New Delhi, May 11
Expressing concern at the “rapid rise” in the number of persons affected with HIV/AIDS in the country, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today said that controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS and taking care of its victims had become an “urgent national task.”
Inaugurating the first-ever international policy makers’ conference on HIV/AIDS in the Capital today, he pointed out that international research, so far, had been focussed on the ‘B’ sub-type of the HIV virus prevalent in the USA and Thailand. “In India, the ‘C’ sub-type is prevalent. We need a ‘C’ sub-type vaccine quickly.”
Mr Vajpayee stressed the need to reach out to the illiterate and to those most vulnerable to AIDS infection.
He said that the proposed
Parliamentary forum on AIDS control should reach out to all MPs and then to legislators and Panchayati Raj institutions. He suggested that the forum should convene a meeting of MPs from the six most affected states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland and Tamil Nadu.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi drew attention to the fact that India spends less than $ 50 million annually on its AIDS control programme and did not include drug therapy in this programme.”Given the special nature and magnitude of the HIV/AIDS crisis confronting us, the level of funding of the AIDS control programme is substantially inadequate.”
Ms Gandhi said it was ironical that Indian pharmaceutical companies have emerged as suppliers of AIDS control drugs to the world but are not being involved in our national AIDS control programme. “This is a paradox that needs to be resolved,” she added.
Ms Gandhi said that there was no room for complacency. “We have eliminated smallpox in India. We are poised to eliminate polio. The journey to control HIV/AIDS is long and arduous. And succeed we will if we are both compassionate in our approach and passionate in our execution,” she said.
The Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra also addressed the gathering.
