Reports indicate a rise in detected HIV cases in Afghanistan.
Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday, September 15 (24 Sunbula), that at least 286 new HIV infections have been recorded in Afghanistan over the past year and a half.
According to the report, 86 of the total recorded cases were identified in the past five months.
The figures reportedly cover the period from March 2025 to September 2026.
Taliban health officials say the absence and shortage of treatment centers, along with stigma and social pressure against infected individuals, are among the major obstacles to HIV diagnosis, treatment, and control in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced last Qaws (December) that the number of people living with HIV in Afghanistan is estimated at around 13,000.
According to the agency’s data, HIV prevalence among Afghanistan’s population is less than one percent; however, certain groups — including drug users, prisoners, sex workers, and their sexual partners — face a higher risk of infection.
It is worth noting that the virus is mainly transmitted through unprotected sex, sharing contaminated syringes or needles, contaminated blood, and from an infected mother to her child.
