The first case of AIDS in Mozambique was recorded in 1986. The following year, the first survey was carried in various urban centres, which recorded an average prevalence between 1.2% and 2%.
The civil war that engulfed Mozambique from 1975 to 1994 considerably hampered the national response to HIV as most resources were diverted toward financing the war. During this time limited surveillance of the epidemic made it difficult to measure its impact. Since 1992 returning refugees from neighboring countries fueled the rapid spread of the epidemic in Mozambique. HIV has also grown steadily but undetected within the country ever since the discovery of the first AIDS case. At the end of 2007 there were 1.5 million people living with HIV including 100,000 children. The estimated adult prevalence is 12.5%.
There is great disparity between HIV prevalence in the northern (9%) and southern regions (21%). Moreover, while HIV has been leveling off in centre and the northern regions it has been rising in the southern regions.
In Mozambique as in most countries in Eastern and Southern Africa young women aged 15-24 are disproportionately more affected by HIV than men in the same age group. UNAIDS/WHO estimates for 2007 show that HIV prevalence among young women at 8.5% compared to 2.9% among young men.
At the end of 2007, there were 90,000 people on antiretroviral treatment, which equals 24% coverage. It is important to note that the number of sites providing antiretroviral treatment across the country has increased from 32 in 2005 to 211 in 2007.
