MSM Country Snapshot Series: INDIA

This snapshot provides information on the current situation for HIV and LGBT rights and advocacy in India.
India accounts for approximately half of Asia’s HIV epidemic with approximately 2.4 million people living with HIV. In 2009, an estimated 87.4 percent of all infections were related to heterosexual sex and 1.7 percent was related to sex between men. India’s national HIV epidemic is concentrated, though a functional distinction is made between ‘core’ and ‘bridge’ populations. Both receive focused support in India’s National AIDS Control Programme but the intensity of the intervention varies between the two and across geographic areas. The 50 percent decline in incidence attributed to intensified programmatic attention in six high- prevalence states serves as possible evidence of the value of this approach.

In 2007, the third National AIDS Control Programme (NACP – III) articulated the need for enhanced programmatic attention to MSM and was the first to outline a strategy for HIV prevention interventions targeted at hijra and male sex workers. It is thought that funding for targeted prevention interventions for MSM, male sex workers, and hijra is insufficient to meet basic needs for condoms and water-based lubricant.

Much of HIV services in India are managed by community- based organisations. A 2008 organisation mapping exercise found that 65 percent of all organisations and networks working with MSM in India are community-based. A handful of LGBT-oriented organisations and networks also play a key role in the formulation of national policy and guidelines related to HIV. They include: the Indian Network for Sexual Minorities (INFOSEM), and MANAS Bangla in West Bengal state.

Whereas MSM are viewed as a ‘core’ population under NACP – III, there is emerging evidence of MSM as a ‘bridge’ population. The proportion of MSM that report recent sex with women varies greatly across states and reaches?as high as 66 percent. Yet female partners of MSM are excluded from information, education, and communication programmes, a cornerstone of India’s HIV prevention strategy. India’s National AIDS Control Programme has demonstrated remarkable leadership in responding to?the HIV prevention needs of MSM. Future policy advancements may depend on the extent of overlap between MSM and other risk groups and the ability for policy leaders to quickly recognise the need for greater spending on targeted programmes for MSM.

The snapshot provides more information about priorities for India reaching the three zeros, the most recent epidemiological data, behavioural information and programmatic information.