Mumbai has 39,922 people living with HIV-AIDS (PLHIV), most of whom rely on Mumbai’s 20-odd Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) centres to manage the disease. However, the number of PLHIV has been more or less stagnant for the last few years, prompting experts to call for caution while interpreting this data. Experts say even by conservative estimates, at least 25,000 individuals are missing out on the treatment.

The Mumbai District AIDS Control Society (MDACS) runs 50 standalone Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTC) in the city, along with frequent outreach testing programmes at the community level. However, a combination of data from these centres and private facilities shows a stagnation in the testing rate. “The more you test, the more accurate the picture,” said HIV-TB survivor and health activist Ganesh Acharya, who has been working with health officials, NGOs, and other patients for almost two decades to secure better treatment and care for PLHIV.