After waking up early in the morning, the first thing he does is no longer checking his mobile phone. Instead, he takes several pills from a small white bottle kept on the table. He is only 24 years old, but this daily routine entered his life in December last year. The young man from the northeastern part of the capital is now afraid to reveal his identity even to friends and relatives. Just a few months ago, he was the most lively member of a group of five friends.

When his body weight started dropping abnormally and weakness increased, suspicion arose. On friends’ advice, he underwent an HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) test. The report came back positive. Later, it was learned that the infection had spread through his body via needles used while taking injectable drugs with friends.

Now the young man is regularly receiving ART (antiretroviral therapy—medication used to treat HIV) at a hospital in the capital. Treatment is ongoing, and his physical condition has improved somewhat, but the mental stress has not gone away. He says, “I didn’t know that sharing a needle was such a big risk. If I had known, I would never have done it.”