********************************************************** SAATHII Electronic News Letter HIV NEWS FROM INDIA SOURCE: www.livemint.com, www.kanglaonline.com, The Business Standard, The Economic Times, www.medindia.net,The Hindu, The Financial Express, www.ndtv.com, The Times of India and The World Bank Group. Posted on: 04/08/2007 COMPILED BY: Randhir Kumar, B. Vilasini, and L. Ramakrishnan SAATHII Chennai office. Note: this compilation contains news items about HIV/AIDS published in the Indian media, as well as articles relevant to HIV/AIDS in India published internationally. Articles in this and previous newsletters may also be accessed at http://www.saathii.org/orc/elibrary =============================================================== 1.'DFID is committed to working with the poorest people in India'.(New Delhi) www.livemint.com, July 2, 2007. http://www.livemint.com/2007/07/02041116/DFID-is-committed-to-working.html 2. Imphal declaration on HIV/AIDS hailed by NGOs in Manipur.(Imphal) www.kanglaonline.com, July 2, 2007 http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=38436&typeid=1 3. Peers help truckers combat HIV/AIDS.(New Delhi) The Business Standard, July 3, 2007. http://www.business-standard.com/economy/storypage.php?leftnm=3&subLeft=2&chklogin=N&autono=289705&tab=r 4. India looking for its own AIDS crusader.(New Delhi) The Economic Times, July 3, 2007. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/India_looking_for_its_own_AIDS_crusader/articleshow/2160548.cms 5.'Advise BPO workers on healthy living'.(New Delhi) The Economic Times, July 4, 2007. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Infotech/ITeS/Advise_BPO_workers_on_healthy_living/articleshow/2168920.cms 6. India AIDS Cases Due to Drop, Spending Up.(New Delhi) www.medindia.net, July 4, 2007. http://www.medindia.net/news/India-AIDS-Cases-Due-to-Drop-Spending-Up-22946-1.htm 7. Filmmakers team up to deliver message on AIDS in cinema halls.(Chennai) The Hindu, July 5, 2007. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200707041720.htm 8. A life cover that gives victims of HIV/AIDS a caring touch.(Mumbai) The Financial Express, July 5, 2007. http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=169223 9. New AIDS figures show low prevalence.(Chennai) www.ndtv.com, July 6, 2007. http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070017880 10. HIV patients to get insurance cover.(Chennai) The Hindu, July 6, 2007. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200707061721.htm 11. India now third on world's AIDS list.(New Delhi) The Times of India, July 6, 2007. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India_now_third_on_worlds_AIDS_list/articleshow/2183489.cms 12. A Brief on HIV/AIDS in INDIA.(Washington) The World Bank Group, July 7, 2007. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21396517~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html =============================================================== 1.'DFID is committed to working with the poorest people in India'.(New Delhi) www.livemint.com, July 2, 2007. http://www.livemint.com/2007/07/02041116/DFID-is-committed-to-working.html New Delhi:'DFID is committed to working with the poorest people in India'. As India's economy grows, it is changing course from a nation that receives aid to one that gives. Yet, even as donors scale back funding programmes, the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) recently announced that it would give more than Rs2,000 crore as additional development aid, over the next eight years. It plans to include a system of more direct giving to the Union and state governments. UK officials have said they want their efforts to also reach into states such as Bihar, where non-profits had feared that a corrupt environment prevents aid from reaching those who need it. Susanna Moorehead, head of DFID's programmes here, sat down with Mint recently to discuss key issues for India's largest bilateral aid programme. Excerpts: Did DFID's decision to increase aid take people by surprise, given that the rest of the world is cutting aid to India as its economy expands? No, I don't think so. Prime Minister Tony Blair made a commitment in 2002 to increase aid to India to ?300 million (Rs2,460 crore), and we are working towards that. Even though India's economy is growing at more than 8%, it still has at least a quarter of the world's poor. The British government has a relationship with India that goes far beyond aid, and the government sees DFID's work here as an integral part of the partnership between our countries. DFID currently focuses on Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. Can you speak on how closely DFID is looking at expanding programmes into Bihar? DFID is committed to working with the poorest people in India, and Bihar surely competes for the bottom of the league table. We already provide ?12 million in support every year through centrally sponsored schemes, but our government decided just over a year ago that we should target more resources in the poorest states that we hadn't been working in up until now. I