The 22nd World AIDS Day is being observed in Nepal along with many other countries in the world by organising various programmes on the theme “Universal Access and Human Rights”, Tuesday.

First observed on December 1, 1988, the World AIDS Day is being observed every year on the same day since then.

Issuing a message on the occasion of the World AIDS Day, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal urged all stake holders to launch extensive awareness programmes to control HIV from spreading further.

PM Nepal said in his statement, the chances of spreading HIV in Nepal is high as many of the infected persons are unaware as they have not gone through blood tests due to poverty and lack of awareness.

Although, government statistics shows the number of HIV infected in Nepal only at about 15000, organisations working in this sector have say as many as 70,000 persons could have contracted HIV.

On the eve of World AIDS Day Monday evening, Maiti Nepal, an organisation working against women and children trafficking, organised a candle light prayer meeting in memory of those killed due to AIDS in Kathmandu. -nepalnews.com