Increase in HIV infections in SL

By Rathindra Kuruwita

There has been an increase in the number of HIV patients in the country, the HIV/AIDS surveillance data from the National STD/AIDS Control Programme of the Health Services Department reveal.

About 620 new HIV patients and 81 deaths were reported in 2013. More than 165 new patients and 15 deaths were reported in the first quarter of 2023. This is a 13 percent increase compared to the first quarter of the previous year. The total number of HIV cases rose from 4,556 to 5,176 during the January-March quarter of 2023.

By the end of 2022, a total of 1,520 HIV-related deaths have been reported, the National STD/AIDS Control Programme said.

In response to this situation, the Health Ministry has issued a call for expressions of interest to conduct a study on integrated bio-behavioural surveillance (IBBS) and population size estimation of key populations affected by HIV in Sri Lanka. This study is typically conducted every 4-5 years.

The previous IBBS study conducted in 2018 revealed that the prevalence of HIV and STDs remained low across all population groups in Sri Lanka. However, it cautioned that the presence of risky behaviours, such as inconsistent condom usage, poor HIV health-seeking behaviour, limited knowledge of HIV, and inadequate coverage of HIV prevention programmes could lead to an increase in prevalence.