Tamil Nadu

When surveillance systems in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, home to some 62 million people, showed that HIV infection rates among pregnant women were rising - tripling to 1.25% between 1995 and 1997 - the State Government acted decisively. Funding for the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS), which had been set up in 1994, was significantly increased. ³⁰ Along with non-governmental organisations and other partners, TANSACS developed an active AIDS prevention campaign. This included hiring a leading international advertising agency to promote condom use for risky sex in a humorous way, without offending the many people who do not engage in risky behaviour. The campaign also attacked the ignorance and stigma associated with HIV infection.
he HIV prevalence at antenatal clinics in Tamil Nadu was 0.25% in 2006, though several districts still have much higher rates. The general population survey of 2005-2006 found a rate of 0.34% across the state. Prevalence among injecting drug users was 24.20% in 2006 - the highest of all states and union territories