Sri Lanka records highest HIV cases in single quarter: Close to 250 cases so far this year!

The National STD/AIDS Control Programme (NSACP) of the Ministry of Health says that HIV infections among the country’s youth has increased owing to factors such as the use of mobile phones and modern technology to find partners, as well as the lack of proper sex education.

The Director of NSACP and Specialist in Community Medicine, Dr. Vindya Kumarapeli, stated that 15% of the HIV cases reported last year were young people aged between 15 and 24 years.

Speaking at a press conference held at the Health Promotion Bureau, Dr Kumarapeli emphasized that the number of new HVI-infected patients is rapidly rising, with 694 new cases reported within the past year.

“Especially when looking at the data available on the young people, 15% of new patients are between the ages of 15 to 24. When we look into this further, we see that the reason for this is seeking partners through various modern technologies including mobile phones, or not getting proper sex education. Things like addiction to certain drugs contribute to an increase in new infections among young people,” she added.

According to the National STD/AIDS Control Programme, Sri Lanka has seen 214 new HIV cases, reflecting an 18 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter in 2023, which saw 181 cases. The second quarter ranges from April to June.

So far, a total of 448 HIV cases have been reported in 2024, which is a clear increase compared to the corresponding period of last year, which saw 346 cases.
Meanwhile, a total of 4,643 males and 1,472 females have contracted HIV thus far since 2009.         

Moreover, There were 40 million people living with HIV in 2023, up from 32 million in 2010, the result of continuing new infections and people living longer with HIV. Of the people living with HIV in 2023, 38.6 million were adults and 1.4 million were children under age 15.