AIDS stigma forms an insidious barrier to prevention/care. HIV experts describe problem in India.

When the HIV/AIDS epidemic's toll including 40 million people living with the disease and 3 million having died in 2001, the world's health and service organizations are increasingly calling for better access to care and treatment for people living in the developing nations that share the brunt of the epidemic's devastation. ONe of the most insidious barriers to reaching those who are at risk for HIV is the disease's stigma, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and India, which together account for more than 32 million of those who are infected.