Afghanistan

Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, with a yearly income per head estimated at $US300 in 2005. After nearly three decades of war and 5 years of drought, the population’s health, social, and economic conditions have declined greatly. Life expectancy at birth is only 43 years, and maternal and child mortality remains among the highest in the world. The literacy rate in the general population is very low (28%), especially for women (13%). 

Only recently has Afghanistan started looking at the issues of HIV and AIDS. The Ministry of Public Heath reported a total of 69 cases of HIV infection in Afghanistan in late January, 2007, based on data from the Kabul blood bank and an HIV seroprevalence survey of injecting drug users in Kabul. Only a few months later (August, 2007), the government reported 245 cases of HIV infection in Afghanistan, although the actual number is likely to be much higher. Injecting drug use has ignited HIV epidemic in many central, east, and south Asian countries. As seen in these neighbouring countries, the epidemic in Afghanistan has the potential to grow quickly from a small base of injecting drug users and their partners. 

As a low-prevalence but high-risk country, HIV control is a major priority in Afghanistan. The country is adopting a public-health approach that includes harm reduction to reduce the spread of HIV among injecting drug users. Although the financial costs of HIV prevention will be substantial, the costs of failing to control HIV and AIDS will be far greater. This section links you to resources, news, events and organisations working on HIV/AIDS in Afghanistan.