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The Globe and Mail writes that “[w]hen India announced in 2007 that it had 2.3 million people living with HIV, rather than the 5.7 million reported the year before, the government first attributed much of the change to better data collection. Many in the AIDS field were skeptical.”

Anjali Gopalan, head of India’s Naz Foundation said, “We and all the other AIDS organizations think the number of people accessing services is increasing, so why are the infection numbers so low?” However, others say “more and more research points to a substantial change in sexual behaviour and with it a decline in the spread of HIV,” according to the newspaper.

“‘The decline is real. The numbers have plausibility and credibility,’ says Prabhat Jha, an epidemiologist who directs the Centre for Global Health Research in Toronto, and was an architect of India’s early AIDS-control program. ‘There has been a profound change in behaviour among clients and sex workers that accounts for most of the drop,’” the Globe and Mail writes. The article examines the mass distribution of condoms, media and educational campaigns, and the status of women in India, compared to efforts and cultural norms in Africa.

Despite progress, the newspaper writes: “HIV remains of critical concern here [in India]: With 2.3-million infected people, this country has the third-largest burden of HIV-AIDS in the world, and has succeeded in getting treatment to fewer than half of the people who need it.” Also, “[t]he successes achieved have been mostly in the richer south of the country.” In the north, “weaker governments and health systems … have yet to embark on serious AIDS-control programs” (Nolen, 8/31).

This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Uganda was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to register a drop in adult national prevalence in HIV. The epidemic, however, remains serious as approximately one million Ugandans are HIV positive. Experts in the field have begun promoting a low cost and powerful weapon against new HIV infections: voluntary medical male circumcision.

Three trials in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa have demonstrated that male circumcision reduces the rate of HIV infection in heterosexual relationships by 50 to 60 percent. Male circumcision has received endorsements by the World Health Organization and the Uganda Ministry of Health as a proven safe way to prevent the spread of HIV.

Yesterday, the Kayunga District Hospital and Makerere University Walter Reed Project (MUWRP) opened the Kayunga District Medical Male Circumcision Program, the first free, non-research male circumcision program in Uganda. They marked the grand opening on July 9th at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a renovated clinic.

Dr. Ahmed Matovu, Kayunga District Hospital Superintendent added, “Circumcision must be utilized in combination with Uganda’s existing HIV sexual prevention messages, which include condom use, faithfulness, or abstinence.”

“The Kayunga District Medical Male Circumcision Program, which has already circumcised more than 220 men, represents hope and progress in the fight against HIV,” said MUWRP’s Mark Breda.

Representatives from the Kayunga District Health Authority, Kayunga District Hospital, Uganda AIDS Control Program, Uganda AIDS Commission, and the U.S. government commemorated the day along with musical performances and a tree planting ceremony. The entire Kayunga community was invited. Participation included the males that have already been circumcised, ranging in age from 13-60, with the average age being 19.

The program is funded using President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) country operational funding. Kayunga is a rural district located in the mid-central part of Uganda, with an estimated population of 320,000 (Uganda population census 2002). The overall estimated prevalence of HIV infection in the district is 9.9%.

MUWRP is a non-profit partnership with Makerere University and the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP). While its primary focus has been on developing a globally effective preventive HIV-1 vaccine, MHRP is actively committed to and engaged in providing effective prevention, care and treatment programs in the communities where they conduct research.

Source: U.S. Military HIV Research Program