Migration and HIV/AIDS in India

Kunal Keshri, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

In India during last two decades after the first detection of Human Immuno Deficiency Virus (HIV)in ealy 1980s, Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has been a cause of great concern. Results from National Family Health Survey, 2005-06 (NFHS-3) indicate that 0.28 percent of adults 15-49 are infected with HIV. This paper examines the differentials of HIV prevalence among migrant and non-migrant populations and tries to assess the profile of HIV infected persons with respect to their background characteristics and migration streams. Finally it tries to examine the relationship between HIV/AIDS and migration. The study reveals that HIV infected people are less educated and belong to poor sections of society. However, findings reveal there is a higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS among migrants compared to non-migrants. Further, multivariate results show that among the streams of migration, urban to rural migration shows significant relationship with HIV infection.