India’s HIV fight has changed: Why ageing, diabetes and new hotspots are the next big challenge

India’s experience shows that a nationally owned and predominantly domestically-funded HIV programme can be both sustainable and resilient. (Source: Pexels)India’s HIV programme is often held up as a public health success story. New infections and AIDS-related deaths have fallen sharply over the past decade, millions of people are receiving life-saving antiretroviral therapy and viral suppression rates are among the highest in the world. But as people with HIV live longer, the country’s battle against the epidemic is entering a new phase. Doctors are now grappling with an ageing population living with HIV, many of whom are developing diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and other non-communicable diseases that require integrated care. At the same time, fresh HIV transmission hotspots link