KATHMANDU, DEC 01 - As the country gears up to celebrate the World AIDS Day , stakeholders have said that the prevalence of HIV among adults (age group of 15 to 49) is gradually decreasing and if the trend is maintained till 2015, the country is sure to meet the millennium development goals for HIV/AIDS.
The World Aids Day is marked every year on December 1 and has a theme of "Shared Responsibility: Strengthening Results for an AIDS-Free Generation" for this year.
According to a report of the National Centre for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC), which will be released on Sunday, the prevalence rate is now 0.28 percent (in 2012). It was 0.3 percent in 2011, 0.33 in 2010 and 0.39 in 2009. The prevalence rate looks into 15 to 49 years age group, which is more prone to being infected with the HIV.
The MDGs-6 has set fixed targets for HIV/TB and Malaria and other disease. The MDGs 6 has a target to halt and begin to reverse by 2015 the spread of HIV/AIDS, which has already been achieved in 2011. However, the progress needs to be maintained till 2015, the deadline set by the United Nations for all its member countries. While Goal 6B talks of achieving universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it, the Millennium Development Report-2013 published by the UNDP states the target is also likely to be achieved. "The percent of the population with advanced HIV infection that was receiving antiretroviral therapy increased by 37 percent to 29 percent over three years, but, at this rate, three years is not enough time for Nepal to reach its 80 percent target," the report states.
Experts attribute the significant drop in prevalence rate to intervention programmes. The government has been running various efforts aimed at behavioural change and programmes in which drug users can receive new syringes for their old ones. Oral substitute therapy, a substitute for intravenous drugs, is said to have helped reduce new incidences of HIV contributing to the decrease of overall prevalence rate.
Dr Naresh Pratap KC, director at the NCASC, said the 15-49 age group population is prone to HIV and the decrease in prevalence in this group would mean that we are on the right track. "Also the programmes focused on concentrated groups such as injectable drug users, female sex workers and migrant workers, among others, are also becoming a success," Dr KC said.
Many believe that the intervention programmes have helped Nepal reduce the number of HIV infections. In its global report this year, the UNAIDs stated that Nepal is one among the 26 countries where new HIV infections declined more than 50 percent between 2001 and 2012. Other countries that have seen similar trend are Combodia, India, Myanmar and Thailand.
Satish Raj Pandey, deputy director at the Family Health International, however, said the intervention programmes are a major factor behind the decrease but they are not the sole factor. "We need to conduct a thorough study before coming to such conclusion," Pandey said, adding that the programmes have been quite effective in the case of sex workers and it has expanded well into the migrant population.
Pandey said there are still challenges in the HIV prevention programme. "Our health institutions should be able to cope with the crowding people seeking antiretroviral treatment as the government plans to scale it up.
The first HIV infection was detected in 1988 in Nepal and since then 48,600 people are estimated to have been infected. Currently, 22,994 people are reported to have been living with HIV.
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