Venancio Colho, Director of the National HIV-Aids Commission, said challenges around the virus persist, with figures showing that most people newly diagnosed are at a late stage of infection, increasing their risk of death.

Reported cases have increased to 991, from 725 in 2017, Colho said, adding that prevalence rates are likely to be much higher but poor testing levels persist.

He said the continued increase in cases was down to poor awareness and low testing levels.

A Timor-Leste Living Standard Measurement Study found just 50.7 percent of people over 15 years-old have heard of HIV/AIDS; and of those only 41 percent know that it can be avoided by use of condoms.

This year 119 people have died from the virus, Colho said. Late diagnoses increase the risk of death within a year up to tenfold, compared with people diagnosed promptly, health experts say.

Colho said the National HIV-Aids Commission were conducting awareness work around Timor-Leste to encourage people to get tested and take on preventive measures.

The Timor-Leste Government identified improving identification and access to treatment services for the public in its National HIV/Aids Strategic plan, however, health experts warn that most people who know their diagnosis delay or avoid seeking help because of stigma around the sexually transmitted disease

HIV positive people are often stereotyped as having “poor morals,” while the use of contraception is not widely accepted, leading some health experts to predict a dangerous future for the virus in Timor-Leste.

Previously Dr Dan Murphy, a prominent doctor in Bairo Pite Clinic of Dili, labelled HIV as “the number one health concern for the country.”