$2.5-bn push for anti-AIDS plan

[Guest guest]

$2.5-bn push for anti-AIDS plan

Sanchita Sharma, Toronto, August 16, 2006

India is all set to roll out a $2.5-billion National AIDS Control

Programme in 2007.

Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, who is in Toronto for the 16th

International AIDS Conference, says, " Apart from scaling up

treatment and prevention, the five-year programme (NACP-III) will

focus on getting accurate data on HIV prevalence in UP, Bihar, MP,

Rajasthan and Orissa. "

The reason: these five states are a potential hotbed of HIV/AIDS

infection as they have a high proportion of migrant population that

travels to high-risk areas of Mumbai and Chennai. Also, there is a

high prevalence of sexually-transmitted infections, generally an

indicator of HIV/AIDS.

Ramadoss says, " Watch out for next year's report. We'll have more

data. "

The number of sentinel sites from where HIV data are collected is

being increased from the current 750 to 1,150 by year-end. Most of

these additional sites will be set up in the vulnerable states of

northern India.

The National AIDS Control Programme (NACO) also has plans to

increase the number of government centres offering free testing,

counselling and treatment - from 74 centres now to 100 by August-

end. " After the increase, we'll have the capacity to treat 85,000

people with HIV. Now 45,000 people are being treated under the

government programme, " says NACO director-general Sujatha Rao.

Under NACP-III, the government also plans to provide paediatric

doses for 10,000 children with HIV. " The focus of the third phase is

on scaling up prevention and treatment with the involvement of the

private sector and with better communication management, " says

Ramadoss. Simply put, NACO says it will not only ensure free drugs

to those who need it but will also make sure that people know where

and how to get them.

The World Bank has praised India's AIDS-control programme in its

book, AIDS in South Asia. , one of the authors,

says, " In India, HIV is highly concentrated in the vulnerable groups

of sex workers, injecting-drug users and men having sex with men. It

is low among the general population. So if we protect the vulnerable

groups, we can protect the general population. "

J.V.R. Prasada Rao, regional director of the UNAIDS support team for

Asia and the Pacific, however, cautions that the risk remains very

high as some districts in India have a high infection rate of 4-5

per cent.

" India has among the lowest health spending (as percentage of the

GDP) even though it is capable of putting in more money. It is time

it did that and not depended on external funding, " says Prasada Rao.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1769593,0008.htm