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New Delhi: Mumbai-based epidemiologist Ishwar Gilada emphasized the critical role that proper treatment for all HIV positive patients plays in curbing the transmission of the virus and potentially ending AIDS in India.
“We can end AIDS now, as science has shown us evidence on how to stop the spread of HIV infection and keep people living with HIV healthy. If everyone can get the full range of services combined prevention, testing, treatment and care, will be able to “If we need it, we can stop the spread of infection and help people with HIV live healthy and productive lives. To end AIDS, we must ensure that no one is left behind,” said Gilada, President Emeritus at the 15th National Conference of the AIDS Society of India (ASICON 2024), reports IANS.
The theme of the two-day conference, ‘Inform, reform and transform HIV care’, highlights the importance of informed approaches, necessary reforms and transformative actions in HIV care.
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India has the world’s second largest population with HIV. Of the 24.67 lakh people living with HIV in India, 16.80 lakh are receiving life-saving antiretroviral therapy, according to a 2023 report by the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO).
About 79 per cent of the 24.67 lakh people know their HIV status, 86 per cent of those who know they are positive are receiving antiretroviral therapy and of those receiving the therapy, 93 per cent are virally suppressed.
“Anyone with HIV who is on treatment should have their viral load tested regularly, as it is important to ensure that the person is (and remains) virally suppressed, non-transmissible and healthy,” said Gilada, who was the first person in raising the alarm about HIV in India and established India’s first AIDS clinic at Mumbai’s JJ Hospital in 1986.
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