The civil society leaders are calling on the Government to increase domestic AIDS spending by 50 per cent by 2015.
Despite a $98 million increase allocated in the 2011 budget, the Planning Institute of Jamaica, said there is a 67 per cent shortfall in funding available to achieve the targets set out in the National HIV Strategic Plan 2007-2012.
According to Pat Watson, Executive Director of Eve for Life, said a large portion of the current funding comes from external sources.
She said there is a real risk when the fund is no longer available, the sustained impact on the epidemic will decline unless more local resources are dedicated to the response.
The group also raised concerns about the high level of stigma and discrimination which continues to fuel the epidemic as well as the gaps in the national response.
Dr. Pierre Somse, UNAIDS Country Representative, noted that without the full and active involvement of a strong civil society in leading the HIV response, the gains made so far could be undermined.
He noted that it was important for organisations working in the widest cross section of community and social development to be brought into the response to ensure that the Millennium Development Goal of halting and reversing the spread of HIV is met.
The HIV prevalence rate currently stands at 1.7 per cent among the general population, with rates ranging from 5 percent to 31.8 per cent among groups such as sex workers and men who have sex with men.
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