Current issues in Alcohol use and HIV research and prevention in India

The Second International Conference on Alcohol and HIV: Insights from Interventions was held in New Delhi 28-30 September 2010. During the conference a special suplement of the journal "AIDS and Behavior" was launched. A number of the papers presented in the conference are available in the journal.

This supplemental of AIDS and Behavior is a collection of recent work by Indian researchers and Indo-U.S. partnerships, examining the intersection of alcohol and HIV in India. Guest editors are: Jean J. Schensul, Institute for Community Research, USA;  S. K. Singh, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India;  Kamla Gupta, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India; Kendall Bryant, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, USA; and  Ravi Verma, International Center for Research on Women, Asia Regional Office, New Delhi, India.

Co-editor Kendall J. Bryant, comments on the topic in the open access Editorial Note: " Alcohol and HIV have an overwhelming impact on morbidity and mortality in the world’s populations both separately and together. They rank among the top 10 leading causes of death. Their dynamic interaction increases the risk for HIV infection and complicates their treatment. How this combined epidemic is expressed for individuals, their families, and their cultural contexts and the wider institutions that serve them is explored in this publication. This collection of 17 invited papers reflects the work of researchers interested in the complex relationship between alcohol consumption and risk for HIV infection. While the papers explore these relationships from many angles the ultimate goal of this collection is to move readers to ask the next questions: ‘‘how can this convincing evidence of the direct and indirect relationship between alcohol use and HIV risk be used to develop effective prevention programs in India targeted to its rich diversity of cultures and subpopulations and how can these interventions be targeted to the most vulnerable individuals, families, and groups?’’

Most of the articles are restricted to subscribers, but some are open access.

See the list of articles: AIDS and Behavior, Volume 14, Supplement 1, August 2010