**********************************************************
SAATHII Electronic Newsletter
HIV NEWS FROM INDIA

Source: The Economic Times, The Statesman, Merinews, India News, 
The Times of India and The Hindu.


Posted on: 04/12/2007.

COMPILED BY: Jacob Boopalan, 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. Rangarajan talks condoms & licensing of HIV drugs
The Economic Times, December 01, 2007.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Rangarajan_talks_condoms__licensing_of_HIV_drugs/articleshow/msid-2587051,curpg-2.cms

2. AIDS a nagging presence (Kolkata)
The Statesman, December 01, 2007.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=6&theme=&usrsess=1&id=178891

3. India ahead on AIDS: Prevalence rate in 2006 half of 2005
Merinews, December 01, 2007.
http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=128236

4. People in the northeast vow to curb spread of HIV
India News, December 01, 2007.
http://www.indiaenews.com/health/20071201/83804.htm

5.  Bengal HIV figures go down (Kolkata)
The Times of India, December 01, 2007.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata/Bengal_HIV_figures_go_down/articleshow/2588661.cms

6.  Lyric writing campaign to spread AIDS awareness (New Delhi)
The Hindu, December 02, 2007.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200712021965.htm

7.  Make HIV testing mandatory before marriage: Minister (Pudhucherry)
The Hindu, December 02, 2007.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/02/stories/2007120253890300.htm

8.  Governor voices concern over rise in HIV cases (Bangalore)
The Hindu, December 02, 2007.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/02/stories/2007120261600300.htm

9. AIDS poses serious threat: Govt to SC
The Times of India, December 03, 2007.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/AIDS_poses_serious_threat_Govt_to_SC/articleshow/2590446.cms

10.  Maha fourth-most AIDS affected state (Nagpur)
The Times of India, December 03, 2007.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Nagpur/Maha_fourth-most_AIDS_affected_state/articleshow/2588606.cms

===============================================================

1. Rangarajan talks condoms & licensing of HIV drugs
The Economic Times, December 01, 2007.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Rangarajan_talks_condoms__licensing_of_HIV_drugs/articleshow/msid-2587051,curpg-2.cms

Conjuring the number

Mr Rangarajan tells us that, as it happens, he was already 
interested in issues of HIV/AIDS. “It started when I was governor 
of Andhra Pradesh. The state is one of the highprevalence ones 
for HIV/AIDS, with the truck routes that pass through the state 
being one of the prime routes for spreading HIV. As head of the 
state, I had got involved with some of the grassroots efforts 
being implemented .”

He agreed to take on the chairmanship of a commission, whose 
other members included McKinsey senior partner worldwide Rajat 
Gupta, head of China’s AIDS program Dr Wu Zunyou and Indonesian 
activist Frika Iskander , who is HIV+ve herself and heads a 
pan-Asian network of HIV+ve people.

Almost at once, Mr Rangarajan found himself faced with one of 
the thorniest issues of HIV/AIDS—estimating the number of people 
with it. Because the virus can lie dormant for years, without 
the infected person being aware of it, and because of the strong 
social stigma that comes with being identified with the disease, 
estimating numbers for HIV/AIDS is particularly hard.

The standard approach has been to take estimates from places like 
clinics for sexuallytransmitted infections (STIs), from voluntary 
testing among high-risk groups like commercial sex workers and 
so-called ‘sentinel sites’ , and ante-natal clinics, where 
pregnant women can be tested.

The problem is that, particularly among the first two places, 
a certain amount of overestimation or self-selection is almost 
inevitable . As Mr Rangarajan explains, “Even among people with 
STIs, it’s possibly those with HIV/AIDS who might be more likely 
to go to a clinic.” But he strongly refutes allegations of 
deliberate over-estimation , in order to ensure continued funds. 
“I really don’t think there was any bad faith involved,” he says. 
“You also have to remember that with some of these groups, there 
is no other way of getting the data.” Yet, Mr Rangarajan admits 
that as soon as he saw the figures, he had a gut-feel that there 
was something wrong. “But we knew that there was a general census 
being done at that time, which would probably give us new figures,” 
he says.

Which it did. The census dramatically reduced numbers by around 
3 million, leading to a global downward revision of figures for 
HIV+ve people, renewing the argument that too much money is 
being spent on HIV/AIDS. Mr Rangarajan doesn’t buy this. He may 
have a statistician’s appreciation for more accurate numbers, 
and perhaps some satisfaction in his instincts being proven right, 
but as he points out, the numbers as a whole are still huge. 
He points out that the census probably under-estimated numbers, 
and that some adjustment for high-risk groups, who wouldn’t be 
adequately represented, needs to be made. “And once you do that, 
you have around 2.5 million infected with HIV/AIDS, which is 
still a very big number,” he says.

