Sri Lanka: HIV/AIDS Brief

Sri Lanka, with a population of 19 million, had a relatively small number of HIV-infected people—about 4,800 adults and children—as of the end of 2002, according to UNAIDS. Since 1986, only 415 cases have been officially reported, however, with underreporting due mainly to limited availability of counseling and testing and a prevailing fear of facing social stigma after being identified as HIV positive. The HIV infection rate among adults between the ages of 15 and 49 is estimated by UNAIDS to be less than 0.1 percent.