Young people have been urged to engage in safe sex and get tested to learn their HIV status as statistics reveal that more young people are becoming infected with HIV.

According to figures provided by the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, of the 245 new infections, 43 percent affected people are between the ages of 20 and 29 years.

UNAIDS Country Director Renata Ram says the most recent data on HIV and AIDs cases in the nation show a concerning trend.

“What has been revealed as well that out of the number of people estimated to be leaving with HIV, only 51 percent know their HIV status and only 28 percent of those people are actually on treatment.”

Ram says more still needs to be done to tackle the rate of infections.

“And what we notice is key prevention programs that needs to be upskilled in these areas. We need to have stronger condom program, you need to have more condom availability, and people need to know how to use condoms consistently and correctly. We need to have needle exchange program and there needs to also be shared responsibility in the HIV situation we are in right now.”

In response to these worrying statistics, the Ministry of Health has also launched several new strategies aimed at controlling the spread of the virus and assisting those affected.