India 'must increase HIV and AIDS prevention'
08/03/2010
India has been warned by the World Bank that it must do more to prevent HIV and AIDS because it is currently stretching its health budget by spending so much on treating those with the virus.
About five per cent of New Delhi's $5.4 billion (£3.5 billion) allocation is used to look after people who have contracted the disease, but the United Nations loaning institution said the amount could rise to $1.8 billion by 2020, Reuters reports.
That, the news agency noted, would put substantial strain on a stretched allowance that has to deal with other major problems such as malaria.
Mariam Claeson, World Bank programme coordinator (HIV and AIDS), said: "Those concentrated epidemics can act as wildfires and therefore need to be targeted with effective prevention efforts."
Jim Wozniak, an American politician, recently travelled to Bangalore in India to volunteer in an expedition to help teach outdoor activities to young children in areas affected by HIV and AIDS.
Written by Dan Parr
