According to data released by the Health Services Directorate, Karnali, 35,824 people were tested for HIV until April 2082/83, and 31 people were confirmed to be infected.
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The rate of new infections has been decreasing with the expansion of HIV testing in Karnali Province. According to data released by the Health Services Directorate, Karnali, out of 35,824 people tested for HIV until April 2082/83, 31 were confirmed to be infected. The infection rate has dropped to 0.09 percent, which is the lowest in recent years.
According to Padam KC, HIV focal person at the Directorate, 70 people were confirmed to be infected when 12,90 people were tested in the fiscal year 2078/079. At that time, the infection rate was 0.58 percent. Since then, he said, the infection rate has been continuously decreasing.
It is estimated that 34,337 people will be infected with HIV in Nepal by the end of 2024. Of these, 614 new infections have been added, and 569 people are estimated to have died from AIDS-related causes.
ART (Antiretroviral Therapy) services are currently operating in Karnali Province through 9 centers. As of Chaitra of the current fiscal year, 770 infected people are under regular treatment. Last year, this number was 731. 290 people are under treatment in the Provincial Hospital Surkhet alone.
AIDS Health Care Foundation (AHF) Program Coordinator Sanjay Kumar Poudel said that despite the expansion of access to treatment services, there are still challenges in achieving the target. In the fiscal year 2081/82, 731 out of an estimated 923 infected people were under treatment, which is 79 percent. Of the infected people under treatment, the viral load of 537 was tested. Of these, 507 were found to have a viral load under control.
Out of 20,154 people tested for syphilis, 47 were confirmed to be infected. All the infected have received treatment. Similarly, out of 9,900 people tested for Hepatitis 'B', 21 were confirmed to be infected and 16 have received treatment.
Currently, 939 health institutions are operating in Karnali. Viral load testing services are available through 9 ART centers, 9 HIV Testing and Counseling Centers (HTCs) and the Provincial Public Health Laboratory across the province. However, the CD-4 testing service is yet to be operational.
The directorate has stated that it has put forward a plan to establish more ART centers in Jumla, start CD-4 testing services from the Provincial Public Health Laboratory, and increase public awareness at the community level.
Health Services Division Chief Brish Bahadur Shahi admitted that the work could not be done as expected due to limited resources. ‘The Nepal government does not have enough resources to work effectively in this area from its own budget alone,’ he said. Devendra Pathak, program coordinator of Renewal Plus, who has been working in the field of HIV-infected people, said that the infected should receive quality health services from the state and be able to live a life free from discrimination in the society.
‘If we can connect the infected with income-generating programs in the community, it will help improve their living standards,’ he said.
