Overcoming disruption: World AIDS Day-2025 highlights resilience
Info Nuggets : World AIDS Day & India’s HIV response
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World AIDS Day, observed annually on December 1, serves as a global reminder of the ongoing battle against HIV/AIDS and the collective responsibility to sustain progress. Started in 1988 by WHO, it has evolved into a platform to reaffirm political commitment, mobilise communities and honour lives lost. The 2025 theme — “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response” — captures the need to build resilient, community-rooted HIV services capable of withstanding shocks such as pandemics, conflicts and widening inequalities.
India’s HIV programme under NACO demonstrates one of the world’s most effective public-health responses. The country has recorded an 81% decline in AIDS-related deaths since 2010, dropping from 1.73 lakh to 32,200 in 2024, propelled by the expansion of free ART coverage and impressive 94% retention and 97% viral suppression rates. New HIV infections have similarly fallen by 49%, from 1.25 lakh (2010) to 64,500 (2024) — well above the global reduction pace. India’s prevalence stands at 0.20%, far below the global 0.7%, reflecting a low-level, well-contained epidemic.
Remarkably, India contributes just 5% of global HIV deaths and 5% of new infections, even while supplying 70% of global ART drugs through affordable generics. This combination of community participation, strategic resource allocation and strong treatment access aligns India closely with the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, placing it among the nations outperforming global HIV reduction trends.
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