Mr Rangarajan also points to the figures from ante-natal clinics 
as one reasonably accurate indicator of the trend for infection 
among the general population. “And that is rising, except for 
a few districts in Tamil Nadu, where the trend has been reversed. 
In fact, there are new hot-spots emerging, like some districts 
in Orissa or around the Nepal border in the north.”

He notes that the number of such clinics have risen, and their 
importance lies in that they can both be a centre of testing and 
a rare case where something can be done, at least for the babies. 
If the mother is given the drugs, you can almost guarantee that 
the child will not have HIV, and this, he says, is an obvious 
area for intervention. 

 Why India isn’t Africa

Questioning numbers was one thing. Even when it came to the 
commission’s main focus—the specific impact of HIV/AIDS in 
Asia—Mr Rangarajan was not afraid of questioning received wisdom. 
One of the most basic arguments for HIV/AIDS action has been 
the fact that it affects adults at the peak of their productive 
age, and this, it’s argued, will ultimately end up affecting 
economic growth. Mr Rangarajan points out that this argument 
works in Africa, where many countries are highly populated to 
start with. In such cases, prevalence rates, which can be as high 
as 40%, are truly devastating, taking out almost every second 
productive adult. “But in a country like India, where prevalence 
is much lower and there is a high level of unemployment, this 
isn’t the case,” says Mr Rangarajan.

But again, Mr Rangarajan cautions against taking the disease 
too lightly. “You can measure impact at two levelsmacroeconomic 
and household. At the macroeconomic level, it’s true the impact 
of HIV/AIDS may not be high, but at the household level, it 
certainly is.” HIV/AIDS affects most households by taking away 
their main breadwinner, and when these households are already 
on the margins, it pushes them back below the poverty line. 
“So while we don’t see HIV/AIDS affecting economic development, 
we do see it affecting the government’s poverty reduction 
efforts,” he says.

The real battles with HIV/AIDS have not been with description, 
but in deciding what to do. There have been two basic fronts 
here: on one hand is the public health approach, which calls 
for treating HIV/AIDS as any other epidemic, targeting high-risk 
groups, sometimes even coercively, by quarantining or at least 
forcibly testing them and pushing them to take preventive 
measures. This was the tactic in the early days of the epidemic, 
and it acquired a bad reputation for abuse of human rights of 
the affected, and ultimately for being ineffective, since its 
excesses drove the affected even deeper into concealment.

It was replaced by the developmental approach , which takes a 
softer approach, looking at education about the disease, removing 
stigmas, empowering high-risk groups and improving overall 
public health systems. The problem is that over time, this 
approach has acquired such near-sacred status with parts of the 
HIV/AIDS community that they refuse to acknowledge its shortcomings. 
And to Mr Rangarajan, from a strict economic standpoint , there 
were shortcomings. He points out that an economic approach to 
HIV/AIDS would look at the issue of allocating money between 
prevention and treatment, and conclude that money is more 
effectively spent on prevention since it would prevent the need 
for spending money on treatment years later. “There is absolutely 
no doubt that we have to spread the message of safe sex,” says 
Mr Rangarajan firmly.

Yet he acknowledges that his experience with the study has helped 
him realise that some social factors must be taken into account 
as well. “Just the public health approach alone doesn’t work. 
You need a synthesis of public health and developmental 
approaches,” he says. The time Mr Rangarajan spent in Sonagachi 
helped him realise this. Sex workers are an example of a group 
who have only limited ability to negotiate on safe sex: if their 
clients refuse to use a condom, at some point, they usually have 
to agree. “But in Sonagachi, they have organised and agreed to 
boycott clients who won’t use condoms , and that is effective,” 
says Mr Rangarajan with evident satisfaction. Such community 
organising is also arguably an example of the development 
approach in action. 

Morality versus the law

But Sonagachi leads inevitably to morality and its role in 
containing the disease, and Mr Rangarajan, with all his experience 
of selling controversial economic policies to politicians, is 
cautious. Legalising prostitution is clearly too hard to sell, 
but he notes that in practice, “as long as they do not solicit 
too openly, the law winks at it—it’s a grey area” . And perhaps 
best left grey, though he does say firmly that “law enforcement 
should not come in the way of safe sex messages” .

