Remembering Dr Suniti Solomon, a Pioneer in India’s HIV Response

New Delhi, July 28, 2015 – Dr Suniti Solomon, the Founding Director of YRG CARE and a board member of India HIV/AIDS Alliance passed away peacefully this morning in Chennai.

Dr Solomon’s experience covered a wide range of areas related to HIV/AIDS, from the biomedical to the socio-economic. She documented the first evidence of HIV infection in India in 1986 and brought needed attention to the emerging epidemic. While serving at the Madras Medical College and Government General Hospital as a Professor of Microbiology, Dr Solomon set up the first voluntary testing and counselling centre.

A member of the National Technical Team on Women and AIDS, she served on numerous national and international committees on AIDS and was the Principal Investigator of several pioneering HIV research studies. Dr Solomon served as the president of the AIDS Society of India and published extensively on HIV epidemiology, prevention, care and support, biomedical research, research ethics and gender issues.

James Robertson, Executive Director of Alliance India, reflected on her passing, “Dr Solomon stepped up to the challenge of HIV/AIDS long before it was fashionable. Her leadership had a transformative effect on the response to the epidemic in India and around the world. The impact of her work was profound, and her voiced will be sorely missed at a time when India’s HIV response needs her wisdom and guidance.”

The Alliance India family mourns the loss of an extraordinary woman and celebrates her remarkable life as an example to us all to work selflessly towards ending the epidemic.

About YRG CARE:
YRG CARE began its services in the year 1993. Over the years, it has gradually shaped and honed a comprehensive response to the HIV/AIDS challenge. Today its successful models of Prevention, Laboratory Services and Care and Support programmes have drawn international acclaim from UNICEF, WHO and the Red Cross.

About India HIV/AIDS Alliance:
Founded in 1999, India HIV/AIDS Alliance is a non-governmental organisation operating in partnership with civil society, government and communities to support sustained responses to HIV in India that protect rights and improve health. Complementing the Indian national programme, we build capacity, provide technical support and advocate to strengthen the delivery of effective, innovative, community-based HIV programmes to vulnerable populations affected by the epidemic.

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For additional exclusive quotes from J V R Prasada Rao (Board Chair, India HIV/AIDS Alliance and UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia-Pacific) and James Robertson Executive Director, India HIV/AIDS Alliance, please contact Nirnita Talukdar at +91 9818833021 and ntalukdar@allianceindia.org