think there is a window of opportunity now to both, politically and economically, engage in Bihar in a way that DFID has in other states. DFID has said it will focus on health. How will that fit in with your plans in Bihar and what else will you focus on? The government of Bihar has set its own priorities and health is one of those. Related to that, we will look at nutrition. Bihar has some of the highest prevalence of child under-nutrition in India. We're already providing ?75 million to Unicef?not only in Bihar but in the poorest states?and they are doing a lot of work on child health indicators. What will be different in DFID's support for the third phase of the national AIDS policy versus the previous round? The way that we are providing support has changed. We're bringing HIV and AIDS into line with the way we fund other complex government schemes, which is putting the resources through the government's budget. That's not to say that we just put the money in and hope for the best. We have a rigorous system of monitoring and identifying within development work what we will and won't fund.But... the scale of the problem is such that the government is really the only institution that's got the size and the democratic mandate to tackle HIV and AIDS. And we would rather support the government in bringing civil society into that process rather than funding civil society and government independently. What are the biggest challenges the government faces in this area? In many ways it's the same challenge that faces poverty reduction in India. It's the scale of the problem, even though until now prevalence rates have been mercifully low (less than 1% of India's 1.1 billion people have HIV) in percentage terms. In numbers terms you have millions who live with HIV already in India (current government estimates say 5.2 million). There is also the complication of a huge variety between states and what is causing HIV within those states. For example, in the North-East it is closely correlated with intravenous drug use. Elsewhere, we're finding increasing transmission rates from men to women and then from women to children. So, the situation is so varied it's hard to think of India as a single HIV problem. In a sense, all the problems you see all over the world, you find in different parts of India. News reports in recent weeks have projected that India will revise its HIV and AIDS estimates down, possibly by as much as a half. As one of the largest outside donors to HIV and AIDS programmes here, does this concern you? The first thing to say is that the government is still looking at the data and has promised to take a view on the official figure by next month and we will wait for that outcome. The second is that if there are two or three million fewer people infected with HIV and AIDS, then we are delighted. But the fact is there would still be two or three million infected and that's a huge number. It's not that figures have been inflated in a purposeful way. It's just that this is an incredibly hard thing to get reliable estimate on. Any step in the direction of getting a more accurate picture is to be welcomed. The key issue for us is, which way is the trend going? Is it going up or down or is it being contained? The fact that prevalence rates still seem to be at 1%?if it falls below that, fantastic, but that's not to say that DFID's resources won't be well used. If an improved methodology produces revised figures, that is not reason to take our foot off the accelerator. No one doubts the scale of the AIDS crisis and even if it is two or three million less than we thought, it is still a crisis. =============================================================== 2. Imphal declaration on HIV/AIDS hailed by NGOs in Manipur.(Imphal) www.kanglaonline.com, July 2, 2007. http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=38436&typeid=1 Imphal: Imphal declaration on HIV/AIDS hailed by NGOs in Manipur. Manipur is moving towards positive action in the fight against HIV/AIDS, functionaries of NGOs working in the field of the dreaded disease said on Sunday while welcoming yesterday`s recommendation of the one-day conference of legislatures of Manipur. "It will be a milestone for the state of Manipur if the government and politicians convert into action the recommendations in the declaration as early as possible," Bobby, general secretary of the Manipur Network for Positive People, MNP+ told this correspondent. The state government is taking up positive action knowing the menace of HIV/AIDS, he added. "I think the political initiative is very encouraging as committed leadership is integral to the fight against HIV/AIDS," Chitra Ahanthem, state coordinator, centre for Media advocacy and research, Imphal observed. The comments of the officials of the NGOs came after constitution of the Legislators Forum and signing of the historic "Imphal Declaration of Manipur Legislators - 30th June, 2007" at a one-day conference on HIV/AIDS held at the Assembly hall yesterday, a move of the state government that drew wide appreciation. Manipur became the 11th state in India to have a Legislators Forum on HIV/AIDS. The forum was constituted under the guidance of the Parliamentary Forum on HIV/AIDS formed in 2000 with support from UNAIDS and NACO. The conference was the first ever of its kind in the state at which the MLAs of the state signed the historic "Imphal Declaration of Manipur Legislators - 30th June 2007" with the aim of strengthening the response to HIV/AIDS in the state. The fist case of HIV/AIDS was first detected 17 years back in Manipur and since then there are more than 25,000 people living with the virus today. