Recent statistics released by the World Health Organisation show that the HIV prevalence rate in India has declined from 0.4 per cent of the population in the early 2000s to 0.3 per cent in 2009. Even so, the prevalence rate is higher than many other developing countries, like China, where it is 0.1 per cent.
The relatively low level of awareness of HIV infection among Indian women clearly indicates the population’s vulnerability to HIV. According to the third National Family Health Survey (NFHS) for 2005-06, a mere 57 per cent of ever-married women in the age group of 15-49 years reported being aware of HIV or AIDS; though this was significantly higher than the 40 per cent who reported awareness in the 1998-99 NFHS-2 survey. Efforts to increase awareness have, therefore, borne fruit but are still lacking in rural areas where awareness rose from 30 per cent to 46 per cent over the seven years.
The HIV situation is diverse across the country. According to the National AIDS Control Organisation, HIV prevalence has stabilised in Tamil Nadu and other southern states with a high HIV burden. However, new areas have emerged in northern and eastern states. Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai have a significant population living with HIV among injecting drug users. The reasons for such prevalence vary from state to state depending on the proportion of high-risk groups. Despite consistent efforts of the government and non-government organisations, the level of awareness varies widely across states. (Click here for graph)
| POSITIVELY LOW Percentage of women who have heard about AIDS | |
| WEALTH INDEX | % |
| Lowest | 23.90 |
| Second | 40.70 |
| Middle | 60.00 |
| Fourth | 77.60 |
| Highest | 92.00 |
| EDUCATION | |
| No education | 30.30 |
| Less than 5 years | 57.20 |
| 10-11 years complete | 94.90 |
| 12 or more years complete | 99.00 |
| Source: NFHS-3, 2005-06 | |
In Manipur, Kerala, Mizoram and Tamil Nadu more than 90 per cent of women are aware of AIDS. High literacy rate and concerted campaigns have contributed to increased levels of awareness in these states. India’s first-known HIV infection was diagnosed in Chennai and this is reflected in the high level of awareness among men and women in Tamil Nadu. These states are followed by Delhi, Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashra with more than 80 per cent awareness among women. At the other end are Bihar, Rajasthan and Jharkhand where awareness among women is less than 40 per cent.
The level of awareness among men is considerably higher than women and there are 14 states with 90 per cent or more awareness levels among men. Meghalaya, however, is one of those states where awareness among both men and women is merely 62-63 per cent. Jharkhand is at the bottom of the list with just 60.8 per cent awareness among men.
Knowledge of AIDS increases with education and with the wealth index of the household. This is true even in the case of men since about half of the men with no education (51 per cent) and 53 per cent of men in the lowest wealth quintile have heard of AIDS, while knowledge is almost universal among men at the highest education level and in the highest wealth quintile. Television was cited as the most common source of knowledge, followed by radio among all sub-groups of the population. Though levels of awareness need to be increased, it is equally important to clear misconceptions about the disease among the general population. Going ahead, the key to control the spread of AIDS is effective communication among high-risk groups across the country.
Indian States Development Scorecard is a weekly feature by Indicus Analytics that focuses on the progress in India and the states across various socio-economic parameters
