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| 'Sharp drop' in India Aids levels |
| The number of people living with HIV/Aids in India is around half of previous official estimates, at between 2 - 3.1m people, new figures say.
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| INDIA
, 6-July-2007
4:7:42 AM |
| The UN-backed government estimates are sharply lower than earlier figures, the health minister announced on Friday.
Previous estimates from the National Aids Control Organisation (Naco) put the number of HIV cases at 5.2m, while UNAids in 2006 estimated 5.7m cases.
Officials say the lower estimate could be attributed to more accurate data.
'Still large'
"Today we have a far more reliable estimate of the burden of HIV in India," Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told a news conference in the Indian capital.
"The results show that there are an estimated two million to 3.1 million people affected with HIV-Aids.
"In terms of human lives affected, the number is still large, in fact very large. This is very worrying for us."
The latest estimates were calculated with the help of international agencies, including the UN and US Agency for International Development.
Correspondents say that India was thought to have the world's biggest HIV-positive caseload, but the new estimate means that South Africa and Nigeria are more severely affected.
India is about to embark on a new and expanded phase of its Aids control programme, with increased funding from the government and from international donors.
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