India, World Bank sign $250 mn loan pact on AIDS

NEW DELHI: India and the World Bank signed a pact on Thursday for a $250 million soft loan that would be utilised for the National HIV/AIDS Control Programme. A similar pact was also entered into with Britain.

The loan will support programmes to promote behaviour change by scaling up prevention efforts in the high-risk groups and the general population. This apart, it will also ensure increased care for existing patients.

Britain, an official statement said, is providing a grant of 100 million pounds for the project through its Department for International Development. Other partners supporting the project include the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, USAID and the United Nations.