WHO to extend polio deadline as India, others lag

Citing the example of Thailand and Uganda, she said successful intervention could help stop the rapid spread of AIDS in India too. UNAIDS, the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, estimates that there are 3.5 million people living with HIV in India, with over 1 per cent ante-natal women being infected in states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

“Despite concerted international effort to develop an AIDS vaccine, it will take years before it’s clinically tested and ready for use,” she said. “In the meantime, the only way to stop an epidemic is to break the silence and talk about AIDS to stop further infection.”

The strategy, tried and tested, is informing and educating people about HIV/AIDS to help them make safe choices. “Everyone should not only be told how to protect themselves, but condoms should also be made easily available,” she said. The WHO is also facilitating dialogue between pharmaceutical companies and governments to make drugs available cheaper in developing countries.

Talking of malaria, she said governments and people need to look at cheap and effective measures such as bed-nets to control the disease. “Equally important is to increase access to anti-malarial drugs, for a delay of even two days can leave a person too sick to be cured,” said the WHO Director-General, who holds a masters degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.

With negotiations regarding the WHO’s Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) beginning in October, Dr Brundtland is hopeful that all countries will sign up to allow for stronger tobacco-control legislations around the world. “The treaty will support government efforts to formulate and enforce good tobacco-control policies, and I think many countries need it,” she said.

“You need to ask yourself, `Are there enough tobacco-control measures in place in India?’ I think the answer is no. The FCTC will help the Government make an effective policy and enforce it,” she asserted.