More than 85 thousand people infected with HIV due to unprotected sex in lockdown

For the past two years, the country has been facing the worst of the Corona crisis. In 2020-21, covid lockdown was imposed for the first time in the country. Efforts are being made to prevent covid infection. Meanwhile, a shocking piece of information has come to light. More than 85,000 people are reported to be infected with HIV during the lockdown.

This has been revealed through RTI. More than 85,000 people became infected with HIV through unprotected sex. Shockingly, the highest number of people infected with HIV were found in Maharashtra, where 10,498 people became infected. Andhra Pradesh (9,521) and Karnataka (8,947) are in second and third place respectively. Most populous cities like West Bengal (3,037) have the lowest number of HIV cases. At the same time, 2,757 HIV cases were reported in Madhya Pradesh. 

Social activist Chandrasekhar Gaur had sought information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) has revealed this, which has revealed a big issue. According to the NACO, the ICTC counselor has collected information on the number of infected people and the cause of the infection based on the answers given by HIV positive citizens during the counseling before or after the test. More than 85,000 people became infected with HIV through unprotected sex during the Corona Lockdown in 2020-21 in the country.

In the RTI, NACO states that 17,08,777 people in India became infected with HIV during 2011-2021 due to unprotected sex. However, the number of people infected with HIV has dropped significantly in the last 10 years. In 2011-12, 2.4 lakh cases of HIV were reported due to unprotected sex, while in 2021, the number dropped to 85,268. According to the statistics, the number of HIV cases has been steadily declining in all the states and union territories. According to the data, there are 23,18,737 people living with HIV in the country as of 2020, including 81,430 children.