The Planning Commission has expressed concern over the delay in introducing and getting passed the HIV/AIDS Bill, for which the public interest groups especially in the field of AIDS care have been crying for long.

“Although the achievement of physical targets under the programme is satisfactory, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is yet to introduce a HIV/AIDS Bill to protect the rights of children, women and HIV infected persons and avoid discrimination at work place,” a recent appraisal of the programmes of the Health ministry for the current Five Year Plan by the Planning Commission said.

The National AIDS Control Programme goal was to halt and reverse the epidemic in India over the five years period of the Eleventh Plan. This was to be done by integrating programmes for prevention, care, support and treatment, as well as addressing the human rights issues specific to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), the panel said.

A National Blood Transfusion Authority is to be established during the remaining period of the Plan. Voluntary blood donation has to be encouraged further to bridge the gap in demand and supply of blood. The objective to reduce new infections by 60 per cent in high prevalence States so as to obtain reversal of epidemic and by 40 per cent in the vulnerable States in order to stabilise the epidemic, can only be substantiated through independent evaluation studies. These need to be undertaken, the report said.

“Expenditure under National AIDS Control Programme including STD control during 2007-08 and 2008-09, has been 112.60 per cent and 91.91 per cent of the approved outlays respectively. During the financial year of 2009-10, the expenditure based on RE was 89.10 per cent of the approved outlay,” the panel said.

The much-awaited AIDS Bill has been pending for almost four years now and the sources said it was still under the consideration of the Law Ministry for vetting after the health ministry finalised it way back in August 2006.

A host of health activist groups in the country under the banner of 'National Coalition on the HIV/AIDS Bill' have been continuously pressing for the early passage of the bill and got assurance several times from the health ministry that it would be introduced soon. However, the wait still continues and the latest observation by the Planning Commission has come as a boost for those fighting its passage.