September 2005—HIV prevalence in Nepal is approximately .5%, with about 26% of cases estimated to be among women. The epidemic remains concentrated in a few vulnerable populations, namely female sex workers (FSW) and their clients, injecting drug users (IDUs), and seasonal migrant workers. Nepal is well regarded for its strong, community rooted HIV prevention work. A number of local and international organizations, His Majesty's Government (HMG) of Nepal and donors have developed well targeted, model prevention programs reaching difficult to access populations with harm reduction services.

However, less momentum has existed in the area of HIV treatment, care and support, despite the fact that 60,000 people are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS in Nepal. Only a handful of Nepali with HIV have access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) through the public or private health care system, and simple prophylactic medicine to prevent bacterial infections among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) is infrequently used by health care workers despite its affordability. The National Center for AIDS and STD Control (NCASC) recognizing the gap in care services for PLHA commissioned a team of international and domestic experts with support from United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Family Health International (FHI) and Department For International Development (DFID) to determine what was currently needed in terms of treatment, care and support services in Nepal and make recommendations as to where the government, its donor and nongovernmental organization (NGO) partners should focus care resources in the coming year.

The subsequent recommendations made by the HIV/AIDS Treatment, Care and Support Design Team were based on the priority care and support areas outlined in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (2002– 2006) for Nepal, which shapes the national response to HIV/AIDS in Nepal, the National Operational Plan for HIV/AIDS Control (2003–2007) and the National HIV/AIDS One-year Operational Plan (2003–2004). The National Strategy features the following overall goal for PLHA: care and support services of a defined quality are available and accessible for all people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.