Knowledge and beliefs about HIV / AIDS among young people in urban Nepal.

The HIV/AIDS situation in Nepal is worrying and worsening. Nepal has progressed from being a low-prevalence low-risk population to one with a "concentrated" epidemic in the early 2000s. For several years HIV/AIDS has been concentrated in certain high-risk populations such as injecting drug users commercial sex workers and truck drivers. In those populations the pace of the epidemics growth has recently accelerated. For example in the capital city of Kathmandu HIV infection among injecting drug users remained negligible during the early 1990s but by 1997 nearly half of the users were infected. Furthermore in recent years the epidemic has been found to be spreading among traditionally lower-risk populations such as pregnant women. The number of persons currently infected with HIV/AIDS is estimated at 58000. The trafficking of girls (most of whom end up in brothels in Indian cities) and the seasonal out-migration of males to India (the rate in some districts is known to be as high as two thirds of the male population for four or five months annually) are generally thought to be two of the major factors contributing to the rise in infection rates. Owing to the potential for rapid spread of the epidemic to the general population it is necessary to intensify urgently the efforts to promote preventive measures and behavioural change throughout Nepals population particularly among young adults. This study focuses on the young population for several reasons. First both the incidence and the prevalence of STIs are higher among young people than the general population. Second there is a paucity of comprehensive age-cohort data and marital-specific cohort data for Nepalese under the age of 25. Third for economic as well as social and health reasons the public and private sectors in Nepal increasingly recognize the need to protect the health of the countrys next generation of adults. (excerpt)