Can you digest these?

I have read all its biology and I have read the mechanisms. Yet, I was baffled. Reading the BBC Health capsules recently, I was rather shocked at the hard facts about the HIV-AIDS pandemic that our world is facing during the last decade or so. Even as they say that the AIDS’ spread has begun to peak, the magnitude of the problem is far too over the board. Although in terms of percentage, India, UK and USA all have around 1% of the population infected with HIV (many notches below an alarming 18.8% in South Africa, which means that 1 in 5 in South Africa is infected!), India houses the most HIV-infected persons in the world, accounting for 2/3rds of the cases in Asia. In absolute values, that’s about 5.7 million cases (according to a UN report). Regionally, southern India is worst affected, with 50% of the prostitutes in Tamil Nadu being infected with the retrovirus.

Another aspect of this horror story is that India also lags behind in meting out treatment to the HIV-infected. Whereas China that has almost the same number of infections is able to provide anti-retroviral therapy to 25% of its cases, India stands at a poor 7%, much below than even the Asian average of 16%. However, things are probably beginning to look up. With the biotechnology boom in India and a lot of international drug companies willing to set up base and invest in R&D and production of generic drugs, we might hope to provide the majority of our sick with cheaper yet effective drugs.

India spends 29 cents per capita on AIDS prevention and treatment, which is below the amount necessary to mount an effective resistance to the epidemic. For instance, Thailand that spent 55 cents per capita has been able to control the disease to a great extent that once threatened to trounce it completely. In terms of the enormous population, India still has a huge deficit of funds towards this cause. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged $200 million to the ‘Avahan’ project to deal with AIDS awareness. This is only part of the philanthropic efforts of the US software giant towards health issues that include development of vaccines and drugs for Malaria and TB (which are the other two of the ‘trinity’ of health problems of the developing world, in which too, India is the leader). Amongst all this, it pains me to hear about a 15-year old in Gujarat who immolated himself because he could not bear the ostracism faced due to having HIV-infected parents. I get reminded of the subtle message Shabana Azmi publicized many years ago in a TV ad: ‘HIV choone se nahi phelta hai, isse to sirf pyar phelta hai’.