UK to Support Third Phase of India's AIDS Control Programme

The Department for International Development (DFID) in Britain has announced a funding of 102 million pounds (Rs.816 Crore) over five years in support of the third phase of Government of India's (GOIs) National AIDS Control Programme (NACP III).

The NACP III is a comprehensive prevention, care and support programme to halt and begin to reverse the AIDS epidemic in India by 2012. The announcement was made by Susanna Moorehead, Head of DFID India at a workshop on HIV-AIDS yesterday.

Sujatha Rao, Director General of NACO, giving her keynote speech at the workshop, said:

"The HIV epidemic in India continues to be largely concentrated in high-risk groups. However, there is evidence that more women are being infected and that the epidemic is expanding to rural areas. NACP III builds on lessons from NACP II and addresses these new trends".

NACP III aims to prevent new infections in high risk groups and vulnerable populations. This will be done by increasing the coverage of high risk groups from current levels to more than 80 percent with targeted activities.

Prevention services for truckers and mobile populations will also be scaled up and information and services will be provided to vulnerable populations, including women and children, with an expansion of coverage to rural and tribal areas. Treatment for opportunistic infections will also be increased.

The NACP III framework has been designed with strong Government of India leadership and in consultation with a large number of donors and civil society organisations.

The monitoring and evaluation system has been strengthened at the national and state levels to provide information for programme management and evidence based decision making.

The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and development partners will jointly monitor the programme twice a year.

Source-ANI
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