India home to 3rd highest number of HIV-infected people: UN

United NationsIndia has the thirdhighest number of people living with HIV in the world with 21 million Indians accounting for about four out of 10 people infected with the deadly virus in the AsiaPacific region according to a UN reportThe report by UNAIDS the United Nations programme on HIVAIDS said that 19 million of the 35 million people living with the virus globally do not know their HIVpositive status and so ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 will require smart scaleup to close the gapThe firstever UNAIDS Gap Report said after subSaharan Africa the region with the largest number of people living with HIV is Asia and the Pacific At the end of 2013 there were an estimated 48 million people living with HIV across the regionRepresentational pictureSix countries China India Indonesia Myanmar Thailand and Vietnam account for more than 90 per cent of the people living with HIV in the regionIndia has the third largest number of people living with HIV in the world 21 million at the end of 2013 and accounts for about 4 out of 10 people living with HIV in the region the report said It said HIV treatment coverage is only 36 per cent in India where 51 per cent of AIDSrelated deaths occurThe report said new HIV infections in South and SouthEast Asia declined by 8 per cent and by 16 per cent in the Pacific between 2005 and 2013 In India the numbers of new HIV infections declined by 19 per cent yet it still accounted for 38 per cent of all new HIV infections in the regionThe proportions of people who do not have access to antiretroviral therapy treatment are 64 per cent in India In Asia and the Pacific the number of AIDSrelated deaths fell by 37 per cent between 2005 and 2013 the report saidIndia recorded a 38 per cent decline in AIDSrelated deaths between 2005 and 2013 During this period there was a major scale up of access to HIV treatment it said At the end of 2013 more than 700000 people were on antiretroviral therapy the second largest number of people on treatment in any single countryIn India HIV prevalence among female sex workers dropped from 103 per cent to 27 per cent but it increased in the states of Assam Bihar and Madhya Pradesh the report saidThe estimated population size of sex workers is 868000 of which 28 per cent is HIVpositive In India HIV prevalence among women who inject drugs was nearly twice that or more than the figures for their male counterparts it saidHIV prevalence among people who have migrated from rural to urban areas in India is estimated at 09 per cent almost four times the national prevalence according to the UN reportWhether you live or die should not depend on access to an HIV test said Michel Sidibe Executive Director of UNAIDSSmarter scaleup is needed to close the gap between people who know their HIV status and people who dont people who can get services and people who cant and people who are protected and people who are punished he saidThe UNAIDS report shows that as people find out their HIVpositive status they will seek lifesaving treatment In subSaharan Africa almost 90 per cent of people who tested positive for HIV went on to access antiretroviral therapy ART the report saidIn 2013 an additional 23 million people gained access to the lifesaving medicines bringing the global number of people accessing ART to nearly 13 million by the end of 2013 it saidIf we accelerate all HIV scaleup by 2020 we will be on track to end the epidemic by 2030 Sidibe said If not we risk significantly increasing the time it would take adding a decade if not more he saidBy ending the epidemic by 2030 the world would avert 18 million new HIV infections and 112 million AIDSrelated deaths between 2013 and 2030UNAIDS reported the lowest levels of new HIV infections this century at 21 million In the last three years alone new HIV infections have fallen by 13 per cent It is estimated that 35 million people were living with HIV in the world at the end of 2013 AIDSrelated deaths are at their lowest since the peak in 2005 having declined by 35 per centTuberculosis continues to be the leading cause of death among people living with HIV The report outlines that to close the gap between people who are reached with HIV services and people who are not will require research and innovation combined with protective laws that promote freedom and equality for all peopleIt will also require increased commitment from the global community and countries most affected to the remarkable returns on investment that have been witnessed over the last 10 years to continue so that the end of the AIDS epidemic can be achieved by 2030 the report said