India's HIV/AIDS Crisis: A Moment of Truth

Eighteen years ago, the first case of HIV infection was diagnosed in India. Today, this South Asian giant has entered a critical period in its fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) HIV/AIDS Task Force delegation to India in January 2004 concluded that although the country does not have the high prevalence rates that have devastated some African countries, the country's epidemic has started to affect large swathes of the general population in many parts of the country. How India handles this impending development will hold lessons not only for other "second wave" countries grappling with the HIV virus, but also its neighbors in South Asia, who share similar socioeconomic characteristics.