India's AIDS Society Pushes for Fast-Tracking HIV Prevention Tools

The AIDS Society of India (ASI) has urged the government to swiftly include HIV self-testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in its healthcare policies and programs ().

PrEP is a medication that helps prevent HIV infection, and its inclusion would be a significant step in the fight against HIV.

‘ Did You Know?
Nearly 1.5 million new HIV infections occurred globally in 2022. #aids #hiv #government ’

One in five people living with HIV in the country does not know their HIV status. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended HIV self-testing as part of the HIV care cascade as it is an important approach to address gaps in HIV diagnoses, especially among key populations, in 2019.

"We need to ensure that 100 percent of people living with HIV know their status so that they can receive a full cascade of HIV care services and stay virally suppressed (undetectable viral load) - which is essential for them to live full and healthy lives - as well as to end AIDS," said Dr Ishwar Gilada, President-Emeritus, AIDS Society of India (ASI).

The Future of HIV Prevention in India

According to the government's fifth edition of the National AIDS Control Organisation's (NACO) �Sankalak Report 2023', 79 percent of people living with HIV (PLHIV) knew their status, 86 percent of them were on antiretroviral therapy and 93 percent of them had viral suppression.

The ASI said that this translates into 63 percent of total PLHIV in India being virally suppressed in 2023 against the target of getting 86 percent of them virally suppressed by 2025.

"India's role in the global prevention of HIV-related deaths is unmatched and laudable. However, almost 92 percent of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and persons at risk of contracting HIV globally are consuming �made-in-India' antiretrovirals (ARVs)," claimed Dr Gilada.

The recent success story of twice yearly shots of Lenacapavir preventing HIV in over 96 percent of at-risk people and the Gilead granting royalty-free voluntary licenses to six generic pharma globally including four Indian, hit headlines.

"How India benefits from it remains in the doldrums, as PrEP is not part of its National AIDS Control Programme (NACP). Although the HIV infections in India were declining with the wide-scale implementation of ART through 750 government-run ART centers, HIV cases started rising since 2020, with a high burden on young people," Gilada emphasized.

According to the ASI, HIV prevalence among migrants is 4 times, among truckers is 5 times, among inmates in central jails and female sex workers, is 9 times, among men who have sex with men (MSM) is 16 times, among hijra/transgender people is 18 times and among people who use drugs is 43 times of the overall adult HIV prevalence.

Reference:

1. ASI (AIDS Society of India) - (https:asi-asicon.com/about-asi.php#:~:text=ASI%20is%20a%20professional%20non-profit%20membership%20organization%20of,started%20on%20the%20lines%20of%20International%20AIDs%20Society.)

Source: IANS