December 03, 2012 - The Catholic Church is committed to end AIDS related deaths
in India by 2015 following the goals of World AIDS Campaign, says the head of Indian
bishops' health commission. "Along with the civil society, the church is committed
to work towards this initiative" of the World AIDS Campaign, said Archbishop Vincent
Concessao in his message for the United Nations World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, Saturday.
Between 2011-2015, World AIDS Days will have the theme of "Getting to zero: zero new
HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS related deaths." The World AIDS Campaign
focus on "Zero AIDS related deaths" signifies a push towards greater access to treatment
for all, noted Archbishop Concessao, chairman of the Office for Health Care of the
Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI). Pointing to UN figures, the retired
archbishop of Delhi stressed that “achieving zero new HIV infections in children is
possible.” Of the 34 million people living with HIV in the world, about half do not
know their HIV status. The report states that if more people knew their status, they
could come forward for HIV services. For the Church in India, he said, health care
"is essentially an expression of concern for the sick and the suffering. Archbishop
Concessao stated that the vast network of healthcare services of the Indian Church
has also been always committed to the cause of HIV/AIDS. He pointed to the Church-run
Promoting Access to Care and Treatment (PACT) project that has 49 Community Care
Centers where more than 53, 100 people with HIV/AIDS are enrolled. In addition to
this, numerous Religious groups and Catholic health workers and institutions are also
contributing to the fight against HIV/AIDS, Archbishop Concessao added.