India’s AIDS Control Programme is globally acclaimed as a success story. The National AIDS Control Programme (NACP), launched in 1992, is being implemented as a comprehensive programme for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in India. Over time, the focus has shifted from raising awareness to behavior change, from a national response to a more decentralized response and to increasing involvement of NGOs and networks of PLHIV.

In 1992, the Government launched the first National AIDS Control Programme (NACPI) with an IDA Credit of USD84 million and demonstrated its commitment to combat the disease. NACP I was implemented with an objective of slowing down the spread of HIV infections so as to reduce morbidity, mortality and impact of AIDS in the country. National AIDS Control Board (NACB) was constituted and an autonomous National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) was set up to implement the project. The first phase focused on awareness generation, setting up surveillance system for monitoring HIV epidemic, measures to ensure access to safe blood and preventive services for high risk group populations.

In November 1999, the second National AIDS Control Project (NACP II) was launched with World Bank credit support of USD 191 million. The policy and strategic shift was reflected in the two key objectives of NACP II: (i) to reduce the spread of HIV infection in India, and (ii) to increase India’s capacity to respond to HIV/AIDS