Again, with drug users, he’s cautious about endorsing needle 
exchange programmes too openly, preferring to advocate the more 
acceptable alternative of methadone substitution programmes. 
But on one area he doesn’t hesitate at all: Section 377 of the 
Indian Penal Code, which criminalises homosexuals—and by extension 
HIV/AIDS awareness programmes directed at them—has to change.

“I think this is a clear case where there is need for change in 
the law itself,” says Mr Rangarajan. “In think there are many 
people who argue for that, and therefore it can be done.” 

The really big issue with HIV/AIDS though is treatment: the 
extent to which the government should support the cost of drugs, 
and the really controversial part, whether it should invoke 
provisions that allow compulsory licensing of new drugs. In other 
words, take on the big pharmaceutical companies and force them 
to drop patent protection for new AIDS drugs. The government of 
India now already provides for the basic, first-line drugs (which 
are not patent protected), and the commission advocates that 
this treatment includes the often expensive diagnostic tests 
(these tests, which must be done every quarter , even when the 
person has HIV and not AIDS, can cost up to Rs 3,000, much more 
than the actual drug cost itself), and even suggests that some 
support be given for transportation since, obviously, if people 
can actually get to the HIV centres, they’re more likely to take 
the drugs.

But the really big news is Mr Rangarajan’s position on the still 
expensive, patent-protected , second-line drugs. He strongly 
advocates negotiations between pharmaceutical companies on this 
issue, and also the consideration of alternative mechanisms, 
like the suggestion that a third party, perhaps a big NGO or 
development organisation, buy out the patent rights.

In the final analysis, though, the drugs will have to be given, 
and in view of their current high costs and the significant 
financial burden this will put on the state, he finally agrees, 
“I think compulsory licensing for second-line drugs must happen.”

Reforming the insurers

In another area as well, Mr Rangarajan is willing to stick out 
his neck for significant change. HIV/AIDS-affected people have 
faced huge problems getting insurance, with it either being denied 
to them outright, or if they are discovered to be HIV+ve when 
the time comes for payout, they are disqualified on grounds of 
pre-existing disease.

“Insurance companies have always used this pre-existing disease 
clause as an excuse for not paying out,” says Mr Rangarajan dryly, 
and he does not support them in this case. “Some laws may need 
to be modified to make companies insure HIV+ve people.” Nor does 
he support the argument made by some in the insurance industry 
that some level of state support is needed in this case. “I think 
insurance companies should cover these risks as part of their 
portfolio,” he says firmly.

Coming from someone of Mr Rangarajan’s stature, these are radical 
positions. And while it could be argued that it’s easy for him 
to make such proposals, since the UNAIDS commission is purely 
prescriptive and will cease to exist once the report is done, 
Mr Rangarajan is clear that efforts must be made to push for some 
level of implementation. “We are looking at whether some sort 
of mechanism for follow-up should be put in place. Perhaps, 
there should be an Asian reference group that will keep governments 
cognisant of the recommendations.” That may sound too neutral, 
until you consider that Mr Rangarajan is someone who governments 
are used to listening to. So perhaps this might not be as purely 
prescriptive in the end.

Listening to Mr Rangarajan talking with such informed and in-depth 
perspectives on HIV/AIDS, it’s hard not to wonder how he came 
to such a level of involvement. Asked directly, Mr Rangarajan 
brushes off any idea of this being unusual—economists have got 
involved in social issues in the past, he points out, for example 
with prohibition or family planning.

“Many of the issues of HIV/AIDS have similarities with family 
planning debates that we have had in the past,” he says. And yet, 
he admits quietly, there is a difference with HIV/AIDS.
“With other diseases like TB or cancer, there is always sympathy 
for the patient. But with HIV/AIDS, that sympathy is lacking 
because there is the sense that the victim is responsible in 
some way for getting the disease. And there is really no reason 
for feeling that. People have to learn that there is no reason 
for not being sympathetic towards those with HIV/AIDS.” 

===============================================================

2. AIDS a nagging presence (Kolkata)
The Statesman, December 01, 2007.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=6&theme=&usrsess=1&id=178891

KOLKATA: AIDS a nagging presence

Its good news on World's AIDS Day. The prevalence rate of AIDS 
in West Bengal came down to 0.3 per cent last year, compared to 
the prevalence rate of 0.84 per cent this year. Mr RS Shukla, 
project director of the West Bengal AIDS Prevention and Control 
Society, said: “We are glad that in India, the number of AIDS 
affected people is 2.5 million, compared to 5.2 million in the 
previous year.” He added, the estimated number of affected people 
in West Bengal is 1.49 lakh.

