Department of AIDS Control

[Guest guest]

Department of AIDS control (AIDS NIYANTRAN VIBHAG)

It seems, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has quietly

created a new department. Department of AIDS control (AIDS NIYANTRAN

VIBHAG). The following are the 6 objectives of the new department.

1. Inter-sectoral, inter-organisational and inter-institutional

coordination, both, under the Central and State Governments in areas

related to HIV/AIDS control and prevention.

2. Providing institutional framework for high end research for

control, prevention, cure and management of HIV/AIDS and all

coordination in this regard.

3. Dissemination of accurate, complete and timely information about

HIV/AIDS to motivate, equip and empower the people and promotion of

measures for effective protection against the spread of the

disease.

4. National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).

5. International co-operation, exchange programmes and advanced

training in HIV/AIDS management and research.

6. Promoting research studies in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention.

All the proposed 6 objectives of the new department including the

administrative control of the National AIDS Control Organisation

(NACO) could be called as logical extension of the current HIV

response being implemented by NACO. But, is this a step towards

right direction?

The selection of the name of the department- Department of AIDS

control- is puzzling. What we learned from about two decades of HIV

response is that, HIV prevention, care and support are the integral

part of mitigating the impact of the infection. Many would also

argue, HIV treatment it self is prevention. We also learned that a

right based approach is integral to HIV response, incorporating the

gender vulnerability analysis of the people vulnerable to HIV

infection

One would beg to question the rationale to name the HIV response

department as Department of AIDS control. The concept of " AIDS

Control " ignores all the lessons we have learned so far in dealing

with the virus. " AIDS Control " is an exclusive clinical approach to

the virus and the driving value of sunch " control approch " is rigid-

disempowering paternalism.

AIDS INDIA e FORUM would like to hear from the subscribers of this

FORUM on their take on this new change.

http://cabsec.nic.in/abr/abr12.htm