Mohammad Khan Hedayat, an official from the HIV/AIDS department at the Afghan-Japan Hospital, states that from March 2025 until now, at least 286 cases of AIDS or HIV have been reported in Afghanistan.
Officials at the Afghan-Japan Hospital report that according to published statistics, 86 positive cases have been registered in just the past five months, and the number of AIDS cases has doubled compared to previous years.
Mr. Hedayat emphasized, “In 2022, we registered 81 patients throughout the entire year, and last year we recorded 200 cases in one year. In the past five months, we have registered 86 patients.”
Statistics released last year indicated that from the beginning of 2025 until the end of October, over 82,000 people had undergone AIDS testing, of which 300 were positive.
Dina Patel, the HIV project manager at the United Nations Development Program, also stated last year that according to global estimates, around 13,000 people live with this virus in Afghanistan, but only a portion of these individuals have been identified, and many infected individuals are unaware of their status.
She added that most positive cases have been recorded among drug users who share needles and prisoners.
According to this UN official, since the first case of HIV was registered in Afghanistan in 1989, four hundred people have lost their lives to the disease.
Doctors indicate that AIDS is a viral disease that can be transmitted through blood, sexual intercourse, and from mother to child.
Currently, there is no definitive cure for this disease; however, it can be managed with appropriate medical care.
