Mizoram has made significant strides in its efforts to combat HIV, climbing to third place in the national rankings for HIV prevention in 2025-26. However, the state still holds the highest adult HIV prevalence rate in India at 2.75%, well above the national average of 0.20%, according to officials.
Dr. Jane R. Ralte, Project Director of the Mizoram State AIDS Control Society (MSACS), highlighted that the state has seen a consistent decrease in new HIV infections since 2018, signaling the success of preventive measures and ongoing initiatives under the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO). “Mizoram has made remarkable progress in NACO’s scorecard for AIDS prevention and response. The number of new HIV infections has steadily declined since 2018,” Ralte said on January 9.
Despite this positive trend, the state still bears a heavy disease burden. Between April 2024 and November 2025, 3,257 people—including 953 women and 179 pregnant women—tested HIV positive from over 140,000 blood samples screened during that period. The highest number of cases were found in individuals aged 25 to 34 years.
The first HIV-positive case in Mizoram was identified in October 1990. Since then, a total of 33,781 cases have been recorded, with an estimated 26,321 people currently living with HIV in the state. Since the introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2005, at least 5,026 people have died from AIDS-related complications.
Of the new cases detected between April 2024 and November 2025, 70.4% were due to sexual transmission, 27.3% were linked to needle sharing among intravenous drug users, 1.8% were through parent-to-child transmission, and 0.8% were from unknown sources.
Health Minister Lalrinpuii emphasized that the state government is ramping up efforts to prevent further HIV spread through a range of interventions. She noted that 14 ART centres have been established across Mizoram, with 18,355 patients currently receiving treatment. Additionally, the government is exploring partnerships with churches to raise awareness and encourage HIV testing among couples before marriage, recognizing the significant influence religious institutions hold in the region.
