KATHMANDU:  A two-day workshop 'Nepal HIVision 2020' to discuss the country's National HIV Strategic Plan 'Nepal HIVision 2020' began in Kathmandu on Thursday.

The plan launched by Health Minister Gagan Thapa aims to end AIDS epidemic in Nepal by 2030

People living with HIV, civil society members, public servants and representatives of different organisations have been participating in the programme, according to a statement issued by the UNAIDS Nepal.

Speaking at the programme, Director General of the Department of Health Services, Dr Rajendra Pant, said, “Nepal HIVision 2020 provides the strategic directions for the implementation of an innovative, evidence-informed and socially just HIV response that will set Nepal on a Fast-Track course to end the country’s AIDS epidemic by 2030.”

According to a presentation by Shambhu Kafle of the Ministry of Health, the National Centre for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC) has made remarkable progress in its HIV response over the past decades.

It is estimated that 33,000 people were living with HIV in Nepal at the end of 2016.