HIV and AIDS poses critical health challenges in the Caribbean, which is the second most affected region after Sub-Saharan Africa. Options is managing the Caribbean Social Marketing to Prevent HIV & AIDS (CARISMA), a programme that works to integrate the efforts of all actors in the social marketing arena. CARISMA is working to integrate the efforts of all actors in the social marketing arena, including the public, non-profit, and for-profit sectors to ensure the access of the entire population to affordable, high-quality health care products and health information.  Encouraging prevention-oriented behaviour change and enhancing access to condoms are crucial steps in preventing the spread of HIV & AIDS throughout the Caribbean. Launched in April 2005, the CARISMA project supports condom social marketing programmes across the Caribbean.  How CARISMA works:   

• Inform regional level thinking on social marketing via the total condom market and behaviour change communications
• Create a vision for social marketing in each country
• Develop social marketing indicators and means to measure them
• Understand and support Social Marketing Organisations, their models and their strengths and weaknesses
• Determine what social marketing information is useful and relevant for dissemination across the region.     
  

CARISMA programmes are currently underway in the following countries: Dominican Republic, English Speaking Caribbean, Jamaica, Haiti, and Belize.