December 1-World AIDS Day: World Bank hails India’s advances in preventing HIV/AIDS

Rediffnews

01 December 2011: Since 1988, December 1 has been observed as ’World AIDS Day’ in order to spread awareness about the most dreaded disease and chalk out programmes for its eradication.

 

June 2011 marked the 30th anniversary of the first clinical description of AIDS, a report that uncovered what would become one of history’s worst pandemics.

 

And now, 30 years later, the theme of World AIDS Day 2011 is “Getting to Zero”: zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.

 

“Heading into the fourth decade of AIDS, we are finally in a position to end the epidemic. The progress we have made so far is proof that we can realize our vision [of getting to zero],” said UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon in a press release for World AIDS Day.

 

On the eve of World AIDS Day 2011, the World Bank has released groundbreaking new evidence from India that demonstrates major advances in the understanding and prevention of HIV/AIDS of up to 3 million HIV/AIDS cases.

 

A recently published impact evaluation found a significant decline in HIV prevalence among female sex workers and young women (15-24 years) seeking antenatal care in the high-prevalence southern states in India.

The study, "Impact of Targeted Interventions on Heterosexual Transmission of HIV in India," which was published in the medical journal BMC Public Health, evaluated the impact of targeted interventions among female sex workers -- a vulnerable group at high risk in four high-prevalence southern states: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu.

 

The drop in prevalence is associated with a significant increase in consistent condom use, the World Bank said, and noted that among the women seeking antenatal care in districts with high intensity of targeted interventions, HIV prevalence declined by more than 50 percent from 1.9 percent in 2001 to 0.8 percent in 2008, compared with low-intensity districts where the infection rate remained constant at 0.9 percent in both 2001 and 2008.

 

Another study, "Cost Effectiveness of Targeted HIV Prevention Interventions for Female Sex Workers in India," which was published in Sexually Transmitted Infections, shows the cost-effectiveness of these targeted HIV-prevention interventions for female sex workers and estimates that 3 million HIV infections are being averted by this strategic approach during the period 1995-2015.

 

Since its launch of the National AIDS Control Program in 1991, the World Bank said that it has worked in close partnership with India and other development partners to focus on prevention among vulnerable populations at highest risk of contracting HIV.

 

However, the World Bank bemoaned that despite these and other advances in prevention worldwide, the human and financial costs of HIV/AIDS continue to mount, requiring continued diligence and support from governments and the international community.

 

David Wilson, World Banks’s Global HIV/AIDS program director, said, "AIDS remains a critical development issue that is reversing decades of human progress."

 

He said, "With 34 million people living with HIV, AIDS  continues to decimate communities, stymie economic growth, and orphan children."

 

"As one of the early leaders in the global response to the epidemic, the bank remains committed to doing our part to halt and reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS, particularly in helping countries invest in proven, cost-effective prevention efforts," Wilson added.

 

The bank supports developing countries in their strategic planning for HIV/AIDS response in a number of ways, including: helping countries develop well-prioritised, evidence-based AIDS strategies and action plans; designing proven, cost-effective HIV prevention efforts; strengthening country health systems for more effective service delivery; and social protection for people affected by HIV.

 

Since 1989, the bank has committed nearly $4.6 billion in financing for HIV/AIDS-related activities in developing countries.