SATURDAY, August 9, (News Locale) - In a controversial statement, Indian Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has said the fight against AIDS will be significantly advanced when homosexuality is legalized in the country. 

Currently under section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, men who have sex with men are regarded as criminals as this act is "against the order of nature". Addressing the delegates at the World AIDS meet in Mexico City, Dr Ramadoss said this provision must go if India was to make progress in combating HIV/AIDS.

“India’s dedicated focus on HIV prevention is fetching dividends. We are seeing the beginning of the stabilization of the HIV epidemic in India,” he added.

One of the major risk factors for developing HIV/AIDS infection is drug addiction. A recent study by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) finds that a majority of drug addicts in the Indian subcontinent are in fact HIV positive.

The report added that most drug users fell in the age group of 21 to 30 years and that just 20 percent of them used a condom before having sexual intercourse. A majority of them had multiple sexual partners as well.

As per the UNAIDS/WHO AIDS Epidemic update in December 2006, there are about 39.5 million people globally living with HIV. Out of these, about 5.2-5.7 million people are from India. A startling statistic is that of every 6,000 people who test positive for HIV; 250 are from Mumbai.

At the recently concluded AIDS forum, the Indian health minister expressed concern about the widespread prevalence of HIV among the homosexual community in the country. He said HIV prevention drives would get a boost if homosexuality were to be legalized in the country.