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'Indian Inc needs clear policy for HIV carriers'

Corporate India must take into account the problems faced by HIV-positive employees, including provisions for preserving their privacy, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

"The corporate sector must have a transparent and clearly defined policy" towards HIV carriers," J V R Prasada Rao, secretary in the ministry of health and family welfare, told industrialists at an economic conference.

Care and support for HIV and AIDS sufferers are as important as medication, and corporates could do a great deal in providing a supportive environment, Rao said.

According to Dr Sandhya Bhalla, AIDS counsellor to the Confederation of Indian Industry, almost 50 per cent of top management say that AIDS is "not an issue for them."

The greatest challenge for counsellors is sensitising the management and workers to the enormity of the problem and getting the corporate sector to help AIDS-affected employees with the expense of treatment, Bhalla said.

"What we need today is a convergence of efforts to tackle the subject," said Dora Warren, epidemologist and AIDS consultant with the USAID programme in India.

"The government, the corporate sector, the non-governmental organisations, doctors and psychologists, should pitch in together to stem the spread of AIDS," Warren said.

According to official Indian statistics, more than 3.5 million Indians have been infected with the human immuno-deficiency virus that leads to AIDS.

India accounts for 60 per cent of HIV cases in Asia and 20 per cent of the world's HIV infections.

The cheapest treatment for AIDS in India costs approximately Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 ($173 to $217) per month.

India's average annual per capita income is $226.

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