HIV/AIDS prevention

The number of officially reported HIV cases in BiH is 116. However, experts fear that the number of registered HIV and AIDS cases may only represent the”tip of the iceberg”. This is primarily due to insufficient surveillance data on high-risk groups, so it is feared that the epidemic will be fully detected only at the point when it has moved into the general population and has become a full fledged epidemic. A highly mobile population, including refugees, IDPs, returnees, rural-urban migrants, labor migrants, victims of trafficking and sex workers are considered especially vulnerable to contracting HIV.

While the rates of infection are highest among 15 – 24 yr olds, those adolescents most at risk (“MARA”) are young commercial sex workers (CSW), young injecting drug users (IDU) and young men who have sex with men (MSM).

Still, data on HIV/AIDS and the risk behaviour of specific groups is fragmented and anecdotal. Although the Entity Ministries have taken certain steps to strengthen data collection and surveillance, BIH does not have the 2nd generation surveillance system established that would, report the behaviours that place people at risk of HIV.