Timor-Leste’s National Institute of HIV-AIDS (INCSIDA) calls for HIV awareness and testing to be more standard practice for people across the country.

Under INCSIDA’s community advocacy work, people must know if they test positive to HIV-AIDs free treatment needed to save their life is available at all medical centres.

Silvestre da Costa Sarmento, a technical officer with INCSIDA, told the Independente on Tuesday, INCSIDA is concerned that infected people are not accessing help. He warns that more deaths are imminent if testing and treatment rates don’t improve.

INCSIDA, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, reports that 300 people have died from HIV-AIDs in the last two decades, while 400  - out of the more than 2000 people who tested positive to HIV - have abandoned treatment.

While there has been substantial progress in Timor-Leste’s fight against AIDs in the last decade, the failure to prevent so many new infections and deaths is slowing this down, said experts.

Recently, Timor-Leste’s United Nations Population Fund reported that stigma and discrimination are the main barriers to HIV treatment adherence and might explain the high number of drop-out.

The symptoms of HIV vary depending on the stage of infection.

In the first few weeks after infection people may not experience any symptoms,  while others may experience flu like symptoms such as fever, headache and rash. These symptoms can progress to weight loss, swollen lymph and severe illnesses like tuberculosis if untreated, according to WHO.