Homosexuality in Ancient India, HIV/AIDS in India - Part II

HIV/AIDS in India - A brief survey

By Harish Trivedi,
Copyright 2009

What about AIDS and HIV infections in India?

Is HIV a fast spreading epidemic in India?

Would decriminalization of gay and lesbian activities give rise to AID and HIV infections?

We’ll have to wait and see if there is a correlation between decriminalization of homosexuality and subsequent rise in HIV/AIDS infections in India.

Here’s a brief history of HIV/AIDS infections in India culled from various reports:

1986: First case of HIV detected in Chennai (Madras), India.

1990: HIV levels among High Risk Groups like Sex workers and STD clinic attendants in Maharashtra and amongst Injecting Drug Users in Manipur reaches over 5 percent.

1994: HIV no longer restricted to high risk groups in Maharashtra, but spreading into the general population. HIV also spreading to the states of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu where high-risk groups have over 5 percent HIV prevalence.

1998: Rapid HIV spread in the four large southern states, not only in high-risk groups but also in the general population where it has reached over 1percent.

2001: Infection crosses one per cent in six states. These states account for 75 per cent of the country's estimated HIV cases.

In 2003 the estimated number of people living with HIV/AIDS was 5.1 million.

Here are some excerpts from the Avert Report (AVERT is an international AIDS charity)

At the beginning of 1986, despite over 20,000 reported AIDS cases worldwide, India had no reported cases of HIV or AIDS. There was recognition, though, that this would not be the case for long, and concerns were raised about how India would cope once HIV and AIDS cases started to emerge.

Later in the year, India’s first cases of HIV were diagnosed among sex workers in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was noted that contact with foreign visitors had played a role in initial infections among sex workers, and as HIV screening centers were set up across the country there were calls for visitors to be screened for HIV. Gradually, these calls subsided as more attention was paid to ensuring that HIV screening was carried out in blood banks.

Current Estimates:

In 2006 UNAIDS estimated that there were 5.6 million people living with HIV in India, which indicated that there were more people with HIV in India than in any other country in the world. In 2007, following the first survey of HIV among the general population, UNAIDS and NACO agreed on a new estimate – between 2 million and 3.1 million people living with HIV.

In 2008 the figure was confirmed to be 2.5 million, which equates to a prevalence of 0.3%. While this may seem a low rate, because India's population is so large, it is third in the world in terms of greatest number of people living with HIV. With a population of around a billion, a mere 0.1% increase in HIV prevalence would increase the estimated number of people living with HIV by over half a million.

The national HIV prevalence rose dramatically in the early years of the epidemic, but a study released at the beginning of 2006 suggests that the HIV infection rate has recently fallen in southern India, the region that has been hit hardest by AIDS. In addition, NACO released figures in 2008 suggesting that the number of people living with HIV has declined.

Some AIDS activists are doubtful that the situation is improving: “It is the reverse. All the NGOs I know have recorded increases in the number of people accepting help because of HIV. I am really worried that we are just burying our head in the sand over this.” Anjali Gopalan, the Naz Foundation, Delhi, India.

Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS, says, “The statement that India has the AIDS problem under control is not true. There is a decline in prevalence in some of the Southern states… In the rest of the country, there are no arguments to demonstrate that AIDS is under control”