“As far as the Buladi campaign is concerned, the response has 
been good. Our campaign focusing on the stigma attached to 
HIV-affected people is doing well. It is evolving and as per 
requirement, we will make additions to the campaign,” he said. 
Mrs Monideepa Banerjee, deputy director, (IEC), WBAPCS, said: 
“We want to spread the message that AIDS can be prevented and 
is manageable. We have taken up an awareness programme in 19 
districts. We are holding motorbike and car rallies to spread 
awareness among people most vulnerable to AIDS.”

Stressing this year’s theme of World AIDS Day that is “leadership”, 
Mr Shukla said: “We are asking political, community and 
institutional leaders to come together and fight against AIDS. 
These three sectors have a great role to play in making people 
aware of the problem and its prevention.

“But we also want each individual to become more responsive 
towards the problem. This is what we mean by the theme 
‘leadership’.” Asked how well equipped is West Bengal to fight 
the disease, he said: “It cannot be denied that West Bengal is 
vulnerable to AIDS, the risks are high but at the same time, 
the state is also prepared to combat the disease. We have been 
campaigning and holding counselling sessions.”

The age group most vulnerable to the disease is 15 to 35 years. 
“Most of them have contracted AIDS through sexual intimacy. 
Also, with people becoming more open about their lifestyles 
(male sexual workers, transgenders and commercial sex workers), 
the risk is higher. Kolkata stands second after Mumbai in having 
the most number of commercial sex workers, both regular and flying. 
So, we have also associated with the MSM network and commercial 
sex workers to spread awareness,” Mr Shukla said. The WBAPCS, 
in association with NGOs, today set up 43 stalls where they 
imparted information about AIDS, precautionary measures and 
preventive methods. The stalls also informed people about integrated 
counselling and testing centres in the state.

===============================================================

3. India ahead on AIDS: Prevalence rate in 2006 half of 2005
Merinews, December 01, 2007.
http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=128236

The prevalence rate for AIDS in 2006 has almost been found to be 
about half of 2005 according to NACO, UNAIDS and WHO. Today morning, 
the Red Ribbon Express was also flagged off by Sonia Gandhi, 
UPA chairperson from Delhi to generate preparedness.

AIDS HAS been declared one of the deadliest diseases by the 
leading public health experts and the budget allocation verifies 
the gigantic task ahead. And we seem to be moving head in the 
right direction on AIDS. There can be some consolation from the 
figures of India’s HIV and AIDS numbers for 2006.
 
As on 31 August 2007, the number of patients in the NACO supported 
ART centres was 95886, intersectoral partners 2479, GFATM Round 
II centres 2207, with a grand total of 100572. The 2006 figures 
collated by NACO, UNAIDS and WHO suggest the India’s adult AIDS 
prevalence rate to be 0.36% about 2.5 million. Due to the better 
methodology a more correct figure has been arrived which is 
almost half of previous estimate of 5.2 million. The reason for 
more accurate figures is not only the expansion and upgradation 
of the sentinel survey but using other sources also like National 
Family and Health Survey (NHFS-3) and the Integrated Behavioural 
and Biological Assessment (IBBA).
 
The process of renumeration and the results have been backed by 
the international agencies, UNAIDS and WHO. Every year, NACO, 
the National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW) and 
the National Institute of Medical Statistics (NIMS, a body under 
ICMR) bring out estimates of India’s population living with HIV 
and AIDS since 1998.
 
Despite decrease in numbers, experts including K Sujatha Rao, 
additional secretary and director general of NACO believe that 
we should not be complacent. She says that at best we can say 
that ‘the epidemic is under control’.
 
And the reasons for this are genuine. India still has a very 
large population of PLHAs (people living with HIV and AIDS), 
the largest after South Africa and Nigeria. The best remedy to 
the HIV / AIDS challenge is enhanced consciousness and acceptance 
of secure behavioural practices. In order to control the endemic, 
it is necessary that more and more people have access services 
at counseling and testing centres, and volunteer for testing.
 
Fewer women are HIV positive than men. Nationally, the prevalence 
rate for adult females is 0.29 per cent, while for males it is 
0.43 per cent, that means for every 100 PLHAs 61 are men and 39 
women.
 
