Nearly 200 positive AIDS cases have been recorded in Afghanistan since the beginning of the local calendar year, Afghanistan’s Tolo News reported, citing the country’s health ministry.
The local calendar year begins in the country on March 21.
“Among the 200 positive cases recorded this year, one contributing factor was the lack of treatment centers in certain areas, but all registered patients receive care,” ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman Amarkhil was quoted as saying by the news outlet.
Eight treatment centers and 61 diagnostic centers specializing in HIV and AIDS operate throughout the country, the spokesman said.
The head of the AIDS treatment department at the Afghan-Japan Communicable Disease Hospital told Tolo News that the facility alone has registered 1,555 patients since the beginning of the year, including 116 new cases. He called for more support from the government and partner organizations to effectively help patients.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 39.9 million people worldwide were living with HIV/AIDS in 2023, some 630,000 people lost their lives to the disease and about 1.3 million people contracted HIV.