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur and Nagaland have reported HIV prevalence of more than one per cent among antenatal women representing the general population and there are 5.2 million infected people in the country, according to a recent report of the ministry of health and family welfare. More than 5,85,092 people have been tested positive at government counseling and testing centres in the country since the start of the epidemic, while 1,65,276 aids cases have been reported by the state health authorities. As in 2005, 140 districts in the country recorded HIV prevalence of more than one per cent among antenatal women. In order to control the spread of HIV/AIDS, the Union government is implementing the National AIDS Control Programme as a 100 % centrally sponsored scheme. The strategy is based primarily on preventing new infections by focused interventions among high risk groups and also providing care, support and treatment to HIV infected persons. The country coordinator of UNAIDS-India, Denis Brown, who attended the Imphal legislatures` conference said, "Millions of people died due to insufficient political leadership. Fair leadership can make a difference and nothing will happen without your leadership." The phenomenal success made possible in bringing down the incidence of HIV/AIDS in Uganda due to the strong and committed political will to meet the challenges of HIV/AIDS, Brown recounted. "Your call should be that in the next five years, Manipur is not included amongst the six high prevalence states of India. Nothing in the state will happen without your leadership," Brown said urging legislators to play a more effective role. He also called for an effective goal setting in reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS in Manipur. =============================================================== 3. Peers help truckers combat HIV/AIDS.(New Delhi) The Business Standard, July 3, 2007. http://www.business-standard.com/economy/storypage.php?leftnm=3&subLeft=2&chklogin=N&autono=289705&tab=r New Delhi: TCI ropes in 'peer group educators' and helps set up general health clinics as part of the campaign. Twenty-year-old Vimal used to be just another helper in a truck. Today, he conducts sessions for other helpers and truck drivers about general hygiene, health and, most importantly, sexually transmitted infections at a Khushi Clinic. The clinic is supported by transport and logistics major Transport Corporation of India (TCI) in Ghaziabad through its corporate social responsibility arm, Transport Corporation of India Foundation (TCIF). The clinic, situated near a truckers' trans-shipment centre, is part of a chain of mobile and static general health clinics set up by TCI near truckers' halt points at 17 locations in the country and is part of its Project Kavach, (kavach is armour in Hindi) which aims to check the spread of HIV among long-distance truck drivers. Vimal is one of the 360 peer educators working for the programme. Project Kavach has its genesis in Microsoft founder Bill Gates' visit to India in December 2003. Long-distance truckers were one of the groups he wanted to cover in his AIDS prevention programme and he contacted TCI for this. After the programme was launched, an internal survey was conducted, in which it was found that truckers suffer from "low self-esteem and stigma," said Anil Nair, project manager, Project Kavach, TCIF . "So, we decided to emphasise on their role in society and their responsibilities as individuals. Awareness about sexually transmitted diseases is just one part of this," he said. The sessions, conducted by Vimal and others like him are called Inter Personal Communication and have peer group educators that include former truck drivers, helpers and tea stall owners, and are about general hygiene and health. The importance of using condoms are a part of this. Each session, typically, will have two trainers and 10-20 truckers and helpers. The trainers use 9 dialogue-based "tool" or cards to get their message across, such as correcting myths like alcohol gives immunity to sexually transmitted infections. The trainers have become part of the programme for different reasons. Vimal, for instance, became involved when he visited TCIF's Khushi Clinic in Ghaziabad for treatment. There, he was asked whether he would be interested to be part of the programme and he agreed. Others, like 45-year-old Mahesh Chand Sharma, felt they should contribute their bit to society. The trainers earn Rs 125 per hour per session, and most of them earn