DFID to help Bihar, UP combat AIDS

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DFID to help Bihar, UP combat Aids

SACHCHIDANAND JHA

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ SUNDAY, JANUARY 09, 2005 03:20:17 PM ]

PATNA: The Department for International Development (DFID), an agency

of the UK government, has agreed to extend financial help to Bihar and

Uttar Pradesh to combat HIV / Aids following request from Department

of Economic Affairs, Government of India.

The National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) had in November 2004

re-classified Bihar and UP from 'low prevalence states' to 'highly

vulnerable states'.

DFID had been providing financial support for prevention of HIV / Aids

in India since 2000-01 under its 'Partnership for Sexual Health

Project'. It had so far been funding Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,

West Bengal, Gujarat, Kerala and Orissa. In fact, this project was to

expire on December 31, 2004. However, the DFID has now agreed to

extend and scale up its support till March 2007.

With the NACO declaring both Bihar and UP as highly vulnerable states

a need was felt to provide more funds to State Aids Control Societies

of both Bihar and UP for effectively combating HIV / Aids.

Accordingly, NACO sent a proposal to DFID through Department of

Economic Affairs, Government of India.

The additional secretary and director general, NACO, Dr S Y Quraishi,

while informing Bihar chief secretary K A H Subramanian that DFID had

agreed to include Bihar and UP for funding under its enhanced support,

said that the DFID support will be available from January 2005 to

March 2007.

" I would be grateful if you could advise the project director, State

Aids Control Society, to indicate fund requirements for three months

from January to March 2005 and prepare an Annual Action Plan alongwith

detailed justification for 2005-06 and send the same to NACO " ,

Quraishi said in a recent communication to Subramanian. Sources in the

health department here said that the project director, BSACS, C K

Anil, had earlier requested NACO to seek financial help from DFID for

Bihar.

, acting head of DFID in India, in a communication to

Subramanian, said that the Programme Manager HIV/Aids and senior

health advisor, Joanna Reid, had been directed to contact the project

director(PD), Bihar State Aids Control Society(BSACS), to discuss the

action plan. said that the DFID would be releasing the fund

through NACO. " I am delighted that we are able to support Bihar in its

efforts to tackle HIV/Aids " , said.

When contacted, Anil said that apart from sending a Rs 13 crore annual

action plan for 2005-06, BSACS had also sent a Rs 5 crore action plan

for the period January to March, 2005, to NACO. The objective was to

create hundred percent Aids awareness in the state within six months,

Anil said adding that the society would be seeking the help of at

least one NGO in all the districts in this regard.

http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/985045.cms