 |
Nepal |
|
| |
|
|
| Total Treatment Sites: |
1 |
| Treatment Site Location(s): |
Teku, Kathmandu |
| Patients on ART: |
795 |
| Patient Enrolled: |
1,920 |
| Report in PDF Format: |
Nepal Country Report |
| |
Background & HIV/AIDS in Nepal
Nepal is one of the poorest nations in Asia (its UNDP development index ranking is 142 out of 177 countries). Due to the lack of testing sites and because of demographic barriers, obtaining accurate epidemiological estimates and accessing surveillance facilities are difficult and it has been a challenge to develop a meaningful and effective response to the HIV epidemic in the country. For example, in mid-2008, 11,000 cases of HIV were officially reported but UNAIDS estimates that 70,000 people were living with HIV in Nepal at the end of 2007 (World Bank, 2008).
High risk groups include: injecting drug users in urban areas (in 2007, HIV prevalence among IDUs was 34.7%); sex workers in urban areas and along the highway (HIV prevalence amongst female sex workers is between 1.3 and 1.6 percent); mobile populations from the remote regions of western and eastern Nepal; and men who have sex with men.
The National Center for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC) under the Ministry of Health and Population is the governmental agency responsible for HIV/AIDS and developed a National Strategy (2006-2011) and an Operational Plan (2008-2011) to address management and resource needs for an expanded response to the epidemic (World Bank, 2008).
AHF Activities in Nepal
AHF Nepal Cares’ program was initiated with the signing of an official memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Health and Population and the NCASC. The ART Center of Excellence at the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, Teku, Kathmandu was dedicated in November 2008.
AHF Nepal Cares operates within the confines of the government’s Operational Plan, which includes provisions regarding support for ART medical staff, technical support, capacity and skill building, continuing medical education programs, and hands-on case management of HIV patients.
