National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) is holding deliberations with the stakeholders to gather inputs and to finalise the national strategic plan for the National AIDS Control Programme phase IV (NACP-IV) by September this year.

As many as 15 working groups with more than 20 sub-groups have been holding discussions and gathering inputs of the stakeholders for the next phase.  After completion of all phases of the working groups meetings, inputs will be consolidated for developing the draft NACP IV Plan Document. The document will be discussed with key stakeholders including civil society at the national, regional/state level. Formal civil society consultations are tentatively scheduled for the months of July and August 2011, sources said.

The phase III was launched in July 2007 with the goal of Halting and Reversing the Epidemic by the end of project period in mid 2012. The Government had earmarked Rs.11,585 crore for the phase to ensure completion of the reversal of the epidemic through enhanced prevention linked with care support and treatment.

“Programme reviews indicate  that most of the targets set for NACP III are likely to be achieved by mid 2012 in terms of scale-up of coverage of HRG, safe blood supply, testing services, scale-up of ART and various interventions with community ownership and following principles such as GIPA.  However, consolidating the gains and ensuring quality and coverage will require attention in the next few years,” a senior official said.

The next phase will continue to be inclusive and focused on marginalised, weaker sections and hard-to-reach population. NACP has explored various approaches towards this. NACP IV will continue to provide care, support and treatment to all eligible population along with focused prevention services for the high-risk groups and vulnerable populations.

The working groups had held several rounds of meetings and the recommendations would be submitted by end of June. The state-level consultations would then begin, along with the e-consultations. The consultation with the development partners would be held in the first week of July and the national strategic plan is expected to be ready by September, sources said.

The deliberations focused on the achievements of NACP III so far and identified the emerging challenges that NACP IV is to address. There was a general consensus amongst all groups that NACP IV should consolidate on the gains of NACP III and further build on the progress made so far.