United Nations AIDS agency in a report said that if India is unable to check the steep rise in the number of intravenous drug users, HIV/AIDS infection will spread at alarming rates. There are already 2.5 million people suffering from AIDS in India and if unchecked, the number could easily reach 10 million by 2010.

Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS said, "If we don't prevent new infections in new emerging populations like [IDUs], it can go up as bushfires," Piot said, adding, "We may see a major surge in infections. Drug use is moving a bit everywhere, we can see it in Bihar, UP and in Kashmir, it is kind of moving across the northern part of the country.’’

According to official figures more than 10 % of intravenous drug users in the country are infected with HIV, higher figures for the virus than among prostitutes. For those between ages 15 to 49 the prevalence rate for HIV/AIDS is 0.9 %.

Piot further added that due to the global financial crisis if funding gets interrupted poor countries particularly in Africa and Asia stand to lose. "If we interrupt (funding) even for six months or a year, it will result in millions of deaths," Piot said, adding, "If we interrupt these activities, we will have to pay later as more people will become infected."

There have been warnings from experts and major donors supporting HIV/AIDS to say that aid to developing countries could be cut back during the financial crisis. This funding according to Piot is "absolutely vital for the survival of millions of people in the poorest countries".