Over 85,000 people contracted HIV due to unsafe sex in India during Covid lockdown; Check state-wise numbers here

When the country was reeling under the COVID lockdown in 2020-21, over 85,000 people across the country contracted HIV due to unprotected sexual activity, according to RTI data.

Topping the list of the most reported HIV cases during the lockdown period, Maharashtra logged over 10,000 cases (10,498). Andhra Pradesh came second on the list with 9,521 infections followed by Karnataka (8,947).

Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal featured on the list with 3,037 and 2,757 HIV infections respectively. In response to an RTI filed by Madhya Pradesh-based activist Chandra Shekhar Gaur, the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) informed that 85,268 HIV cases were reported across the country in 2020-21 due to the unprotected sexual activity.

As per the data, a steady decline was observed in the number of HIV cases reported due to unprotected sexual activity between 2011-12 to 2020-21.

The numbers went down from 2.4 lakh HIV cases in 2011-12 to 1.44 lakh in 2019-20 and further declined to 85,268 in 2020-21. The National AIDS Control Programme (NACP), a division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, was launched in 1992 as a comprehensive programme for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in India.

It was implemented with the objective of slowing down the spread of HIV infections so as to reduce morbidity, mortality and the impact of AIDS in the country