Govt approval for Phase IV of National AIDS Control Programme

The government today approved Phase IV of the National AIDS Control Programme with budgetary support of Rs 8632.77 crore.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in its meeting approved a proposal of the Department of AIDS Control, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, for providing gross budgetary support of Rs 8632.77 crore for implementation of Phase IV of NACP which aims at reducing new HIV infections by 50 per cent and providing comprehensive care and support to persons living with HIV/AIDS.
The NACP IV will integrate with other national programmes and align with overall 12th Five Year Plan goals of inclusive growth and development.

Having initiated the process of reversal in several high prevalent areas with continued emphasis on prevention, the next phase of NACP will focus on accelerating the reversal process and ensure integration of the programme response.
According to the Department, the main objective of NACP IV is to reduce new infections by 50 per cent (2007 Baseline of NACP III) and provide comprehensive care and support to all persons living with HIV/AIDS and treatment services for all those who require it.
This, the department said, will be achieved through intensifying and consolidating prevention services with a focus on high-risk groups and vulnerable population and general population.

It will also focus on expanding information, education and communication (IEC) services for them and also increase access and promote comprehensive care, support and treatment (CST), besides build capacities at national, state, district and facility levels and will work on strengthening Strategic Information Management Systems.

The government in 1992 launched the first National AIDS Control Programme (NACP I) and its second phase was initiated in 1998.
Based on the learning from first and second programmes, the government designed and implemented NACP III (2007-2012) with an objective to "halt and reverse the HIV epidemic In India" by the end of the project.

There has been a steady decline in overall prevalence and nearly 50 percent decrease in new infections over the last 10 years. NACP IV aims to consolidate the gains of NACP III.