India Focuses on Groups With Higher Risks of HIV/AIDS Infection

India is targeting populations at high risk of HIV/AIDS while also seeking to improve education and prevention efforts, Amit Kumar, counselor for the India's mission to the UN, said Monday. He described peer education as "the backbone of the targeted intervention program," which he said "ensures community participation in planning, implementing, and monitoring the program," thus building a feeling of community ownership. The effort includes the distribution of needles and also seeks to prevent the spread of STDs by advocating condom use and providing testing and counseling. Kumar, speaking at a plenary session of the UN General Assembly, said coverage to prevent mother-to-baby HIV transmission has expanded from 2.3 million pregnancies in 2007 to 8.56 million in 2011-12. Kumar said India remains "fully committed" to the goal of providing antiretroviral access to 15 million patients by 2015, though continued international support is vital to attaining this milestone.

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