Prevalence rate is also high in the 15-49 age group (88.7 per 
cent of all infections), indicating that AIDS still threatens 
the cream of society. People in prime of their working life are 
more at risk. HIV prevalence is high among the high risk groups. 
Among injecting drug users (IDUs), it is 8.71 percent, while it 
is 5.69 percent and 5.38 percent among men who have sex with men 
(MSM) and female sex workers (FSWs), respectively.
 
118 districts have HIV prevalence more than 1 per cent among 
mothers attending antenatal clinics. The 2006 estimates show that 
the scourge has stabilised or seen a drop in Tamil Nadu and 
other southern states with a high HIV burden. The prevalence of 
AIDS has fallen in some major states between 2005 and 2006 – 
from 0.80 to 0.74 per cent in Maharashtra and 0.47 to 0.39 per 
cent in Tamil Nadu.
 
However, new areas have seen a rise in HIV prevalence, particularly 
in the north and east India. The 26 districts that have high 
prevalence are mainly in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, 
Orissa, Rajasthan and Bihar. In West Bengal, incidence has gone 
up from 0.21 to 0.30 percent and from 0.12 to 0.17 percent in 
Rajasthan.
 
HIV prevalence is higher among vulnerable groups. There is a 
large population living with HIV and AIDS among IDUs in India’s 
big cities – Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh. Young people 
are at greater threat with the under 15 category accounting for 
3.8 per cent of all HIV infections, as against 3 per cent in 2002.
 
As a part of raising the initiative for awareness, Sonia Gandhi, 
UPA chairperson flagged off the RRE Project today morning from 
Delhi. According to NACO, the train would be, focusing on -  
“youth groups, women self-help group members, adolescents / student 
community from schools and colleges, Panchayati Raj Institution 
members, youth in uniformed services and out of school / non 
student youth particularly in the rural areas.
 
RGF (Rajiv Gandhi Foundation) had earlier conceived a train that 
will cross over 9,000 km a year covering 180 districts and stations, 
and hold programmes and activities in 43,200 villages. The Red 
Ribbon Express (RRE) project is a national campaign implemented 
by NACO and will promote a multi sectoral effort to bring HIV/AIDS 
into the mainstream of overall socio economic development rather 
than  taking it only as a medical / public health issue.
 
The Red Ribbon Express has seven coaches equipped with educational 
material, primarily on HIV/AIDS, interactive touch screens and 
3D models, PPTCT services in the context of RCH II, HIV-TB 
co-infection, an LCD projector and platform for folk performances, 
counseling cabins and two doctors’ cabins for providing counselling 
and syndromic treatment for STI and RTI cases, an office, dining 
area and pantry.
 
The project aims at spreading information regarding primary 
prevention services, developing an understanding of the disease, 
reducing stigma and discrimination against people with AIDS and 
enhancing people’s knowledge about preventive measures, health 
habits and lifestyle.

===============================================================

4. People in the northeast vow to curb spread of HIV
India News, December 01, 2007.
http://www.indiaenews.com/health/20071201/83804.htm

Thousands of people in India's northeast, where the high number 
of drug users has sparked fears of a worsening AIDS epidemic, 
pledged Saturday to step up the fight against HIV by spreading 
awareness about the fatal disease.

Schoolchildren, lawmakers, health workers, rehabilitated drug 
addicts and HIV-positive people wearing red ribbons marched through 
the streets in the seven northeastern states - Arunachal Pradesh, 
Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura - to 
mark World AIDS Day.

'The theme this year is leadership with the slogan being 'Stop 
AIDS: Keep the Promise', meaning there is a need to step up the 
level of awareness to check the virus and the important role 
and responsibilities of government leaders like us in fighting 
HIV/AIDS,' Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

'Let us take a pledge to jointly stop the AIDS time bomb from 
exploding,' Sarma told IANS. India accounts for about 2.5 million 
HIV-positive people.

The northeastern region, home to about 40 million people, has 
been declared as one of the country's high-risk zones with close 
to 40,000 people infected with HIV.

A large number of people living with HIV in the northeast are 
struggling for survival with hundreds dying with no access to 
treatment.

'People are dying regularly and suffering a lot, unable to access 
anti retroviral therapy (ART) as such medicines are very expensive,' 
said Jahnabi Goswami, president of the Assam Network of Positive 
People.

Goswami, 32, is one of the few women in India fighting to raise 
awareness of the disease and one of an even smaller number to 
have publicly declared that she is HIV-positive.

