S T R A T E G I C F O C U S

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established an office in India in 2001 to assist the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) in addressing a concentrated HIV epidemic affecting key populations such as commercial sex workers, men who have sex with men, and people who inject drugs. Under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), CDC focuses on preventing new infections, increasing access to services for persons living with HIV and tuberculosis (TB), building a strong surveillance system, and strengthening the work of civil society organizations. To reach these goals, CDC:

• Assists the Government of India in achieving HIV epidemic control under the framework of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 targets by increasing detection, linkage, treatment, and retention in high priority districts

• Serves as a leading partner in national HIV surveillance efforts, which include using a single monitoring and evaluation system for effective, data-driven decision-making

• Supports implementation of quality assurance measures for HIV testing in India’s national and state reference laboratories, including training India’s laboratory workforce and supporting its quality assurance efforts for blood safety and early infant diagnosis

• Works to enhance HIV-TB coordination to effectively diagnose and treat multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB, including a collaboration with the National Institute of Research in Tuberculosis in Chennai to improve understanding of MDR TB and to reduce the importation of TB into the United States.