an average of Rs 2,000-3,000 a month. Though it was not easy getting the drivers to open up, the fact that the peer educators were one among them made things easier. Khushi Clinics are another part of Project Kavach. A typical Khushi Clinic, such as the bright blue and yellow one in Ghaziabad, are general health clinics with a doctor, a nurse, a counsellor and paramedical staff. There is also a mobile unit, with separate staff, which goes to pre-determined areas for a certain number of hours each day. The focus is not just sexually transmitted infections, as it was felt that this would restrict its reach. This also helps the patients confide more easily to doctors when they have symptoms for the same. Consultation fees are waived and medicine is provided at cost price. Though no testing for AIDS is done at the clinics (except for the one in Bangalore), referrals to other hospitals are given when there is a suspicion of the virus being present. TCIF, which aims to cover 1.4 million truckers by 2008, has tied up with local NGOs. In Ghaziabad, it has tied up with the Cyriac Elias Voluntary Association. Truck brokers are also an integral link. At several places, the brokers' offices are used for carrying out the programme. Other activities include street plays, film screenings and "trucker utsavs" (infotainment events on a larger scale), besides sale of condoms through 800 non-traditional outlets. =============================================================== 4. India looking for its own AIDS crusader.(New Delhi) The Economic Times, July 3, 2007. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/India_looking_for_its_own_AIDS_crusader/articleshow/2160548.cms New Delhi: India looking for its own AIDS crusader. India needs someone like Thai minister Mechai Viravaidya to aggressively promote condom use and control HIV infection rates, the head of the country's AIDS control agency said, The Times of India newspaper reported Friday. Viravaidya, who is called Thailand's Mr. Condom, emerged as an AIDS crusader in the early 1990s when he launched an aggressive condom distribution and public education campaign, which helped to drop the country's number of infections significantly. "We are very serious about finding India's very own Mr Condom,'' K. Sujatha Rao, the head of India's National AIDS Control Program told the newspaper. "He has to have a dynamic personality to change both government policy and public perceptions about HIV, AIDS, sex and condoms," she said, the newspaper reported. "Most of India's AIDS epidemic is caused by sex and not infected blood transfusions." India, a conservative country where even talking about sex is considered taboo, has faced enormous challenges in promoting condom use and safe sex. UNAIDS said in data released last year that the country had the highest HIV infections in the world at 5.7 million. Rao also told the newspaper that NACO would soon set up a condom cell and recruit graduates from the country's top management schools to help devise government strategies to promote safe sex in the country. =============================================================== 5.'Advise BPO workers on healthy living'.(New Delhi) The Economic Times, July 4, 2007. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Infotech/ITeS/Advise_BPO_workers_on_healthy_living/articleshow/2168920.cms New Delhi: India's apex IT industry body has asked BPO firms to counsel employees on healthy living following incidents of rowdy and aberrant behaviour, including drunkenness and drug abuse, by call centre workers. "Nasscom has asked BPO (business process outsourcing) firms to counsel their employees on good and positive living and not to implement any alcohol or HIV/AIDS test," said, Kiran Karnik, president, National Association of Software and Service Employees (Nasscom). "IT and ITeS is an industry where a whole lot of people are employed who are young, just after graduation and put inside stressful work experience. "Yes, there are companies who have sought our opinion on whether to implement alcohol or HIV/AIDS tests. I also know that people do come drunk to work but these problems can be sorted out," Karnik added. The incidence of alcohol and drug abuse and HIV/AIDS is on the rise in call centres. According to the UN Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), companies including Nasscom should come forward to voice concern and facilitate platforms to discuss the issues with the employees. Last month, a drunken call centre employee mowed down two children aged three and six while severely injuring their mother and their one-year-old sister, both of whom are still warded at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. "I believe BPO firms should make it a part of their induction package about the ill-effects of substance use and make efforts to de-glamourise its use," said Ashita Mittal, senior national programme officer, UNODC. UNODC has organised road shows in front of some BPO firms in Gurgaon. According to Mittal, the response was enormous. She also said some of the leading BPO companies have approached UNODC to campaign