New Delhi: AIDS, being one of the deadliest diseases, is something that the government has been very keen on preventing. As a part of this endeavour, it had launched its AIDS control program.
However, much as it was appreciated, it is now under serious threat, not because people are violating norms, but because of a severe shortage of condoms!
Yes, at least 15 states have reported severe shortage of free condoms, while five to six of them have announced they are out of stock, sources said.
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The Drive
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Condoms are distributed free especially among female sex workers, long distance truckers, transgenders, drug users etc. The idea is to prevent these vulnerable sections from Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs).
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The Shortage
The shortage erupts from a significant cut in NACO’s (National AIDS Control Organisation) budget, absence of global funding and part of the budget diverted to states.
Funding, supply chain, delayed payment to companies manufacturing condoms, drugs and testing kits etc are threatening this drive.
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States affected
Maharashtra, one of the high risk states with an HIV prevalence of over 0.40%, generates an annual demand of 3.90 crore condoms under the AIDS prevention programme.
The situation is similar in many other states including Haryana, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Punjab. Most of these states were facing irregular supplies for over a year and which has almost come to a standstill now.
These shortages assume significance because India continues to battle against the infection. The UN estimates that India currently has the third largest population of HIV infected people in the world.
(With inputs from agencies)