Kabul: Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health has registered 200 new cases of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)/HIV among citizens in 2024, a state-run news agency Bakhtar reported on Wednesday. Eight treatment centers and 61 diagnostic centers for HIV/AIDS are currently active in Afghanistan, ensuring that health services for individuals with HIV/AIDS are being provided throughout the country, as stated by the ministry.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the ministry’s spokesperson Sharafat Zaman Amarkhail reported that a total of 3,700 HIV cases have been documented in Afghanistan since 1989. Presently, 1,400 people infected with the virus are receiving medical treatment across the country.
In a global context, approximately 39.9 million people were infected with HIV in 2023, with 630,000 individuals succumbing to AIDS-related illnesses during the same period, as indicated by recent data from the Joint United Nations Programs on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).