At a glance
CDC works with partners in India to strengthen the country's public health and clinical systems; deliver quality HIV testing and treatment services; and respond to emerging public health threats.
Background
CDC established an office in India in 2001 to assist the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) in addressing a concentrated HIV epidemic affecting people at higher risk of HIV. They are also working to end HIV as a public health threat by 2030.
As a key implementer of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), CDC focuses on:
- Evidence-based interventions in prevention.
- Testing.
- Linkage to treatment.
- Retention.
- Lab system strengthening.
PEPFAR provides equitable access to services for people at risk of HIV and people living with HIV (PLHIV). This includes HIV prevention, testing, and treatment services.
CDC also works closely with the National Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination Program (NTEP). Together, they work to prevent, detect, treat and build systems towards a TB–free India.
Download CDC India's Fact Sheet
HIV and TB data
HIV/AIDS
Estimated HIV Prevalence (Ages 15-49)
Estimated AIDS Deaths (Age≥15)
Estimated Orphans Due to AIDS
Reported Number Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy (Age≥15)
Tuberculosis (TB)
Estimated TB Incidence
TB Patients with Known HIV-Status who are HIV-Positive
TB Treatment Success Rate
Key activities and accomplishments
HIV treatment
CDC partners with NACO to provide services people at higher risk of HIV. Together, they increase access to lifesaving antiretroviral therapy (ART), treatment continuity, and viral load (VL) testing for all PLHIV.
CDC also collaborates with NACO, State AIDS Control Societies, and community-based organizations. This partnership successfully demonstrates strategies to improve decentralized service delivery and person-centered treatment options. Key areas of partnership include:
- The roll-out of dolutegravir-based regimens.
- Expanded patient-centric differentiated package of care.
- Advanced disease management.
- Rapid ART initiation.
- HIV-TB coinfection management.
- Community ART refill groups.
- Multi-month dispensation.
NACO has adopted these strategies across 740 ART centers across India. CDC was proud to partner with the Government of India (GOI) on the release of the National Guidelines for HIV Care and Treatment (2021). Together, CDC is working to disseminate quality care strategies through Distance Learning Seminars. CDC supports the dissemination of Undetectable=Untransmissible (U=U) messaging among PLHIV.
Strengthening laboratories
CDC is a key technical partner and works to strengthen lab systems. This partnership improves health equity through quality services and access for PLHIV through an expanded, quality laboratory. CDC has demonstrated innovative service hub and spoke delivery models and expanded community led testing to reach remote communities. CDC is working in partnership with the GOI to achieve 100 percent ISO accreditation for all participating laboratories by 2024.
With the growth of integrated health programs, CDC is also working with the GOI to implement integrated laboratory solutions. These solutions will be used for early detection, clinical management, and follow-up of cervical cancer in women living with HIV.
HIV prevention among people at higher risk
CDC partners with NACO to demonstrate and scale strategies for:
- Comprehensive HIV prevention.
- Low threshold harm reduction.
- Expanded evidence-based testing strategies.
Key areas of support include technical assistance for index testing services and social network testing. CDC integrates HIV testing across diverse clinical entry points in the health system in the areas with the highest burden. These distracts and states include:
- Mumbai
- Mizoram
- Manipur
- Nagaland
- Andhra Pradesh
CDC employs innovations to reach people who are at higher risk of HIV, for people who migrate, and for communities in remote regions of India. CDC has worked with the GOI to expand their services through the integrated service delivery clinics. This includes the ‘know-your-status’ campaigns, virtual outreach interventions, and U=U messaging toward national scale-up.
Strengthening national surveillance systems
CDC partners with NACO in the strategic information space, including:
- The HIV annual sentinel surveillance.
- The nationwide integrated biological and behavioral. surveillance of KP.
- Size estimations.
- Use of data for impact.
- Community–led mapping.
CDC partners with NACO in expanding data management dashboards and reporting frameworks known as Strengthening Overall Care for PLHIV (SOCH). SOCH provides national and facility-level data for impact. This work and district epidemiologic profiles further supported targeted programming under PEPFAR.
Tuberculosis (TB)
CDC partners with India to meet the 2025 End TB goals through four program strengthening strategies:
- Find
- Treat
- Prevent
- Build
Key areas of support include strengthening NTEP laboratory capacity through external quality assessment of rapid molecular based TB tests.
CDC partnered with the ‘End DR-TB Dharavi slum’ project to improve drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) treatment outcomes and prevent further transmission. To prevent TB among household contacts in Maharashtra, CDC led two projects. This resulted in successfully testing/treating 1,500 household contacts for latent TB infection using the weekly 12-dose regimen.
CDC also partners with the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences to prevent TB disease and infection among healthcare workers. The program's core functions are to screen, diagnose, and treat.
The ‘Germ-Free TB Mukt Bharat’ aims to improve Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) by mentoring state and facility staff. The program is being implemented across ten states.
The Expand ELEVATE project builds capacity for local staff to improve data quality and use towards TB elimination and End TB goals.
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