for them and advise the employees about the negative effects of drugs. "I would definitely like to say that risks and vulnerabilities are increasing in the call centres. But then that is true for many industries where employees do long night shifts and find it difficult to adjust with life," she added. "A lot of glamour is attached to the use of drug, which needs to be done away with. It's the duty of the employers to talk with employees and communicate with them about the issues in a fair and open environment." Agrees Karnik, who believes that individual companies themselves should set up counselling sessions and make them aware of the social disease. "See, one has to understand that these are young boys and girls who have put together to work under a very stressful environment. They are fresh out of college, earning hefty salaries and it's obvious they would like to experience things that might not be good for their life," Karnik stressed. "So instead of being a moral police it's always better to advice them about is consequences." Added Sam Chopra, president, Business Process Industry Association of India (BPIAI), "It is a great idea to make the employees aware of certain things such as alcohol and drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, pre-marital sex and social relationships as part of their induction programme. This will help in prevention. "New Delhi-based psychiatrist Sanjay Chugh said, "Incidence of drug abuse, alcohol, AIDS are definitely on a rise in the BPOs. The people working for BPOs are exposed to physical stress, the body clock goes for a toss leading to mental and emotional stress, which I am sure are further complicated by the fact that the work itself threatens to be monotonous." "So, a lot of people feel wasted. People resort to drugs, alcohol and sex for want of some variety, thrill, and feeling better about themselves." Indranil Paul (name changed), an employee of a leading Gurgaon-based BPO, admitted there were plenty of problems. "BPO jobs are stressful, but that's for any other job. And I believe call centre jobs are much more challenging. So I think guys should chill out and take it positively, others who can't just leave." =============================================================== 6. India AIDS Cases Due to Drop, Spending Up.(New Delhi) www.medindia.net, July 4, 2007. http://www.medindia.net/news/India-AIDS-Cases-Due-to-Drop-Spending-Up-22946-1.htm New Delhi: India AIDS Cases Due to Drop, Spending Up. India is expected this week to release sharply lower AIDS figures but also to announce a six-fold jump in spending to reduce the rate of infection over the next five years, officials say. Almost three billion dollars, including about a third from foreign donors, will be poured into the next stage of India's HIV/AIDS prevention efforts to be launched in New Delhi on Friday, a top official said. Previous estimates from India's National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) have put the HIV caseload in this country of more than one billion people at 5.2 million, while UNAIDS in 2006 estimated 5.7 million cases. That figure made India the country with the highest number of people infected with HIV in the world. Indian officials were tightlipped on Saturday about the new numbers. "There will certainly be a decline but it has to be understood in the correct context, with the correct reading," NACO director Sujatha Rao told AFP. A senior official with UNAIDS, the UN agency that coordinates the campaign against HIV/AIDS, also told AFP earlier this month that the numbers would likely drop. "Most probably the figures will be lower than we thought," said Dennis Broun, country director for UNAIDS India. "When UNAIDS gave the estimate of 5.7 million in India we said it could as low as 3.4 million and as high as nine. That is a very broad range. It might be that it could be even lower". =============================================================== 7. Filmmakers team up to deliver message on AIDS in cinema halls.(Chennai) The Hindu, July 5, 2007. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/009200707041720.htm chennai: Filmmakers team up to deliver message on AIDS in cinema halls. Indian cinemagoers will soon see short films by India's top directors about the impact of HIV/AIDS, which will be screened ahead of Bollywood movie blockbusters. The "AIDS Jaago" project, a collaboration of filmmakers to raise awareness about the disease, is the brainchild of India-born film director Mira Nair and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Nair came up with the idea when a representative of the foundation contacted her and presented "the startling statistic that if we don't control what's happening in India in terms of the lack of awareness and stigma and other things associated with HIV, the magnitude of India's HIV/AIDS epidemic could equal that of Africa in a few years." "I proposed that I would get together the most cutting-edge, commercial, populist film directors from different regions of India who would each use iconic movie stars who are recognized in our country, who would each make a dramatic tale of 15 minutes in length," Nair told USINFO, a US government-run website. One AIDS topic was assigned to each director, "and then they had the freedom to do what they needed to do," Nair said. "I chose the directors I most admire," she said of filmmakers Vishal Bhardwaj, Santosh Sivan and Farhan Akhtar. Bhardwaj's film Blood Brothers is about the psychological impact of the infection and "living positively with it," Nair said. =============================================================== 8. A life cover that gives victims of HIV/AIDS a caring touch.