Lhak-Sam, Bhutan Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS BNP+

16/06/2026

We are pleased to share that Lhak-Sam reached more than 3,000 individuals in Paro through HIV and AIDS awareness, sensitization, and voluntary HIV testing initiatives. As part of the program, a Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) survey was conducted among 420 men and women to assess their understanding and perceptions of HIV and AIDS.

The survey revealed several important findings:

✅While most respondents know how to protect themselves, many do not fully understand how HIV is transmitted or how treatment works.
✅Educational attainment has a major influence on HIV knowledge.
✅Women generally possess better HIV-related knowledge, particularly regarding prevention of mother-to-child transmission.
✅Overt discrimination appears relatively low, but misconceptions about privacy, confidentiality, and the rights of people living with HIV persist.
✅Nearly one-third of respondents remain hesitant about HIV testing, indicating ongoing concerns related to stigma, fear of positive
✅Understanding of modern HIV treatment is inadequate and should be a priority area for future education campaigns, especially promotion of the "Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U)" message.
✅As treatment becomes more available, public perception of HIV risk may be declining. Continued awareness efforts are necessary to prevent complacency and maintain prevention behaviors.

Bongde Institute of Hotel and Tourism, Farm Machinery Corporation Limited, Wanakha Central School, Paro Elementary School, Olathang Primary School, Department of Air Transport, Paro International Airport, Gaupel Lower Secondary School, Woochu Lower Secondary School, Dawakha Lower Secondary School, Wangsel Institute for the Deaf, Zomlha Training Institute, Paro,

17/05/2026

𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗛𝗜𝗩 & 𝗔𝗜𝗗𝗦 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝘂𝗻𝗮𝗸𝗵𝗮 & 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗱𝘂𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴

*307 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝐻𝐼𝑉 𝐾𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑙𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒, 𝐴𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒 (𝐾𝐴𝑃) 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛.

Majority showed good awareness on HIV transmission and prevention.

𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

⚠️ Only 43.6% correctly understood the role of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).
⚠️ 18.6% still believed HIV can spread through mosquito bites.
⚠️ Nearly 1 in 3 respondents were uncomfortable working closely with people living with HIV, showing that stigma still exists.
⚠️ 38.4% reported inconsistent or no protection use during sexual activity outside marriage.

𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀

📌 Younger respondents showed higher stigma despite perceiving HIV as serious.
📌 Higher education levels were linked to better HIV knowledge and lower stigma.
📌 Many respondents still misunderstand confidentiality and disclosure rights of people living with HIV.

The campaign findings show that while general HIV awareness is improving, critical gaps remain in: ART literacy, Myth and misconception correction, Stigma reduction, Consistent safe sexual practices.

We thank the participants for your valuable time and attention.

Continued awareness, education, testing, and community engagement remain essential to ending stigma and preventing HIV transmission in Bhutan.

Khuruthang Middle Secondary School Bajothang Higher Secondary School Technical Training Institute, Samthang Agriculture Research and Development Center-Bajo Tencholing PS Samtengang Central School Bjimthangkha Primary School Wangdue Technical Training Institute-Khuruthang

26/03/2026

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