Indian-American to help 4 million AIDS Patients in India

March 16, 2004

*Press Release* USINPAC Updated on 2004-03-15 22:18:49

Washington, D.C. - On March 4, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

unanimously approved an amendment by Senator Jon S. Corzine (D, NJ) making India

eligible for assistance under the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. The amendment

was part of the State Department Authorization bill approved by the Committee.

For the past 6 months, USINPAC has been working closely with Senator Corzine and

others in the Senate and in the House to create greater awareness of the urgency

of the HIVAIDS crisis in India. One objective of the campaign is to persuade the

US government to take bold steps to confront the crisis.

The amendment furthers a key objective of USINPAC AIDS India Initiative making

the HIVAIDS epidemic in India a US foreign policy priority by securing increased

funding for prevention and treatment, bridging identified gaps in funding and

program needs.

More than 4 million Indians are believed to have the HIV virus, and the epidemic

is spreading rapidly from urban to rural areas and from high-risk groups to the

general population.

According to a January 2004 report by Center for Strategic and International

Studies on HIVAIDS, there is a very narrow 6-12 month window of opportunity to

reverse the course of the disease. USINPAC is also taking the lead in mobilizing

the Indian American community to help resolve the HIVAIDS crisis in India,

through financial contributions, public awareness, and volunteer work.

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