able to access government programs. In Haiti, where extreme poverty makes it difficult for individuals to meet their basic needs, the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund works closely with Partners in Health to provide food to persons living with HIV/AIDS, helping them to live longer and healthier lives.   Beyond direct services, the M∙A∙C AIDS Fund has also supported advocacy efforts by leading groups such as AIDS-Free World and Immigration Equality who work with local and international governments to improve policies that negatively impact persons living with HIV/AIDS. Finally, the Fund has partnered with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting to highlight critical under-reported HIV/AIDS issues in the Caribbean in the media. In 2008 and 2009, these reports focused on HIV/AIDS risk among sex workers in the Dominican Republic and prisoners in Haiti.   Please note, these are ongoing initiatives. No new proposals are being considered at this time.