(Mumbai) The Financial Express, July 5, 2007. http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=169223 Mumbai: A life cover that gives victims of HIV/AIDS a caring touch. In a landmark move, local standalone health insurance company Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd has decided to provide life cover to victims of HIV/AIDS. Until Star Health had moved in this direction, no insurance company had volunteered this cover in the country. The new policy would target over 5.7 million people infected by HIV/AIDS in India, including 7.5 lakh full-blown HIV patients, V Jagannathan, managing director, Star Health, said. In an informal chat with the media after introducing new policies on Thursday, Jagannathan said, "We have already received the green signal from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) and hope to get its final approval in a day or two." "It is part of Star Health's internal strategy to serve the need of different people with different products. We have products on diabetes, senior citizens, non-resident Indians as well," he said. "We plan to make it a separate vertical as it calls for dedicate attention and can be done through different segments of people," Jagannathan said, adding, the company plans to rope in a lot of NGOs and activists group to roll the policy as early as possible. The company earlier launched two new products, namely Senior Citizen's Red Carpet and Diabetes Safe. The Senior Citizen policy aims at targeting people between the age group of 60 and 69. It has a standard premium of Rs 5,000-10,000 annually, with a life-long renewal guarantee. The diabetes safe covers diabetic patients against the risk of complications like retinopathy, nephropathy and diabetic foot ulcer, he said. "We plan to launch one more high-end medical policy with a claim amount of Rs 10 lakh," he added. Star, which has 100 branches across the country, plans to open 28 more branches to widen its pan-India presence. "We are targeting Rs 250 crore business this fiscal against Rs 100 crore last fiscal," he added. =============================================================== 9. New AIDS figures show low prevalence.(Chennai) www.ndtv.com, July 6, 2007. http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070017880 Chennai: New AIDS figures show low prevalence. After several disputed surveys about India's HIV/AIDS figures, an official survey by the National AIDS Control Organisation makes clear that India is not sitting on an AIDS time bomb. The new figures, which will be released on Friday, say that India has 2.5 million HIV positive people, and not 5.7 million people as believed earlier. Last estimates by NACO, collected from samples taken from high-risk groups like sex workers and STD clinics, had put the figure at 5.7 million in the 15 to 49 age group. But questions arose about the accuracy of those numbers when the third National Family Health Survey, a population based study, showed that the number could actually be around three million people. The study, however, did not include high-risk groups like sex workers, truckers or migrant labourers as they don't live in households. ''There are two surveys that were done by the NFHS and second by an expert committee - WHO Geneva, CDC Atlanta, UNAIDS and NACO. They compiled data of sentinel sites; they say prevalence point is 0.9 to 0.4,'' said Dr Anbumani Ramadoss Union Min for Health & Family Welfare. While the numbers controversy may be behind them, the government needs to now strengthen its response to the disease and tackle the widespread problem of discrimination and stigma. The recent cases of HIV positive children being kept of school and a father made to deliver his baby as his wife was HIV positive show how tough the task is. But for the moment, the government can afford to celebrate. Finally they have a method that assesses the progress of HIV AIDS more accurately. =============================================================== 10. HIV patients to get insurance cover.(Chennai) The Hindu, July 6, 2007. