Close to 700 participants from across the globe assembled to deliberate upon actionable strategies for fighting the global HIV epidemic, in the three-day long HIV Congress 2014, held in Mumbai. The focus of the HIV Congress 2014 was to disseminate and share knowledge about HIV amongst clinicians, to enable them to devise more effective disease management methods, encourage young physicians to take up HIV as a speciality, and bridge the gap between private HIV physicians and government bodies like Department of AIDS control (DAC), WHO and UNAIDS, in turn encouraging collaborative research on HIV in India.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr JK Maniar, Organising Chairperson, HIV Congress 2014 said, “The global scenario of HIV is changing day by day. Until twenty years ago, there was a huge amount of social stigma associated with HIV-patients were sceptical to consult doctors and even doctors had limited knowledge. Earlier, a patient had to consume 20-25 pills a day to survive, and still had to bear numerous side effects, along with high costs of the medicines. A lot of deaths were due to lack of early detection of the disease and the side-effects of the available drugs.”
Dr BB Rewari, National Programme Officer (ART) WHO/NACO said, “Rolled out in 2004, National ART programme has evolved from eight ART centres to network of 1280 ART service delivery points wherein 7.5 lakh patients are receiving free ART. This has changed the outlook of HIV from a death sentence to chronic manageable disease. Recently NACO has also decided to introduce 3rd line ART in addition to 1st and 2nd line ART.” A recent initiative has been to provide multi drug ART to all positive pregnant women to ensure that no child is born with HIV.
Oussama Tawil, UNAIDS Coordinator, India said, “An HIV patient in India can now live a healthier life with an almost normal life expectancy. The Department of AIDS Control along with private practitioners is currently expanding access to treatment and working with civil society organisation to ensure continuum of care. Scientists continue to challenge themselves by exploring newer molecules with even lesser side effects and also drug delivery systems that reduce doses.”
The Academic partners of the HIV Congress 2014 were Association of Physicians of India, Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) and University Hospital Bazel, Switzerland.
EP News Bureau – Mumbai