Number of people living with HIV in India 2003-2022

In 2022, approximately 2.5 million people were living with HIV in India. However, there has been a constant decrease in the number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) since 2003, and from 2008 onward, there have been less than three million PLHIV yearly.

HIV risk-groups

India’s HIV epidemic is the third-largest in the world. However, this is primarily concentrated among key populations who are at a higher risk of contracting the disease. One of the main drivers of this is unprotected sex among female sex workers and their clients, partners, and spouses. Injecting drugs are also becoming one of the common ways through which HIV can be transmitted due to the reuse of needles. In addition, the prevalence of HIV is higher among men than women. This can be attributed to the increase in the share of men who have sex with men, migrant workers, and drug use injections.

Sex-workers

While prostitution is considered legal in India, all activities associated with running brothels or sex trafficking are prohibited. As a result, there is severe police activity targeting sex workers, with routine raids in areas with brothels justified by related laws. A recent study in Andhra Pradesh suggested a positive correlation between police abuse and an increased risk of HIV along with inconsistency in the usage of condoms. It is not uncommon that stigma and discrimination against sex-workers limit their access to decent healthcare in India.