Confusion over HIV figures in India

[Guest guest]

 

Confusion over HIV figures in India:

India has 5.134 million HIV patients on the last count- and that’s supposed to

be good news. The government today trotted out statistics to challenge a

suggestion that the country could soon overtake South Africa as home to largest

number of HIV infected in the world.

The health ministry has released figures showing a fall in the rate of growth in

HIV cases, saying there were 28000 new cases in the country in 2004 as against

5.2 lakh in the preceding year. “There is good news on the HIV front. In 2003,

the number of estimated HIV cases was 5.106 million which has increased to 5.134

million by 2004 end”’ health minister Anbumani Ramadoss said. In 2002, there

were 4.58 million cases.

“There is no galloping HIV epidemic in India as a whole. India remains a low

prevalence country with overall HIV prevalence at 0.9 per cent’” said National

AIDS Control Organization which, together with the health ministry, is in charge

of monitoring the figures. The government also reported in an emissary of WHO to

back up its claim. The concerted effort is being seen as a response to a global

NGO’s caution that the number of cases in India could soon pull past South

Africa which had 5.3 million HIV patients in 2003.

However, activists combating AIDS said they are fed up with the misplaced focus

on numbers that can not give the full picture because of the poor reporting

system. The government has been able to extend free treatment to only 7000

people while “Five million are affected and people are in urgent need of

accessible anti-retroviral drugs’” .

Source: The Telegraph

Manidipa Ghosh

E-mail: <manidipa_ghosh@...