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200707061721.htm Chennai: HIV patients to get insurance cover. For the first time ever, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)-infected patients in India are set to get insurance cover, thanks to the pioneering initiative taken by the city-based Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd. The country's first stand-alone health insurance company, Star Health has already moved the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) seeking permission to launch a product to provide group insurance cover for HIV-hit. V. Jagannathan, Chairman and Managing Director, said the country had 5.7 million HIV-infected people. Estimates suggested that at least 0.75 million of them could be carrying full-blown AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), he pointed out. The premium would be Rs.3,000 per person per year. ``The compensation becomes payable if an HIV patient is confirmed to be carrying AIDS,'' he told The Hindu. The total cover per person would be Rs.50,000. Mr. Jagannathan said Star Health would work in close co-operation with non-government organizations (NGOs) and other social groups to identify HIV cases and offer insurance cover. The social stigma attached to HIV patients and the difficulty in drawing the individuals out to take up a policy on their own had forced Star Health to adopt the institutional route to offer this cover. Star Health, he said, had also been holding talks with a Union Territory to offer insurance cover of BPL (below poverty line) families. The company, he said had already signed up with the Andhra Pradesh Government to provide cover against dreadful diseases to 20 lakh BPL families in three districts at an annual premium of Rs.66 crore. Mr. Jagannathan said the company had settled claims to the extent of Rs. 15 crore between April and June this year. The company, he said, had also come out with a product called `Red Carpet' for senior citizens. It offered hospitalization benefits only for people above 60 years and up to 69 years, at entry level and assured renewals thereafter. The premium would be fixed (Rs.5,000 to Rs. 10,000) for a cover of Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 lakh. There would be no pre-acceptance screening, he said. The policy would cover even pre-existing diseases with a look-back period of 12 months. Star Health, he said, had also come out with a `Diabetes Safe' insurance policy. It covered already known diabetics against risks arising out of specified complications. The policy cover ranged from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 4 lakhs, he added. =============================================================== 11. India now third on world's AIDS list.(New Delhi) The Times of India,July 6, 2007. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India_now_third_on_worlds_AIDS_list/articleshow/2183489.cms New Delhi: India now third on world's AIDS list. There's finally some good news on India's AIDS front. The country has an estimated 2.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS, about 2.7 million fewer cases than previously estimated. The prevalence of HIV in the general population is now .36% against .9% as earlier believed. This makes India the third worst affected country with the deadly disease after South Africa (5.5 million) and Nigeria (2.9 million). Till now, India was placed in second place with an estimated 5.2 million cases. The latest figures, endorsed by experts from UNAIDS, CDC, WHO, ICMR, the Union health ministry and NGOs like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Clinton Foundation "as closest to the truth", were reached after tabulating data from the National Family Health Survey-III and the records available with NACO's 1,122 sentinel surveillance sites. NFHS-III, conducted by 18 research institutes, for the first time collected 1.5 lakh random blood samples from 29 states, which after being tested, gave an insight into India's actual burden of HIV. The earlier estimate of 5.2 million HIV infected among the age group 15-49 and UNAIDS's estimate of 5.7 million infected in all age groups was based on anti-natal women who visited the 750 surveillance sentinel sites. Launching the ambitious Rs 11,585 crore National AIDS Control Programme III, under which NACO hopes to halt and reverse the tide of HIV epidemic in India by 2011, health minister A Ramadoss said, "When we believed India had 5.2 million estimated HIV cases, we were accused of under-estimating our figures. But now, far more reliable data, based on an expanded surveillance system and a revised methodology, has shown that India's actual HIV burden among the adult population is between 2 million to 3.1 million." He, however, warned that there was no room for complacency as India was still home to over 30 lakh people living with HIV. "Accurate and larger data will help us understand the epidemic better. In terms of human life affected, the numbers are still large and worrying. Over 104 districts still have HIV prevalence above 1% while 14 of these districts have HIV prevalence above 3%. That's why under NACP III, we plan to control spread of HIV by increasing the number of intervention strategies from 1,029 to 2,100 by 2012," Ramadoss added. According to Dr Yves Souteyrand from WHO's HIV/AIDS department in Geneva and UNAIDS's manager of epidemic and impact monitoring Peter D Ghys, India's latest methodology using both community-based and sentinel survey data to reach a figure is comparable to the procedure that other countries have followed. "Now we have