The Assam government Saturday announced several programmes for 
people living with HIV.

'From today onwards, the Silchar Medical College is equipped to 
be an ART centre and that takes the total number of such facilities 
in the state to three,' the minister said.

'As a step forward, we have announced free transportation to 
those living with HIV to come from their respective areas to 
ART centres and this is probably the first such initiative in 
India,' he added.

Authorities in the northeast fear the disease may spread further 
because of the region's acute drug problem.

India's northeast lies on the edge of the heroin-producing 
'Golden Triangle' of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand and independent 
estimates have put the number of regular intravenous drug users 
in the region at up to 300,000 - a key cause of HIV infection here.

'The trend is very serious here in the northeast with intravenous 
drug users passing the infection to the general population in 
the region through their sex partners. HIV transmission rates 
from mother to child are also assuming frightening proportions,' 
a Manipur health department spokesman said.

Manipur is the worst hit by HIV/AIDS in the northeast with nearly 
28,000 living with the virus.

===============================================================

5.  Bengal HIV figures go down (Kolkata)
The Times of India, December 01, 2007.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata/Bengal_HIV_figures_go_down/articleshow/2588661.cms

Kolkata: Bengal HIV figures go down
 
The HIV/AIDS figures in the state have gone down from 0.84% to 
0.3% this year. The number of cases in the state now stand at 
1.59 lakhs, which is lesser than last year's count.

A recent research showed a major decline in the number of patients 
in the state in 2007. In India, the number of HIV-infected people 
stand at 2.5 million.

"From last year's figures, when the count was at a staggering 0.9%, 
it would have meant the epidemic was generalised instead of 
localised. The current data shows it to be 0.36%, which is much 
lower," said project director R S Shukla. He said that Tamil Nadu 
was the only state which has been able to tame the epidemic.

Apart from Tamil Nadu, Maharashta, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, 
West Bengal also has a large number of HIV/AIDS patients. In all 
these states, youths falls under the highest risk group. More 
than the disease, the stigma associated with it and the 
discrimination practised against the HIV infected is still the 
biggest battle to fight.

Director of Health Services (DHS) Sanchita Bakshi felt the blood 
donation centres across the state were responsible for a number 
of HIV and AIDS cases. "The blood screening and monitoring process 
at these centres need to be strengthened across the state as well," 
she said.

According to Shukla, there are 2000 people surviving on ART while 
5000 people have been registered with the West Bengal state aids 
prevention and control society.

===============================================================

6.  Lyric writing campaign to spread AIDS awareness (New Delhi)
The Hindu, December 02, 2007.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200712021965.htm

New Delhi : Lyric writing campaign to spread AIDS awareness

A music company has joined hands with a top city school and roped 
in many celebrities to reach out to hundreds of youths on creating 
awareness on AIDS. "Lend your voice for AIDS", launched by Saregama 
India Ltd. and Delhi Public School among others, will be a 
campaign for the youth, by the youth and of the youth, the 
organisers said.

Launched here on Saturday, the campaign is focused around a lyric 
writing contest among youths and spread awareness on the deadly 
disease among them. At the launch sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali 
Khan said: "The youths need to be educated about HIV. Parents 
should not hesitate in talking to their children freely about 
issues like AIDS." Khan will contribute some special compositions 
for the cause.

Super model and TV celebrity Padma Lakshmi said there is an urgent 
need to recognise the problem to solve AIDS in a country like 
India. "In this new generation of youth that we want to train 
and warn so that they continue to realise their dreams and 
aspirations rather than have their lives terminated at a young 
age." 

===============================================================

7.  Make HIV testing mandatory before marriage: Minister (Pudhucherry)
The Hindu, December 02, 2007.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/02/stories/2007120253890300.htm

Pudhucherry: Very high incidence of HIV in Yanam

Minister for Tourism and Local Administration Malladi Krishna Rao 
on Saturday said HIV testing should be made compulsory for both 
men and women before marriage. The marriage should be registered 
only on production of the test certificate.

Speaking at a workshop for commune and village panchayat leaders 
on the occasion of World AIDS Day, he said the Andhra Pradesh 
Cabinet had cleared a similar proposal recently.

“In the next Cabinet meeting, I will propose that such legislation 
be brought in Puducherry as well,” he added.

Yanam, which was situated near East Godavari district of Andhra 
Pradesh, had a very high incidence of HIV/AIDS. Pamphlets with 
facts about the syndrome were being distributed to all rural 
households once a month, he said.

