SEPTEMBER 2006 — Although Guyana has one of the worst HIV epidemics in the Western Hemisphere, there is little information about the behaviors that promote the spread of HIV within the country. Until recently there have been little data available to track the epidemic, other than HIV/AIDS case reports and a few small seroprevalence surveys.

To better understand the dynamics of HIV transmission in Guyana, in 2003 the Ministry of Health commissioned a series of Behavioral Surveillance Surveys (BSS) among youths both in and out of school, employees of the Guyana Sugar Corporation, members of the uniformed services, men who have sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers (FSW). The surveys conducted among FSW and MSM, called Biological and Behavioral Surveillance Surveys (BBSS), had an additional biological component, including testing for HIV and syphilis. Both the BSS and BBSS used the standardized method developed by Family Health International (FHI).

This executive summary contains the findings of the BSS and BBSS for all of the study populations.