National

AIDS on the decline: survey

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MARCH 16. There appears to be some happy tidings regarding the killer disease, AIDS, if one goes by the results of a survey, which was released here today.

The survey, vetted by a specialist group, including experts belonging to the UNAIDS and the WHO, has estimated that only about 1.1 lakh persons might have contracted the disease during 2001, a sharp fall from the estimated 1.6 lakh new cases in 2000.

Another feature is that there appeared to be ``encouraging early signs'' of stabilisation of the infection in Tamil Nadu and other States, which had a high prevalence of the disease.

The survey was conducted between August and October in 320 sentinel sites. While 135 of the sites were in sexually-transmitted diseases (STD) clinics, 170 were in antenatal clinics, 13 for intravenous drug users and two for homosexuals.

The estimates were made on the basis of a methodology developed a few years ago following consultation with a group of experts, including epidemiologists and bio-statisticians within the country as well from the WHO and the UNAIDS.

Meanwhile, the Union Health Minister, C.P.Thakur, has ordered the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to cancel its sponsorship of the classical music show, ``spirit of unity concert'' on Doordarshan, for its very low viewership.

He has also ordered an inquiry into how the sponsorship was extended by six months recently despite the poor rating of the show. The sponsorship was extended by paying Rs. 45.5 lakhs, including Rs. 13 lakhs as telecast fee for 26 episodes. In return, the NACO was given a three-minute slot on each of the 30-minute show for speading its message against AIDS. The inquiry would be conducted by the Joint Secretary-cum-Financial Adviser of the Ministry. The NACO has been sponsoring the programme since 1998.

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