“Last year we brought out a small booklet and distributed copies 
of it to about 50,000 people in Yanam. We also take steps to 
spread awareness among the people through puppet shows,” he said.

Member of Parliament M. Ramadass said the only way to prevent 
the spread of HIV/AIDS was respecting societal values. Poverty 
was one of the major reasons for the spread the syndrome. Throughout 
the world this year alone a total of 2.1 million people had died 
after being affected by AIDS.

Thirty lakh people in India had been affected, he added.

“Though India has shown an economic growth of 9.2 per cent, 
development is yet to reach around 40 per cent of the population,” 
he said.

Pondicherry AIDS Control Society Project Director Gilbert Fernandez 
explained about HIV/AIDS and the need for people to test for HIV. 
He asked them to motivate people in their wards to take the test 
and to treat people with HIV/AIDS properly.

Director of Health and Family Services Dilip Kumar Baliga said 
HIV status cards should be provided to people who have taken 
the test.

A total of 85 local body representatives were present at the 
workshop during which they interacted with an HIV positive person.

They posed questions about how it had affected her life and 
whether being HIV positive led to social stigmatisation.

Most of those present pledged to take the test and said they 
would motivate others to take it up too.

Chairperson of the Puducherry Municipality B. Sridevi and 
MLA R. Siva also spoke. 

===============================================================

8.  Governor voices concern over rise in HIV cases (Bangalore)
The Hindu, December 02, 2007.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/02/stories/2007120261600300.htm
  
Bangalore: ‘Concerted efforts needed to spread awareness about 
disease’

Youth Peer Education programme launched in schools, colleges in 
two districts

‘Efforts should be made to address needs of people living with 
HIV/AIDS’

“Despite the ongoing campaign against the spread of HIV/AIDS in 
the country, the number of HIV positive cases has been going up,” 
Governor of Karnataka, Rameshwar Thakur said here on Saturday.

Inaugurating the programme to observe World AIDS Day, organised 
by the Indian Red Cross Society – Karnataka State branch here, 
Mr. Thakur said concerted efforts had to be made not just by the 
government, but by all sections of society to spread awareness 
about HIV/AIDS.

G. Kumar Nayak, Commissioner, Public Instruction, and vice-chairman 
of the Karnataka State branch of the Indian Red Cross Society, 
said the society had launched the Youth Peer Education programme 
in schools and colleges in Shimoga and Dakshina Kannada districts 
to create awareness about HIV/AIDS and would soon launch the 
programme in other districts.

Taking a lead in empowering the women on World AIDS Day, Karnataka 
Network of People Living with HIV and AIDS (KNP+) launched the 
first Karnataka State Women’s Forum of positive people and formed 
an action plan for the coming year at the concluding session of 
the three-day workshop organised at Indian Society of Health 
Administrators here on Saturday. “The workshop envisaged greater 
involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GIPA) in the campaign 
about the scourge. A seven-member body to run the Women’s Forum 
of Positive People has been elected. Saina of Dharwad will be 
the chairperson while Ambika of Gadag will be the vice-chair,” 
said Asha Ramaiah, general secretary, KNP+.

The Karnataka AIDS Prevention Society organised a programme to 
observe World AIDS Day here on Saturday.

Speaking at the programme, R. Elango, founder-member, India 
Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, said the fight against 
HIV/AIDS should not just be confined to prevention, and efforts 
had to be made to address the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS.

He said that apart from providing Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART), 
the needs of persons suffering from opportunistic infections had 
to be looked into.

Hanumanthappa Maradi, ART counsellor at the Bagalkot district 
hospital, was presented the best ART counsellor award while the 
ART centre at the Belgaum district hospital was adjudged the 
best ART centre.

Vasundhara Bhupathi and Prakash Hebbar, journalists, were given 
awards for their articles on HIV/AIDS.

===============================================================

9. AIDS poses serious threat: Govt to SC
The Times of India, December 03, 2007.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/AIDS_poses_serious_threat_Govt_to_SC/articleshow/2590446.cms

New Delhi: AIDS poses serious threat: Govt to SC
 
The reduction in the HIV positive population estimate in India 
from 5.2 million to 2.5 million notwithstanding, the Centre has 
informed the Supreme Court that the country still faces a "very, 
very major problem".

"The rural areas need focused attention to deal with the incidence 
of HIV and AIDS patients. It is a very very major problem. In the 
far flung areas of the north-eastern states, it is a crisis 
situation," additional solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam said.

