Papua New Guinea: Summary Country Profile for HIV/AIDS Treatment Scale Up

The first case of HIV infection in Papua New Guinea was detected in 1987. By June 2005, 12,341 people had been reported to be living with HIV/AIDS. The country is facing a generalized epidemic with rapidly increasing prevalence in a difficult socioeconomic context. A national epidemiological consensus meeting in November 2004 estimated an average prevalence rate of 1.7%, and between 25,000 and 69,000 people with 15-49 years were living with HIV/AIDS. Prevalence rates among women attending antenatal care services are estimated to vary between 1% and 4%. Available data suggests that the epidemic is predominantly transmitted through heterosexual contact (84%), fuelled by high-risk behaviour including widespread commercial and casual sex. Approximately 93.1% of current reported cases are adults.