AIDS workers in India disagree with the government's claim that the country has decreased the rate of new HIV infections by 95 percent.
India's Health Ministry reported an increase of just 28,000 cases last year, compared to 526,000 in 2003, the BBC reported Wednesday. But AIDS agencies in the field disagree.
Activists in India said they were "dismayed" and "perturbed" by the new numbers, saying there had been no decrease in demand for their services. On the contrary, local agencies recorded an increase in the number of people seeking help for HIV, The Guardian reported Thursday.
India's health minister, Anbumani Ramadoss, said he stood by the statistics although he could not explain the sudden drop in cases.
India has the second largest number of people in the world living with HIV. Of India's 560 million adults, last year 5.1 million were recorded as having HIV.
South Africa has 5.3 million cases. India was widely expected to overtake South Africa this year.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
