The Central Government will soon engage an external agency to undertake a survey to determine the actual number of AIDS affected persons in the country. The exercise is meant for carrying out a realistic assessment of the actual problem and come out with policies necessary for achieving zero level growth of HIV AIDS in the country by 2007.
Informing this in the Lok Sabha, the Health Minister Dr. A Ramdoss said that the objectives of the Second National AIDS Control Project were to reduce the rate of growth of HIV infection in India; and to strengthen India's capacity to respond to HIV/AIDS.
The HIV Sentinel Surveillance Round 2003 has estimated 5.1 million HIV infections in the country. Government directs and coordinates implementation of a comprehensive national AIDS prevention and control programme as a 100 per cent centrally sponsored scheme across all states and union territories in the country. The First National AIDS Control Project was implemented from 1992-1999, and the current Second National AIDS Control Project is being implemented from 1999 to 2006. Government adopted a National AIDS Prevention and Control Policy in 2002, which envisages that India achieve zero level growth of HIV/AIDS in the country by 2007. Government has adopted a National Blood Policy in 2002, followed by a detailed Action Plan on Blood Safety in 2003, the minister informed.
The National AIDS Control Programme has a basket of operational strategies for prevention of HIV, coupled with strategies for the care, treatment and support of people living with HIV. The interventions on prevention focus on preventive Intervention for high-risk population through behavior change communication, counseling and testing, condom promotion, and referrals for treatments of sexually transmitted infections. These are implemented through targeted interventions at high-risk sites, through an enabling environment fostered through awareness generation, and inter-personal communication.
Preventive Interventions for general population through dissemination of information, education and communication across all segments, programmes on safe blood, services for voluntary testing and counseling, reaching out to adolescents and young adults through the School AIDS Education Programme and the University Talk AIDS Programme and awareness generation among out of school youth through the Nehru Yuva Kendras are in progress.
Interventions for low cost care and support through community care centers, installation of services in ante-natal clinics and prevent HIV transmission from HIV positive mother to newborn infants, commonly known as prevention of parent to child transmission, managing the HIV-TB co-infection, treating people living with HIV/AIDS for opportunistic infections, and protecting health care providers with post-exposure prophylaxis are also there.
Government has also recently expanded the agenda on care and support of people living with AIDS (PHLAs) and introduced anti-retroviral treatment across six high prevalence states (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur and Nagaland) in 8 designated government hospitals. From August 2004, onwards and during the current financial year, we will expand the designated government hospitals from 8 to 25. "We will include government hospitals in moderate HIV prevalence states and low prevalence states, " the minister said.
Anti retroviral treatment for People Living with HIV/AIDS will help boost their immune systems and restore quality of life, which in turn, will enable them to resume an active life, he hoped.