First, let me wish a very happy new year 2012 to all the partners engaged in national response to HIV epidemic in Nepal. I wish you and your family members a very warm happy new year that may last your good health and happiness for continuing your efforts to participate in the course to make HIV a history.

Kathmandu, 5 August 2011: Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP), National Centre for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC) today disseminated the results from the Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance (IBBS) surveys 2011 conducted among Female Sex Workers (FSWs) and male Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) in Kathmandu and Pokhara Valleys. The national dissemination was attended by Government Agencies and I/NGOs working in the HIV and AIDS sector. These IBBS surveys are part of the National HIV Surveillance Plan, led by NCASC with technical and financial assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded ASHA Project. The survey field work was conducted by New ERA and Intrepid Nepal with external quality assessment by the National Public Health Laboratory.