International News

Indian Finance Minister Says Country's HIV Cases Are Underreported

From Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

May 25, 2007

India's Minister of Finance Palaniappan Chidambaram on Wednesday at an awards ceremony said that HIV cases are "underreported and underdetected" in the country, Reuters India reports. India recognizes that HIV/AIDS is a "serious problem," and the country is "not in a state of denial anymore," Chidambaram said.

According to some HIV/AIDS advocates, a lack of awareness about the disease and the stigma associated with being HIV-positive have caused many people to hide their HIV-positive status. Denis Broun, UNAIDS India coordinator, said it should be "taken into account" that some hospitals and families "do not report HIV cases because of social stigma." In addition, estimates from the National AIDS Control Organization on the number of HIV cases do not include cases among people younger than age 15 or older than age 49.

According to United Nations estimates, 5.7 million people in India are living with HIV/AIDS. NACO estimates the number to be 5.2 million, Reuters India reports (Reuters India, 5/23).

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Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/hiv. The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Kaiser Family Foundation, by The Advisory Board Company. © 2007 by The Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

This article was provided by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. It is a part of the publication Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report. Visit the Kaiser Family Foundation's website to find out more about their activities, publications and services.

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