Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) late last night introduced a bill intended to emphasize the importance of assisting India in its fight against AIDS by adding it as the 15th country under the authority of the Global AIDS Coordinator.  H.R. 4449 would give Ambassador Randall Tobias the mandate to move more aggressively with U.S. assistance to combat the growing AIDS epidemic in India. The bill is co-sponsored by Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ).

As the world’s largest democracy with a population of over one billion people, the Republic of India stands at a crossroads in its response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  Estimates are that 4.58 million people may already be infected, putting India just behind South Africa as the country with the largest total disease burden.  According to the National Intelligence Council, without the urgent implementation of a sizable, coordinated, and sustained response to the epidemic, India could have as many as 25 million cases of HIV/AIDS by the end of the decade.

“It is important that we move to address the HIV/AIDS crisis in India,” said Lee.  “India is at a turning point in this fight, and we should stand ready to help the Indian people.  We need to do this now.”

 

 

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