DESCRIPTION:

In 1992, USAID launched the first bilateral HIV/AIDS project between the U.S. Government and the Government of India, the AIDS Prevention and Control (APAC) Project. The goal of APAC is to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS via sexual transmission and to increase access to care and support services to those affected by HIV in the states of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. In March 2007, the APAC project was extended for five years to support comprehensive prevention to care continuum services in selected high-prevalence districts; and to provide technical assistance to the State AIDS Control Societies (SACS) of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Kerala. The project has reached over 20,000 female sex workers, 10,000 men having sex with men, and 1,000 injecting drug users, through 33 NGO/CBO-led interventions. The program also provided care and treatment to over 10,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Tamil Nadu. From 1999 to 2007 project efforts led to an increase in condom usage among truckers from 44 percent to 80 percent; and,among sex workers, from 56 percent to 92 percent. Condom sales in the state have tripled from 17 million to 58 million in the last ten years. Trends in HIV prevalence among antenatal mothers in Tamil Nadu continues to decline (from 1.13 percent in 2001 to 0.25 percent in 2008).

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