AIDS testing catches up with Indians

New Delhi: Voluntary AIDS testing is fast catching up with the Indians and more and more people today go to health workers and physicians for AIDS counseling without any hesitance. The trend is more prominent among the people belonging to higher income segments as compared to people from lower income groups.

According to a survey conducted by the Indian Institute of Population Sciences (IIPS), which submitted the report to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the percentage of people seeking voluntary HIV/AIDS testing and counseling has risen to four among higher income groups while the ratio stands at just about one per cent in case of people belonging to lower income groups.

The survey was carried out in six states, including Assam, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. It covered 58,343 people from 10,750 households of whom 52 per cent were male and 48 per cent female.

In fact, two per cent of women respondents who took part in the survey reported to have received voluntary counseling and testing for HIV/AIDS through anti-natal clinics. The trend is more prominent in the age group of 18-49 years.

The highest of five per cent women respondents received voluntary counseling and testing in Maharashtra followed by three per cent in Karnataka. In the rest of the four states, similar voluntary counseling and testing was less than one per cent. The survey also found that only two per cent of the respondents have reported tuberculosis screening.

The survey also showed a rise in condom use in these AIDS-infested areas. In fact as many as six per cent of those surveyed reported using condoms, especially in cases where the respondents or their spouses were in the age group of 18-49 years.

Condom use was found to be highest in Assam and Uttar Pradesh at 10 per cent, while the lowest of two per cent was recorded in Karnataka.

A higher proportion of males as compared to females and a higher proportion of urban compared to rural population are using condoms, the report said. The trend is better among higher income group respondents, the study reveals.