Dec 01, Kathmandu- Health and Population Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet has said that Nepal has made significant progress in HIV control.

In a program organized today on the occasion of the 36th World AIDS Day, Minister Basnet said that from 2010 to 2022, the rate of new HIV infection has decreased by 77 percent, and the death rate due to AIDS has decreased by 80 percent, which is a great achievement for the region.

Minister Basnet mentioned that the goal of eradicating HIV from Nepal by 2030 is challenging and said that the ministry is ready to join hands with the community to eradicate HIV.

In a program organized by the National AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases Control Center, Dr. RP Biccha, a member of the National Planning Commission, said that even though Nepal has achieved success in reducing the HIV infection rate, there is still a challenge to end it. He emphasized on the need to cooperate with all parties to change the behavior towards HIV-infected people.

The secretary of the ministry, Dev Kumari Guragai, said that HIV can be cured by taking medicine like other diseases, and it is necessary to spread public awareness to end the discrimination against the infected.

The director of the center, Dr. Sanjay Thakur, informed that there are about 30,000 HIV-infected people in Nepal by the end of 2022 and said that community leadership is necessary to face the next challenge.