a fair and balanced comparison. This methodology has been followed by 22 of the world's worst affected countries," Souteyrand told TOI. Ghys added, "Earlier, HIV estimates for India ranged between 3-9 million. With better and extensive data now available, we have been able to reduce the range to 2-3.1 million which is closest to the actual number of HIV/AIDS victims living in India." Ashok Alexander, director of Avahan, the Gates Foundation's AIDS project in India, said, "Even though the numbers have been halved, the threat is exactly as big. Several districts in Gujarat, Orissa, Rajasthan and UP have been found to have high HIV prevalence between 1%-3%. It's not that the cases have just cropped up but better surveillance is now bringing out the true picture." =============================================================== 12. A Brief on HIV/AIDS in India.(Washington) The World Bank Group, July 7, 2007. http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21396517~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html Washington: HIV/AIDS in India and the World Bank. The World Bank is helping India to curb the spread and mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS in the country. The Government of India (GOI) has embarked on the ambitious goal of halting and reversing the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2011, ahead of the 2015 target of the 6th Millennium Development Goal. World Bank support in the past: Following the identification of the first case of HIV in Chennai in 1986, a small AIDS Cell was established in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), GOI. In 1992, the GOI established the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) as an autonomous agency charged with the task of HIV prevention and control activities. Since that time, World Bank projects (NACP I for US$84 million, and NACP II for US$191 million) have supported government efforts to develop and enhance its response to the epidemic. This sustained commitment has yielded many benefits. These include: ? Increased numbers of voluntary counseling and testing centers ? Amplified prevention programs in groups with high risk behavior through NGOs ? An augmented and more effective blood safety program ? More clinics to treat sexually transmitted diseases ? Services for preventing parent to child transmission ? Services for the care, support, and treatment for people already living with HIV These efforts have helped keep HIV prevalence below 1 percent among the adult population in India despite fears to the contrary. Challenges ahead: Nevertheless, HIV and AIDS remains a serious threat. While the disease is concentrated among high risk groups, increasing HIV prevalence among women, and in the rural areas, points to a more generalized incidence in some states. Six states - Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Manipur, and Nagaland - account for some 70 percent of India's HIV infections. World Bank support going forward: The World Bank's Third National HIV/AIDS Control Project (NACP III) for US$250 million will support the Government of India's efforts to achieve its goal of halting and reversing the HIV/AIDS epidemic by 2011. The World Bank's convening capabilities have been instrumental in coordinating the support of development partners for the third phase o India's National AIDS Control Program. With over 99 percent of the population still uninfected, prevention is the project's top priority. It aims to reach 80 percent of people at highest risk over a five-year period. The World Bank's support to the program focuses on: ? Preventing new infections among high risk groups and vulnerable populations ? Bringing care, support and treatment to larger numbers of people living with HIV/AIDS ? Monitoring and surveillance of the epidemic ? Developing and strengthening skills within the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), the State AIDS Control Societies, and of NGOs and CBOs associated with the program. Lessons learned from past interventions: ? Targeted interventions for the poor and marginalized groups at high risk of infection, within a broader population wide campaign, are the most effective way to reduce HIV transmission within the context of the Indian epidemic. ? Working with community-based organizations, especially peer-based groups, is one of the most effective HIV prevention strategies. ? Convergence of HIV programs with other programs that deal with health issues such as STDs, tuberculosis, and reproductive health is beneficial for the effectiveness of all programs. ? Well performing states in India show that a combination of the following factors can reduce HIV prevalence rates: - Strong political commitment, - Focus on high-impact interventions, - Good management with continuity of trained staff, - Strong surveillance and technical assistance, - Adequate and flexible financial resources. =============================================================== Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in the above articles are those of the respective newspapers, not those of SAATHII.