Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: Injecting drug use is fueling a rapid surge in HIV infections across Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shows needle-linked cases in Assam skyrocketed from 8.5 percent in 2020-21 to over 60 percent by 2025. Total people living with HIV in Assam hit 33,145 in 2025-26, up from 11,364 five years prior. This marks the highest caseload among the eight northeastern states.
Arunachal Pradesh reports an even steeper trend. Injecting drug use accounts for 82 percent of all new HIV detections there. While Assam's adult HIV prevalence sits at 0.13 percent, the state’s absolute caseload is growing at an alarming speed. Infection hotspots include Kamrup, Cachar, Nagaon, and Dibrugarh.
Regional drug supply networks remain entrenched despite massive seizures. Authorities intercepted drugs worth 3,253 crore rupees by July 2026. Police arrested 25,835 people under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act since 2021, yet only 1,000 convictions occurred. Birendra Kumar Barman, president of the Advance Pharmacy Practitioners of Assam, labeled the crisis a failure of oversight. "The root of the rise of HIV/AIDS cases in the Northeast is drugs," Barman said.
Other states follow different trajectories. Nagaland and Manipur, once heavily impacted by intravenous transmission, now see heterosexual contact as the primary infection driver. Nagaland holds an adult prevalence rate of 1.37 percent, while Mizoram leads the nation at 2.73 percent. Across the entire Northeast, 129,836 people were living with HIV in 2025-26.
Medical experts cite a lethal mix of socio-economic disparity and healthcare gaps. Dr. S.I. Ahmed, Chairman of the AIDS Prevention Society, noted that while more patients now know their status, the prevalence in Tripura and Meghalaya continues to climb. Authorities face a grim reality. Drugs are everywhere now.
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