538 HIV infected people receiving antiretroviral therapy in Banke

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT,Nepalgunj, Dec 12: As many as 538 HIV infected people from Banke are receiving regular treatment at Bheri Hospital in Nepalgunj.  According to Man Bahadur Nepali, focal person at the District Health Office, Banke, 538 HIV infected people are undergoing antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment in the district. The infected people are taking ART service from Bheri Hospital, he said. 

Of the total 1,516 people receiving ART treatment at the Bheri Hospital, 538 are residents of Banke district alone, said Nepali.  According to the Health Office, Banke, a total of 6,200 people were tested for HIV in the fiscal year 2019/20 and 116 were found infected. 

 In the fiscal year 2020/21, a total of 9,576 people were tested and 117 were infected. Similarly, in the fiscal year 2021/22, a total of 11, 754 people were tested and 157 of were infected. 

According to Nepali, the high-risk groups of HIV infection in Nepal include the drug users, sex workers, male homosexuals and transgenders, migrant workers and inmates. According to the Health Office, 170 people have died of HIV in Banke so far. Some of the dead were from other districts and while undergoing treatment in Banke.

The government aims to end the HIV epidemic by 2030, with zero new HIV infection, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero HIV-related discrimination.