Current efforts not enough to end AIDS by 2030: Lancet report

Linda-Gail Bekker, president of the International AIDS Society and lead author of the Commission’s report, told The Indian Express, that current approaches to HIV control were not adequate to contain it by 2030.

Written by Anuradha Mascarenhas

Pune | July 20, 2018 03:30 AM IST

3 min read

With more than two million people with HIV, and an estimated 62,000 AIDS-related deaths in 2016, India alone was to the third largest HIV epidemic in the world, it says.

A new report by the International AIDS Society and Lancet Commission, released online on Thursday, says the world was not on track to end AIDS by 2030, as envisioned as part of global Sustainable Development Goals. With more than two million people with HIV, and an estimated 62,000 AIDS-related deaths in 2016, India alone was to the third largest HIV epidemic in the world, it says.

The report, titled ‘Advancing global health and strengthening HIV response in the era of the Sustainable Development Goals’ notes that world-wide there were about 20.9 million people on anti-retroviral therapy. In 2015-16, an estimated 36·7 million to 38·8 million people were living with HIV worldwide, it says. There were one million AIDS-related deaths in 2016, and overall more than 35 million people have died of AIDS-related causes since the start of the epidemic. The report will be presented at the upcoming AIDS 2018 conference in Amsterdam next week.

South Africa had the largest HIV-infected population, an estimated 7.1 million people, followed by Nigeria, where 3.2 million people are estimated to be living with HIV. India, with 2 million estimated HIV infected people, is third on the list. An HIV estimation exercise conducted in 2015 projected that there would be around 21.1 lakh people living with HIV in the country in 2016.

India has declared its aim to decrease new HIV infections by 75 per cent in the period between 2010 and 2020, and eliminate AIDS by 2030. The Lancet Commission report says if India took all proactive measures, including testing, anti-retroviral therapy and pre-exposure preventive treatment, in the vulnerable groups, it could hope to avert only about seven per cent of new HIV cases between now and 2028. That would still mean potentially 51,000 new infections would be avoided and about 81,000 AIDS related deaths would be prevented during this time, Bekker said.

“It is important for India to provide services to key populations of vulnerable groups like injecting drug users, female sex workers, men having sex with men, and eunuchs/transgenders. Rapid and easy access to anti retroviral therapy is crucial as these key populations are marginalised. International funding has decreased and often this withdrawal affects prevention and treatment services to the key groups,” Bekker said in an emailed response.

Indian Council of Medical Research said the country’s HIV programme was being steadily intensified.”We are aware that we cannot be complacent and have intensified our coverage to reach out to vulnerable populations,” R R Gangakhedkar, head of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases division at ICMR, said.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. ``Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) "Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. ``At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure "For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. ``Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions X (Twitter): @runaanu ... Read More

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