In 2017 India had around 21.4 lakh people living with HIV (PLHIV), if the latest figures are anything to go by. After a gap of three years, the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) released a new set of HIV Estimations on Friday.

According to NACO, 8,75,800 new patients were added to the existing pool in 2017, with 40 per cent of these new infections in women. Also, up to 69,000 HIV-infected persons are estimated to have died last year. Apart from this, 22,675 pregnant mothers who were infected with HIV, needed Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

The new estimations have rung alarm bells in the country, as the fall in new HIV infections has been slow in recent years. “National prevalence and incidence remains low, but the epidemic is high in some geographical regions and population groups. The report has noted that the rate of decline in annual new HIV infections has been relatively slower in recent years,” a press statement issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

Estimated AIDS related deaths declined by 71 per cent, since its peak in 2005. According to a UNAIDS 2018 report, the global average for decline in new infections and AIDS related deaths from the peak has been 47 per cent and 51 per cent, respectively.

Modelled estimates are needed because there is no direct reliable way of measuring these core indicators, which are used to track the epidemic and monitor and evaluate the response in countries around the world.

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