Conflict victims are hit by HIV/AIDS: report

The UNHCR with UNAIDS Secretariat, WFP, UNFPA, OCHA, UNESCO, UNDP, and NGOs including AMDA and GWP, and the Government of Nepal have concluded a 12-day HIV/AIDS Assessment Mission of conflict-affected populations including displaced persons in Nepal.

According to the statement issued by the UNHCR on Friday, the mission sought to identify measures to prevent and respond to HIV and AIDS among conflict-affected populations.

"Although no direct link between increased HIV infection and conflict has been found, possible associations were identified between conflict and increased HIV vulnerability and risk," the statement quoted Dr. Paul Spiegel, Head of the HIV Unit, UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva as saying.

UNHCR has stressed the need for improved coordination among government, NGOs and UN agencies working in HIV and AIDS activities and the establishment of stronger protection mechanisms for the most vulnerable in conflict-affected settings.

The findings of the mission showed that the effects of the conflict may have led to an increase in migration, especially for younger men, both within Nepal and to India and elsewhere; migrant males are recognised as a group with increased vulnerability to HIV. Women and children, who often make up the most vulnerable group affected by conflict the world over, have also suffered in Nepal, the report said.

The mission found that some HIV and AIDS activities were intermittently interrupted due to the conflict, and that in general such programmes were more concentrated in the district headquarters. The assessment revealed a pressing need for better coverage of HIV prevention activities in most at-risk populations, regardless of any link with conflict.

Team members travelled to Nepalgunj and Ilam and districts in Kathmandu meeting with a wide range of people including government officials, military and police personnel, NGOs, community-based organisations, members of key populations, including migrants, displaced persons, sex workers, injecting drug users, women, widows, youth, and persons living with HIV in course of preparing the report. nepalnews.com ia Dec 01 06

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