New HIV infections rise in Afghanistan, Reuters reports

Reuters has reported that new HIV infections in Afghanistan have increased, with at least 286 new cases identified over the past year and a half. According to the report, 86 of those cases were recorded in just the past five months.

The report said these cases were identified and registered between March 2025 and September 2026. Health officials have cited a severe shortage of treatment centres and heavy social stigma as the main obstacles to containing the disease in the country.

The UN Development Fund said in December last year that around 13,000 people across Afghanistan were living with HIV. The agency’s findings show that the virus’s prevalence in Afghanistan is less than 1% of the population.

Based on those findings, infections have been reported more often among drug users, prisoners, sex workers and their partners than in other groups. HIV is a virus that damages the immune system and, if untreated, can lead to AIDS.