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Country Profile

According to UNAIDS estimates, Bhutan is considered a low HIV prevalence country (less than 0.1%). As of end 2005, about 500 people were estimated to be living with HIV and AIDS [1]. The first case of HIV was identified and reported in 1993 and since then, the number of cases has been fluctuating, reaching its peak in 2006-2007. As of 2008, the Ministry of Health reported a total of 144 HIV cases among country's population of about 700,000. HIV positive cases have been confirmed amongst sex workers, prison inmates, and the military/police. Mode of transmission is primarily sexual. Half of all infected are male and two-thirds are between 20 and 49 years old [2].

Risk factors that contribute to the growth of HIV epidemic include spread of sex work to border towns and interior districts of some provinces, extensive alcohol and drug use amongst young people, multiple and concurrent relationships, prevalence of sexually transmitted infections, and the difficulty of reaching most-at-risk populations owing to limited information.

Sources:
[1] UNAIDS. Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic, 2006
[2] The World Bank. The World Bank in South Asia: Bhutan , August 2008