UNAIDS says govt accepted its figure of 5.7 million HIV/AIDS cases

New Delhi, June 27 (UNI) The controversy over a UNAIDS report that India has the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases took a new turn today with the UN agency claiming the Indian government has accepted its report.

''A minister at the launch of YUVA programme today said that India has the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases. This indicates that the Indian Government has accepted the UNAIDS report about the country having 5.7 million HIV/AIDS cases, the highest in the world,'' UNAIDS Country Representative Denis Braun told UNI.

He was referring to Panchayati Raj and Youth Affairs Minister Mani Shanker Aiyar, who while addressing the YUVA (Youth Unite For Victory on AIDS) Programme launch this morning had apparently said that India has the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases and a movement be launched among youth to fight the disease.

Referring to Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss' ''disappointment'' with the UNAIDS report on Global AIDS Epidemic, 2006, released last month, which stated that India has surpassed South Africa by reporting 5.7 million HIV/AIDS cases, the highest in the world and 4 lakh deaths due to AIDS in 2005 more than 3.2 lakh of South Africa, Mr Braun said the Health Minister had reacted ''violently'' and without consulting concerned officials and authorities.

The Health Minister had said that the UNAIDS/WHO was involved in the HIV/AIDS data collection by NACO which put the figure at 5.2 million so why UNAIDS did not consult the government while stating that India had 5.7 million HIV/AIDS cases in its report.

''We relied on the NACO figures for HIV/AIDS which only included the HIV/AIDS infection among 15 years to 49 years. But we all know that HIV/AIDS infection occurs among children and even those in the age group of above 50 also. So we had a mathematical derivation which included the figures for these age groups also and arrived at 5.7 million figure,'' he said.

''Moreoer, we had sent the figures of 5.7 million HIV/AIDS infection to the Minister in March itself. May be he did not get time to go through the issue at that time due to his pre-occupation and busy schedule or did not realise the importance of the issue at that time. So, it is not our fault,'' the UNAIDS representative said while denying the Health Minister's charge that the UN agency did not inform the Indian government before declaring the new figures.

Mr Braun said the UNAIDS had always cooperated with the Indian government and ''worked in tandem''. He said the confusion over the HIV/AIDS figures were clear now with the government ''accepting it''.

However, to clear the matter further, UNAIDS would hold a press conference on the issue jointly with the National AIDS Control Organisation on June 30, he added.

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