Declining Trends of Adult HIV Prevalence

Declining Trends of Adult HIV Prevalence
The adult HIV prevalence at national level has continued its steady decline from estimated level
of 0.41% in 2000 through 0.36% in 2006 to 0.31% in 2009. All the high prevalence states show
a clear declining trend in adult HIV prevalence. HIV has declined notably in Tamil Nadu to reach
0.33% in 2009. However, the low prevalence states of Chandigarh, Orissa, Kerala, Jharkhand,
Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya show rising trends in adult
HIV prevalence in the last four years.
A clear decline is also evident in HIV prevalence among the young population (15-24 yrs) at
national level, both among men and women. Stable to declining trends in HIV prevalence
among the young population (15-24 yrs) are also noted in most of the states. However, rising
trends are noted in some states including Orissa, Assam, Chandigarh, Kerala, Jharkhand and
Meghalaya.
People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA)
The total number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) in India is estimated at 24 lakh (19.3 –
30.4) in 2009. Children (<15 yrs) account for 3.5% of all infections, while 83% are the in age
group 15-49 years. Of all HIV infections, 39% (9.3 lakh) are among women. The four high
prevalence states of South India (Andhra Pradesh – 5 lakh, Maharashtra – 4.2 lakh, Karnataka
– 2.5 lakh, Tamil Nadu – 1.5 lakh) account for 55% of all HIV infections in the country. West
Bengal, Gujarat, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are estimated to have more than 1 lakh PLHA each
and together account for another 22% of HIV infections in India. The states of Punjab, Orissa,
Rajasthan & Madhya Pradesh have 50,000 – 1 lakh HIV infections each and together account
for another 12% of HIV infections. These states, in spite of low HIV prevalence, have large
number of PLHA due to the large population size. (See Annex-1)