Emphasising the need for stepping up the HIV/AIDS control programme in certain areas in India, U.N. Secretary General’s Special Envoy for AIDS for Asia and the Pacific J.V.R. Prasada Rao said, “Although there has been a reduction of 56 per cent in new infections, its rate has increased in some populations, like injecting drug users and men having sex with men.”
“The main areas where this increase has been seen are in Punjab, Haryana and New Delhi. It is important that the HIV/AIDS control programme focuses on these groups,” he told The Hindu on the sidelines of the Dr. N.S. Murali Memorial Lecture held here on Wednesday.
On the Sustainable Development Goals to be discussed at the United Nations General Assembly, he said, “In healthcare, there will be a number of important goals, including the ending of AIDS.
“The idea is to reduce the number of new infections by 90 per cent, a 90 per cent reduction in deaths because of AIDS and also an improvement of the legal environment. Various countries will contribute their suggestions to attaining these goals,” he said.
