India highest supplier of drugs to combat AIDS: Nadda

Addressing the high-level General Assembly meeting on HIV/AIDS, JP Nadda said that India had faced the “spectre of disastrous consequences” on account of AIDS epidemic 15 years back but was able to manage the challenge effectively. 

The UN General Assembly adopted a new political declaration that emphasised on the critical importance of affordable medicines to combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS. The Minister also underlined that the international community cannot afford a rebound of the AIDS epidemic and that developed countries should do more and enhance their commitments to fight the worldwide scourge. 

Deaths due to AIDS in India have been reduced by nearly 55 per cent since 2007, while new HIV infections saw a reduction by 66 per cent since 2000. 

Around a million people affected by AIDS are currently on antiretroviral therapy. “These remarkable successes would not have been possible without access to affordable medicines. The low-cost medicines produced by the Indian pharmaceutical industry have been instrumental in scaling up access to HIV treatment not only in India but in other parts of the world, especially in developing countries affected by this scourge,” Nadda said.