Figuring it out

One wonders why more accurate tools were not used earlier to estimate the number of HIV/Aids-infected persons in India?

According to Naco, the number of HIV/Aids-infected persons in India in 2006 is almost 50 per cent less than earlier estimates. The reason given for low numbers this year is use of better and more accurate tools. One wonders why these tools were not used earlier? Another point to be pondered is: what trends would these estimates show over the last few years if we apply the same ‘robust’ tools used this year? In any case, even 2.5 million is a huge number and the efforts to prevent and control the virus need to be augmented.

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Bir Singh
New Delhi