According to officials, the greatest rates of HIV prevalence in India are still found in two northeastern states: Mizoram and Nagaland. Officials claim that the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS among adults aged 15 to 49 in these two northeastern states is significantly higher than the 0.20 percent nationwide prevalence rate. The National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) reports that the adult HIV/AIDS prevalence in Mizoram is 2.73 percent and in Nagaland it is 1.37 percent. The HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate in the two northeastern states is likewise substantially higher than other 35 states and Union Territories.
According to NACO data, the prevalence rate is higher than the national average of 0.20 percent in four northeastern states: Manipur (0.87 percent), Meghalaya (0.43 percent), Tripura (0.37 percent), and Arunachal Pradesh (0.25 percent). Assam (0.13 percent) and Sikkim (0.11 percent) are the only two northeastern states with a prevalence rate below the national average. Lalrinpuii, the minister of health and family welfare for Mizoram, urged immediate, concerted action to address the state’s startlingly high adult HIV/AIDS prevalence rate.
Speaking at the Mizoram State AIDS Control Society (MSACS) governing body meeting in Aizawl, the Minister stated that the situation calls for increased cross-sector action and that there is no room for complacency. In 2024–2025, 2,069 new cases of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) were reported at the state’s 14 Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) centers, according to MSACS Project Director Dr. Jane Rinzuali Ralte, who told the audience. Ralte further pointed out that although Mizoram has seen a consistent drop in new HIV/AIDS infections over the last five years, the state still leads the nation in HIV prevalence.
