Click to play videoNew Delhi: Bill Gates has wrapped up his high-profile visit to India, and with that, the massive funding for the country's HIV/AIDS programmes through the Gates Foundation has also officially ended. Gates cited the fact that HIV/AIDS infection rates have declined in the country.
"The Avahan initiative has been a phenomenal success. I should note though that the Government of India has been together on this on every step of the way. In fact in the years ahead most of the ongoing work on prevention would be funded by the Government," said Bill Gates.
What this means is almost $338 million less to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India after 2012, an amount committed by the GATES Foundationn's initiative Avahan, in the year 2009.
"$200 million is not a small change. We are always struggling for funding- health is an ever expanding horizon of needs. They have done a great job. Now its over to us- the ministry to build it and make then into sustainable projects," said former Health Secretary Sujatha Rao.
Avahan-supported schemes used to reach nearly 2 lakh female sex workers and 80,000 patients in the MSM community and the transgender community.
This work will now be taken over completely by the National AIDS Control Organisation while the Gates foundation will redirect its funds into other public health programmes like research or drug and vaccine and cheaper drugs.
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