According to a research conducted in 2017, the United Nations reported that India has recorded a significant progress in HIV/AIDS elimination since 2010 with a decline of about 46 percent and 22 percent in both new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths respectively.
In 2016, India had 80,000 new HIV infections compared to 1,50,000 in 2005, and 62,000 AIDS-related deaths compared to 1,50,000 in 2005. As far as numbers are concerned, Tamil Nadu that was counted as a state with a maximum number of people suffering from HIV/ AIDS has a lot to cheer.
Tamil Nadu is the first place HIV was first detected in India in 1986 and the state, for several years, has been home to a maximum number of people living with the virus. Since then on, health departments and affiliated institutions have sustainably tried to reduce the prevalence of HIV in the state.
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| Photo: WHO and UNAIDS Factsheet on HIV Prevalence in India, 2005 |
The project director of Tamil Nadu State, Dr. Senthil Raj said that Tamil Nadu is witnessing a decreasing trend with HIV positive cases. With 13,315 positive cases registered in 2015-16, the state recorded 11,809 in 2016-2017 and the number fell into 8,718 cases in 2017-18. AAll credit should go to government policies and infrastructure that are in place to successfully combat HIV.
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| Photo: HIV statistics in India as of 2016. Credit: UNAIDS |
“Every year, across the various centers in the state, more than 400,00 people are tested for HIV.” — Dr Senthil Raj
Dr Senthil Raj also emphasized that it is a misconception that patients who tested positive for HIV will die. Getting started with treatment at the right time and following the prescribed treatment can help the patient survive.
“This does not rule out the fact that in our state, there still thrives a section of uneducated population who test positive for HIV but regularly visit quacks who assure a cure. Alongside, there is another group of the learned population who are in the first place hesitant to get themselves tested for the virus, leave alone starting getting treated. While lack of awareness keeps the former away from being treated for the virus, it is social stigma that prevents the latter from seeking medical help, he said.
Dr B Sunderan, district programme manager of the Coimbatore district AIDS prevention and control unit, told journalists that, men, especially youth are highly prone to combating the virus. Bridge (migrant) populations are regarded as active carriers of the virus.
“Despite the fact that Tamil Nadu has witnessed a decline in the number of people suffering from HIV, it is surprising to learn that the state is among the 11 states in India which records prevalence rates higher than that of the national average,”
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