He said he was advising the government to take a four-pronged 
strategy and devise a policy to make available adequate treatment 
facilities in government hospitals, erase the insufficiency of 
Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) which is life-saving for HIV patients, 
a nodal agency for rehabilitation of AIDS patients and a massive 
awareness programme, including its inclusion in the educational 
curriculum. He said the health ministry officials would soon hold 
a brain-storming session to come out with a viable policy and 
submit an action plan before the court by mid-February.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices 
R V Raveendran and J M Panchal drew the ASG's attention to incidents 
where doctors have refused to treat patients, especially pregnant 
women, after coming to know that the patient is afflicted with AIDS.

It said: "Doctors need to be sensitized how not to discriminate 
between patients whether or not he is afflicted with AIDS. They 
should be given a orientation course regarding handling of AIDS 
patients."

The ASG agreed. "It is a matter of great importance that no life 
should be lost because of the attitude of doctors, unavailability 
of medicines and lack of proper health care."

The Bench said the government need not wait for the court's 
orders for this purpose and could go ahead with the implementation 
of its policy decisions on combating the increase of HIV positive 
population.

Appearing for NGO 'Voluntary Health Association', senior advocate 
Colin Gonsalves said though the petitioner doubted the reduced 
figures of the estimated HIV population, the current figures 
would require the government to make available ART to at least 
2.5 lakh HIV patients, as against only 1.5 lakh being given this 
therapy. He said in Orissa's 30 districts, only one ART centre 
is operational and there is no CD4 machine (which detects whether 
a person afflicted with HIV needed ART or not). The government 
recently made test by a CD4 machine free in government hospitals.

The court directed the Centre to report back with an action plan 
to combat AIDS by mid-February and adjourned the hearing on the 
PIL.

===============================================================

10.  Maha fourth-most AIDS affected state (Nagpur)
The Times of India, December 03, 2007.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Nagpur/Maha_fourth-most_AIDS_affected_state/articleshow/2588606.cms

Nagpur: Maha fourth-most AIDS affected state
 
AIDS continues to haunt Maharashtra, which has the fourth-largest 
tally in terms of AIDS prevalence all over the country. The prevalence 
rate stands at 0.62%. Maharashtra is preceded by Karnataka, with 
0.69% prevalence, Andhra Pradesh with 0.97%, and 1.13% in Manipur. 
The prevalence rate has been calculated on the basis of pregnant 
women undergoing tests at various centres, says the UNAIDS 
December 2007 update on HIV/AIDS.

The report has cited the National Family Health Survey 2007, 
which compared the six states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, 
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Manipur.

In Tamil Nadu, the prevalence is 0.34%, almost half that of 
Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh has a prevalence of 0.07%.
According to the UNAIDS report, there is a wide difference in 
the prevalence rates in other states compared to these four; the 
prevalence in all other states put together was 0.13%.

However, the prevalence rate has come down marginally compared 
to the previous year's survey carried out by the National AIDS 
control organisation (NACO). According to NACO's Sentinel 
Surveillance 2006, the prevalence stood at at 0.74% in Maharashtra, 
0.81% in Karnataka, 1.05% in Andhra, 0.39% in Tamil Nadu and 
1.67% in Manipur. If both UNAIDS and NACO reports are to be 
believed, then prevalence in Uttar Pradesh has risen from the 
previous rate of 0.11%.

The NACO report for 2006 also says that, out of 2.47 million 
people estimated to be living with HIV in the country, the highest 
are in Andhra Pradesh and Maharasthra respectively. The four 
southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and 
Karnataka contribute to around 63% of the total number of people 
infected with HIV. Of this, 20% are in Maharashtra, 22% in Andhra 
Pradesh, 10% in Tamil Nadu and 11% in Karnataka. The UNAIDS 
report has also acknowledged that the prevalence among sex workers 
has been declining, especially in Tamil Nadu and other southern 
states, due to focused prevention efforts.

Dr Milind Bhurshundi, who treats HIV-infected people, says there 
are cases from various walks of life and there has to be an 
emphasis on women's empowerment to control the situation.

A NACO official said that there are 628 counselling centres in 
the state and 18 centres providing anti-retroviral treatment. 
Nine more will be starting. 150 NGOs are working on various 
fronts, a fact considered a contributing factor to the decline.

===============================================================

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in the above articles
are those of the respective newspapers, not those of
SAATHII.