I am indeed very pleased to launch the Report of the Commission on AIDS in Asia. I compliment my friend, Dr. C. Rangarajan, and his colleagues on the Commission for producing an extremely important report. It is a well-researched document that puts together information and analysis that can help us evolve strategies for reversing the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the countries of Asia.

It is heartening to note that the report validates the basic strategic framework that has been adopted in India. It reiterates and reconfirms our understanding of the epidemic. It shows that the measures that we have adopted in India to reverse the pandemic have a sound basis.

The report has underlined clearly the importance of a public health approach to the problem if we want sustainable gains. The public health approach places emphasis on strategies that focus on vulnerable population groups, among whom the virus is primarily lodged, and goes to the root of the problem with the objective of arresting its transmission.

It is a matter of some satisfaction that the situation in India is not as alarming as it was portrayed to be some years ago. While it used to be claimed that India may have up to 5 million persons affected by HIV, more recent estimates suggest that the number could be between 2 to 3 million, mainly in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has brought into focus many of our social prejudices. The overwhelming number of cases are due to transmission through the sexual route. Strategies for tackling it require more inclusive and less judgmental social approaches to questions of public health and personal hygiene.

This must begin by addressing the issue of the social stigma that attaches to those who carry the AIDS virus. I do believe that growing consciousness about HIV/AIDS is forcing us to address these issues.

The government should play a leading role in this. We should work to remove legislative barriers that hinder access of high-risk groups to services. There is a proposal for a law which would penalize anyone discriminating against an AIDS infected person from access to employment, property or services. This should be given serious consideration.

The fact that many of the vulnerable social groups, be they sex workers or homosexuals or drug users, face great social prejudice has made the task of identifying AIDS victims and treating them very difficult.

If we have to win this fight against HIV/AIDS we have to create a more tolerant social environment. One need not condone socially unacceptable or medically inadvisable sexual practices in seeking a more tolerant approach to the problem. It is in the interests of the entire society that everyone afflicted by AIDS wins the battle against it. They deserve and have the right to live lives of dignity.

The target intervention projects that have been taken up with a focus on vulnerable populations are useful and necessary. This should be accompanied by more broad based educational programmes. Modern sex education at the appropriate school stages is of great value.

The report has highlighted the importance of political engagement and leadership as a key part of national responses to HIV and AIDS. Law enforcement agencies and the judiciary need to be co-opted to support progressive policies that address the problem.

The importance of community and civil society involvement at all stages of policy has been emphasized. It is only with their help that that public awareness regarding healthy sexual practices, including the use of condoms, can be widely propagated and social prejudices ended.

We need to understand the vulnerabilities that force some to resort to risky behaviour patterns and give them access to reliable and relevant information and basic services. We must give them adequate support to make their own choices in full awareness and responsibility. We need to encourage behaviour change and mould social attitudes, while shedding our inhibitions regarding matters related to sexual choices.

Our Government is fully committed to supporting the strategies and work being done by the National AIDS Control Organisation. It is heartening to see the strides that have been made in the last two years in scaling up access to services keeping in view the balance between prevention and treatment. I compliment the Union Health Ministry and NACO for the leadership they have shown in tackling this very difficult problem and containing the disease.

I appeal to all medical practitioners, hospitals and blood banks across the country to adopt zero risk and best practice methods for blood collection and blood transfusion. Every citizen must have complete confidence in our blood safety practices. I am therefore, happy that an initiative has been taken to establish a national blood transfusion authority.

The problem of HIV/AIDS, and other pandemics like SARS and Avian Flu, demonstrate clearly the wisdom of that ancient Indian saying, "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam". That "THE WHOLE WORLD IS ONE FAMILY". Like all phenomenon in nature, diseases do not respect national boundaries. Hence societal response to pandemics cannot be limited to national response alone.

Of course, every country and every government must have a strategy to deal with such threats to human safety and health. We need preventive and curative strategies at the national and local level. However, such national effort must be part of a wider regional and international effort. I am therefore, happy to see that my friend Dr. Rangaranjan chaired this commission which takes a wider view of the problem at the Asian level.

We live in an increasingly integrated world. There are few problems today that humankind faces which can be solved effectively within national boundaries by individual governments. Be it the problem of pandemics, be it the problem of food security, be it the problem of rising energy prices, be it the problem of water scarcity and water utilization, be it the problem of climate change and global warming, be it the problem of terrorism, be it the problem of drug peddling and arms proliferation, be it the threat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction - all of them require effective cooperative action at the global level.

Each and every challenge that we face has transnational dimensions and transnational implications. The world in which national governments have to deal with the challenges they face on their own, on the premise of national sovereignty and national self-interest, no longer exists. We live in the era of global interdependence.

I am encouraged by the fact that the global response to HIV/AIDS has been constructive and has yielded positive results. I hope this will show us the way forward in dealing with other similar challenges. I hope this report adds to the available wisdom on the subject and will help us in shaping a more effective response at home. I compliment the authors of this report.

Thank you.