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 Some 38,000 police officers in the city of Mumbai, capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra, are now required to undergo an HIV test every six months due to rising HIV-infection rates among the officers. According to a report in the Indian newspaper The Times of India, as many as 450 Mumbai police personnel have tested HIV positive since 1991, 18 of whom have died.
A deputy commissioner confirmed that many policemen contracted the virus from prostitutes. World Vision's Siju Thomas, in charge of the agency’s HIV/AIDS initiative, says, "Policemen are constantly interacting with high-risk groups, especially commercial sex workers, and many reportedly ask for sexual favors, making them vulnerable to HIV. It becomes imperative that we spread awareness on HIV/AIDS among them."
World Vision works with police training camps in several Indian states to offer awareness and education about HIV/AIDS to new police recruits. According to Mumbai Joint-Police Commissioner P.K Jain, more than 800 city policemen have been trained to create awareness through posters and street plays.
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