The first case of AIDS in Nepal was reported in 1988. By the middle of 2008, more than 1,750 cases of AIDS and over 11,000 cases of HIV infection were officially reported, with two times as many men reported to be infected as women. However, given the limitations of Nepal’s public health surveillance system, the actual number of infections is thought to be much higher. UNAIDS estimates that 70,000 people were living with HIV at the end of 2007. Nepal’s HIV epidemic is largely concentrated in most at-risk populations (MARPs), especially female sex workers (FSW), IDUs, MSM, transgender, and migrants. Injection drug use appears to be extensive in Nepal and to overlap with commercial sex. Another important factor is the high number of sex workers who migrate or are trafficked to Mumbai, India, to work, thereby increasing HIV prevalence in the sex workers’ network in Nepal more rapidly. 

Effective prevention interventions need to be scaled up, especially among IDUs. Nepal's poverty, political instability, and gender inequality, combined with low levels of education and literacy, make the task challenging, as do the denial, stigma, and discrimination that surround HIV and AIDS. This section links you to resources, news, events and organisations working on HIV/AIDS in Nepal.