India Must Act Quickly to Avoid Full Blown Emergency on AIDS Front

If India does not educate its 1 billion people about HIV/AIDS, "millions of people will be infected and every infected person will die, even with treatment," Richard Holbrooke, head of the Global Business Coalition for HIV/AIDS, said Monday at a New Delhi conference organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry. "This means talking about sex and intimacy. These are difficult problems in any country in the world, not just in India," said Holbrooke, a former U.S. ambassador to the UN.

Holbrooke questioned the government's estimation that 8 million of its citizens, or less than 1 percent, have HIV, but said even if that figure is correct, it will rise. "India has the largest number of AIDS victims after South Africa," said Holbrooke. Some experts say India underestimates its number of infections by millions.

Ben Plumley, chief of staff of UNAIDS, said his organization is keen to deepen its partnership with Indian industry in tackling the AIDS epidemic. India's experience can act as a springboard for other developing countries, said Plumley. He welcomed the creation of a parliamentary forum on HIV/AIDS in India, through which lawmakers and local representatives trade information on HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention. "This should be replicated elsewhere," said Plumley.

However, many of the elected officials at the parliamentary forum's most recent gathering who were interviewed by the national Indian Express newspaper did not know how AIDS was spread. For instance, some believed watching Western movies and eating out of the same dish spread AIDS.

Back to other news for October 13, 2003