The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation signed an agreement with India committing an extra USD 23 million over the next 3 years in addition to USD 58 million focusing on HIV Prevention Response and intervention to key populations. The Gates Foundation has already created an Indian AIDS Initiative (Avahan) with an investment of USD 258 million spread over 5 years.
With this new commitment, Avahan will train the staff at the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and State AIDS Control Societies to enhance their management and technical capacity and specifically skills in project and financial management. Moreover, the project will enhance intervention programs for most vulnerable populations such as sex workers, clients of sex workers, homosexuals, and drug users.
Avahan was launched in 2003 and focuses mainly on
Andhra Pradesh
(AP), Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu (TN),
Maharashtra,
Manipur, and
Nagaland.