For complete awareness

Interview with S.Y. Quraishi.

The National AIDS Control Organisation is the nodal agency in the Government of India that deals with every aspect of HIV and AIDS. NACO Director S.Y. Quraishi spoke to T.K. Rajalakshmi on some of the new initiatives in the context of World AIDS Day. Excerpts:

Could you broadly outline some of the new initiatives launched by NACO?

We feel that AIDS is a very major health issue in the country, considering that from one reported case of AIDS in 1986, the figure had gone up to 51 lakhs by 2003. It is not only a health problem but a huge national problem. Taking cognisance of it, the National Aids Control Policy (NACP) was launched in 2002, which provided that by 2007 there should be no new infection. That was a very tall order. It presumed that the whole nation would practise safe sex by 2006, that people are aware of safe practices and that the services are available and accessible.

The Mother-to-Child Transmission Centres or the Prevention from Parent-to-Child Transmission Centres are only 273 in number. Here a pregnant woman is counselled and if she is HIV-positive, she is given Nevirapine two hours before delivery, and some medicine is given to the child after its birth; it presumes that wherever children are being born, we are present with our services.

We are fortunate in that the Common Minimum Programme of the Central government seeks to increase spending in the health sector. This government commits to provide leadership to the NACP. Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss too is taking a personal interest. He has given us a mandate to scale up our efforts. It is his observation that despite 12 years of NACO's existence, even basic knowledge about HIV/AIDS is very low especially in the rural areas. He wants the whole country to know about all the dimensions - the spread, the prevention as well as issues of stigma - of the disease within six months.

What are the campaigns planned for the next few months?

We are going to launch a campaign for complete awareness from January 1 to June 30. It will be done by professional agencies.

Our problem is that we have very little funds. The total funds for IEC (information, education and communication) is only Rs.9 crores. State governments are also supposed to put in a similar amount. It is tokenism. We have set up a communication consortium called India Communication Consortium for HIV/AIDS or ICCHA. We are also hiring two advertising agencies. An integrated plan will be devised, as meeting the targets in six months is a very tall order.

A daily programme will be launched by the end of February next year on Doordarshan, which will cover all dimensions of the problem. We are also requesting private channels to include HIV-related programmes. There are plans to launch four trains called the Red Ribbon Express - one each from Jammu, Guwahati, Kanyakumari and Jodhpur. They will carry mobile exhibitions, voluntary testing and theatre groups, which will do programmes and also fan out to various areas and motivate people to come to the trains to avail themselves of the services.

The first case was reported in Tamil Nadu in 1986. How has the State fared since then in the prevention and cure activities?

The State was among the high prevalence States and it attracted a lot of attention nationally and internationally. Extra inputs and programmes were provided there. One of them was by APAC. Unlike other States, organisations in Tamil Nadu got extra inputs, extra funds, manpower and IEC activities. As a consequence, it began to show results. The signs of stabilisation have begun to show.