1st December, another world AIDS day comes and goes. Seminars, workshops, rallies, fairs, even concerts and beauty contests but to what end? The big question on everybody's mind is- "has it really served the purpose?" Or is this all lip service?

The daily headlines runs ‘$120 million given by the US for fighting AIDS in India’ and ‘$100 million donated by Bill Gates of Microsoft’ and a lot of others before that. But does this money really at the very least, trickle down to the people who need it the most- persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)? Almost 16 years have elapsed since the first HIV case was documented in this country from the state of Tamil Nadu. Still medical care facilities for PLWHA are in their nascent stages and is also secondary on the agenda of both the govt. and the innumerable Non Govt. Organizations (NGOs) working in this field. Doesn’t it seem rather strange that even after so many years and a possible epidemic looming large we still have no plans to fight this disease with a more focused, scientific and humanitarian strategy.

The principal aim of the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), which dictates national and state policy on HIV/AIDS, remains “prevention and control of the disease”. However mention is made of “improving services for the care PHWHA in times of sickness both at hospitals and at homes through community care”. While the primary aim has been laudably well executed, a similar intensity in implementing the latter clause has been missing.

Today’s scenario of HIV/AIDS warrants a dual policy of combining prevention with care. No longer can we ignore care of PLWHA with the plea that funds are limited while continuing to shout hoarse about prevention only. It is something akin to treating the symptoms of a disease other than the disease itself. True, treatment is pretty expensive for a PLWHA, costing anything between Rs.1,800 and Rs.2,400 a month for a drug regimen alone. This requires phenomenal financial commitment by the state, but it is also a fact that there is a lot of money coming into this sector. A little jugglery here and there and then there may be enough money for care. For instance under the Govt.’s Mother to Child Transmission project, expensive anti-retroviral drug therapy is being given in select centers. But there is no plan to provide even a part of the therapy for PLWHAs who should be direct beneficiaries of any Government AIDS policy. Serious thought must also be given for setting up of special clinics/hospitals for HIV/AIDS for it is true that these patients have to face discrimination in general hospitals.

There are so many conflicting figures about HIV&AIDS in India, NACO estimates about 3.8 million people to be having HIV/AIDS presently in India. The latest figures for Manipur released by MACS is 13979 HIV +ves. These data are mostly based on reported cases from Govt. hospitals and Antenatal Clinics but the majority of the people use private health facilities and so, such cases go unreported.

In our state the figure of death due to HIV/AIDS reported so far stands at about 250. But, this is true that everybody knows somebody or the other who have died of this disease and this leads to the question of how far our data is correct. Yet, regardless of the actual numbers of infected people, it is quite evident the disease is spreading rapidly and is almost reaching epidemic proportions.

The need of the hour is the political will, integrated approach and commitment to impeccable medical practices-clean gloves, syringes, blood transfusion techniques so that we can meet the challenge posed by HIV/AIDS head on.