*EPF410 05/23/2002
Text: U.S. Joins with India in the Fight Against AIDS
(Amb. Blackwill Details U.S. Help in Tackling HIV/AIDS) (1080)

U.S. Ambassador to India Robert D. Blackwill said in an op-ed published in "The Hindu" on May 21 that the U.S. is dedicating $91.5 million to help India battle HIV/AIDS over the next five years.

India has the second largest HIV/AIDS population in the world, Blackwill said, with nearly four million infected people.

"The Government of India is tackling these immense problems, and the United States is doing what it can to help," Blackwill said. "India and the United States are truly together in this monumental fight against HIV/AIDS. We must win it."

Following is the text of Ambassador's Blackwill's op-ed:

(begin text)

Joining With India in the Fight Against AIDS
by Ambassador Robert D. Blackwill

The recent Parliamentarian conference in New Delhi set a landmark for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in India. Prime Minister Vajpayee called for "liberation" from AIDS and the conference produced the groundbreaking "Delhi Declaration," which vows to achieve that objective. This is a pledge that deserves national praise and international support. The United States has dedicated $91.5 million to buttress India's efforts over the next five years. This is done not only in the spirit of the transformed US-India bilateral relationship, but because Americans are urgently, vigilantly, and tirelessly determined to end this twenty-first century plague.

In the two decades since AIDS was first identified, 60 million people have been infected and 22 million have died worldwide. Another human being becomes infected every six seconds, but ninety per cent of them do not know they are afflicted. AIDS has reduced life expectancy by as much as 30 percent in some countries, and has eroded gains in child survival that will take years to restore. This silent and insidious disease thus carries terrible consequences for all societies, but especially for the developing world where ninety-five per cent of its victims live.

India has nearly four million infected people, the second largest HIV/AIDS population in the world. If the spread of HIV in India is not stopped, it will create a human tragedy of apocalyptic proportions. The US Mission here stands with the Indian Government and Indian people to transform the Delhi Declaration into expanded and sustained action. Nation states, donors, multilateral organizations, businesses, civil society, non-governmental institutions, health care workers, research and educational institutions, all sectors of society must work together to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to provide care for those who suffer from it. Concerted, sustained and effective action on the Delhi Declaration will make India a world leader in the struggle against HIV/AIDS.

Discrimination that hinders access to prevention, treatment, care, and support is a prime area for US-Indian teamwork. The conference attendees in New Delhi said HIV/AIDS must be de-stigmatized to be controlled. People living with the disease deserve care when infected and, just as importantly, before they become sick. It is also imperative that women and girls, the most vulnerable to the illness, be provided with education and given every opportunity to make the decisions that will protect them from unsafe behavior.

India can lead the way in prevention for South Asia with widespread educational awareness programs, early diagnosis and counseling, appropriate care and targeted research. The National AIDS Control Program is doing a fine job in enhancing prevention and coordinating donor contributions, but the role of the Government of India is vast and challenging. As the Prime Minister and Mrs. Sonia Gandhi both noted during the Delhi conference, the Indian Government should more actively advocate and support anti-HIV activities; encourage action at the state level; and aggressively encourage private sector engagement.

The Government of India is tackling these immense problems, and the United States is doing what it can to help. America -- the largest HIV/AIDS bilateral donor in the world - is assisting through the US Embassy and Consulates in India. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) funds two major bilateral endeavors -- the APAC Project in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry and the AVERT Project in Maharashtra. USAID is also planning to incorporate HIV prevention into other undertakings, notably the Innovative Family Planning Services project in U.P., and support to CARE International.

The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is meanwhile expanding its efforts in India. CDC is helping to sponsor better diagnosis and management of opportunistic infections in HIV patients at the Tambaram Thoracic Hospital in Chennai. This project is strengthening laboratories and improving specialized training in diagnostics and other new technologies. CDC's Global AIDS Program is committed to India for the long-term and will provide practical models at the state level to deal with the burden of this avoidable disease.

The US Embassy's Science Office also reinforces HIV prevention and care through scientific cooperation with the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the CDC, and numerous Indian agencies and institutions. Collaborative research between the US and India at present focuses on behavior change, mother-to-child transmission, and vaccine development. Such joint research is harnessing the creative genius of both our countries to find cost-effective new ways to combat AIDS.

US-India efforts involve unprecedented collaboration among technical agencies and institutions, with guidance from the National AIDS Control Organization. Indian scientists are increasingly successful in the rigorous global competition for research support from the United States. About $10 million of American funding over the next five years will go directly to Indian research institutions. The number of NIH awards to India has nearly tripled since 1998, a tribute to the quality of Indian scientists, but we must accelerate the process of awarding these grants so that American and Indian scientists can get to work without bureaucratic delays.

HIV does not discriminate among nations, between the sexes, shows no respect for education, and cares nothing for wealth or status. It has already caused 500,000 deaths in America. Stopping it is nothing less than a matter of national security for every nation. Under the Delhi Declaration, India has confirmed its pledge to stem the tide of this scourge. In the spirit of our transformed bilateral relationship, the US has dedicated to India resources and talent so that more men, women and children here can live peaceful, prosperous and healthy lives. India and the United States are truly together in this monumental fight against HIV/AIDS. We must win it.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Return to Public File Main Page

Return to Public Table of Contents