New Delhi: Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are the top three states which registered the highest estimated annual new infections of HIV in 2023 among the 15-24 years population, revealed India HIV Estimates 2023 report published recently.
The report was compiled by the National AIDS and STD Control Programme (NACP).
"Among the young adults 15-24 years population, the highest estimated annual new infections were found in Bihar (2.41 thousand), followed by UP (2.14 thousand), and Punjab (1.88 thousand),” the report stated.
In 2023, the HIV estimation showed that the annual new infection declined between 2010 and 2023 in all States and UTs, except for Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Punjab and Assam.
"The highest decline was seen in Andhra Pradesh (76.1%) followed by Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh (75.1%) Kerala (74.4%), Karnataka (70.2%) and Odisha (70.2%). Other States and UTs where the decline in ANI from 2010 were more than the national average of 44. 2% were Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Andaman & Nicobar Island and Chandigarh,” the report said.
In 2023 Mizoram (1.02) had the highest estimate HIV incidence per 1000 uninfected population, followed by other northeastern states of Nagaland (0.46), Tripura (0.32), Meghalaya (0.28), Arunachal Pradesh (0.23) and Manipur (0.22) along with Punjab (0.30).
“Besides these states, Delhi, Haryana, Telangana, Dadra Nagar Haveli & Diu and Daman, Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Assam, and Puducherry had an estimated HIV incidence rate higher than the national rate (0.05). The remaining 17 States and UTs have an HIV incidence of less than 0.05,” the report said.
Aside from a rising trend in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Tripura, Delhi and Punjab, HIV burden estimation in 2023 brought out a declining trend in HIV incidence rate in all other States and UTs.
The estimated HIV incidence rates for high-risk group (HRG) population illustrate a diverse picture across state geographies. Among the injecting drug user (IDU) population, HIV incidents were estimated at 31% for Rajasthan and 10% for Uttar Pradesh followed by Mizoram, Bihar and Haryana with more than 5%.
HIV incidents were estimated to be highest in Meghalaya (4%) among the female sex worker (FSW) population. In 2023, the estimate of AIDS-related deaths per 1,00,000 population was the highest in Manipur (15.32) followed by Mizoram (10.81) and Andhra Pradesh (10.04). Nagaland, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Delhi, Chhattisgarh and Puducherry had the estimated AIDS-related mortality rate higher than that of the country, the report said.
"India’s fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues. The implementation of integrated health campaigns, index testing and comprehensive awareness initiatives has revitalised the response efforts. Nevertheless, the country must remain vigilant ensuring their prevention, testing and treatment services are accessible to all, particularly the most vulnerable population,” said V Hekali Zhimomi, director general of National AIDS Control Organisation.
The estimation of the burden of the HIV epidemic is an integral part of the National AIDS Control Program to provide updated evidence on the status of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India. The estimation activity is implemented by the NACO in collaboration with ICMR- (National Institute of Research in Digital Health and Data Science (NIRDHDS) as the nodal technical body.
