DHAKA – A Catholic Church run charity organization in Bangladesh put together a special Advent Spiritual Seminar on Dec. 15 at the capital, Dhaka.

Caritas Bangladesh organized the event under the Strengthen Care & Support for People Living with HIV and AIDS and Their Children Project, supported by MISSIO Germany.

Archbishop Bejoy Nicephorus D’Cruze was at the event, and he presented the keynote remarks.

He emphasized in his speech the importance of trusting God and caring for those who are HIV positive.

“We need to be more caring for those who are HIV positive in the family, we need to involve them in good deeds,” D’Cruze said.

“This HIV/AIDS is a examine from God and God definitely wants something good through it. So we need to trust God,” he continued.

“Families, neighbors and donor organizations need to be more caring for these HIV positives, they need to be given a place in society with respect like others,” the archbishop said.

The Senior Program Officer of the Health sector of Caritas Bangladesh, Margret Jouthsna Gomes, told Crux that about 50 HIV survivors and their family members join the program.

“Caritas arranges these types of programs every Advent and Lent for sharing the spirituality of Christmas and Easter with those who are affected by HIV-AIDS,” Gomes said.

She marked that people who are affected by HIV-AIDS survive with the mental stresses, and they usually do not tell their problem to others.

“So, we arrange special Mass and Confession for them.” Gomes told Crux.

According to data from the National AIDS/STD Control Program (NASP), 1,891 new HIV infections were detected in the 12‑month period ending in October 2025, while 254 AIDS-related deaths were reported nationwide.

Bangladesh is now estimated to have about 17,480 people living with HIV in 2025, with national adult prevalence still below 0.01 percent in the general population.

According to a report of UNICEF, published on November 29, 2021, about 360,000 adolescents are projected to die of AIDS-related diseases across the world between 2018 and 2030. About 76 teenagers are projected to die every day if any additional allocation is made in the prevention of HIV, screening, and treatment projects. Currently, two adolescents are being infected with HIV every two minutes

Caritas Bangladesh is helping the people infected with HIV/AIDS, and helping their children with their education. The Catholic charity distributes $330 for educational assistance and $350 for nutritious food to help strengthen their well-being.

Experts noted that while the country continues to be classified as low-prevalence, rising case numbers among these groups signal growing transmission networks that can spill over into the wider population if left unaddressed.

They stressed the need to scale up targeted harm-reduction and treatment services that are accessible, confidential, and free from discrimination.

Public health leaders urged sustained government investment and renewed donor support to consolidate progress and prevent the current rise in cases from becoming a longer-term surge.