India makes significant improvement in tackling HIV/AIDS: UN

D Ravi Kanth
Geneva, Nov 23 (PTI) India has made remarkable progress
in combating HIV/AIDS over the last ten years by reducing the
overall exposure to this killer disease by 50 per cent, says a
global report issued by a UN agency on the epidemic.
Besides, the Indian drug companies played a vital role
in supplying the first-line drugs for HIV/AIDS patients in
poorest African countries at phenomenally cheap prices, the
UNAIDS said in its report.
"India reduced HIV/AIDS by 50 per cent while its
pharmaceutical companies played a major role in care and
treatment by supplying 86 per cent of the first line drugs to
the poorest countries," said Mr Michel Sidibe, UNAIDS'
executive director.
Around 2.4 million estimated people are living with
HIV last year In India as against 2.5 million in 2001.
The UNAIDS' latest report suggested that around 33.3
million people were estimated to be living with HIV.
"We are breaking the trajectory of the AIDS epidemic
with bold actions and smart choices," said Sidibe, cautioning
that the disease will stage a comeback if adequate funding is
not made possible by both international donors and domestic
spending by the developing countries.
Over the last eight years, the rate of new HIV
infections stabilised or decreased by more than 25 per cent in
at least 56 countries around the world, especially in the
poorest African countries.
Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region most
affected by the epidemic with 69 per cent of all new HIV
infections.
While there have been significant improvements in
treatment which increased by seven and half times over the
last five years with 5.2 million people accessing live-saving
drugs in 2009, around 10 million people are still with without
treatment.
In India, over 600,000 HIV patients are without
treatment. He praised the Vatican for giving the green signal
for the use of condoms which was treated as a religious taboo
until recently.
"The Pope's latest announcement on condoms will have
significant impact on HIV-prevention," he argued.
The Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including Russia,
have become the epicentres for the spread of HIV/AIDS in the
recent years.
In Asia, including India, the spread of HIV/AIDS is
concentrated in some mega cities because of large scale
migration of poor people in search of employment and their
exposure to sex workers. PTI BRK
MHM


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