Towards AIDS-Free

The Union Health Ministry announced ahead of World AIDS Day that India has made significant strides in the fight against HIV over the past 14 years, registering a 48.7 per cent decline in annual new infections, an 81.4 per cent reduction in AIDS-related deaths and a 74.6 per cent decrease in mother-to-child HIV transmission between 2010 and 2024. It went on to state that HIV and viral load testing, as well as access to antiretroviral treatment, saw a drastic increase during the same period, surpassing the global average. The trend in Nagaland is also encouraging. As per the National AIDS Control Organisation’s (NACO) national performance rankings, the state has jumped 11 places from 19th to 8th position, indicating significant progress in the combat against the virus. The positive development is a result of aggressive awareness campaigns and government programmes, particularly the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP), which aims at ending the HIV&AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030 through prevention, enhanced screening, community involvement, and free treatment for those living with the virus. The trajectory both at the national and state levels is encouraging, but the fight against HIV is far from over. India still has more than 25 lakh people living with HIV (PLHIV), which is the second largest number globally in 2024, while the number is estimated at 40.8 million globally.

As for Nagaland, as many as 15,323 people living with the virus are said to be receiving Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) as of June this year, and the prevalence rate among the adults aged between 15 and 49 stands at 1.37 per cent, the second-highest (only next to Mizoram with 2.7 per cent) in the country. Unprotected sex is the main mode of HIV transmission in the state at 85 per cent, followed by sharing of infected needles and syringes at 8.7 per cent and mother-to-child transmission at 5.4 per cent, as per the data provided by the Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC). This chilling data underscores the need for sustained effort in arresting the spread of the virus, a reminder that transmission risk is still high and that the disease continues to be a major public health challenge in Nagaland. It is also a matter of concern that the northeastern states of Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Assam have registered a noticeable increase in the prevalence of new infections, as per the recent India HIV Estimation 2025 technical report. The region should combat HIV with renewed vigour, focusing on awareness, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. It is equally important to foster community support free from stigmatisation and discrimination.