AIDS control program has hitherto been seen as a public health matter dealt by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. However, because of the behavioral nature and the strong socio-economic implications, the disease requires to be treated as a developmental issue which impinges on various economic and social sectors of Governmental and non-Governmental activity. As economically productive sections of the population are the most susceptible to the disease, participation of Ministries like Railways, Heavy Industry, Steel, Coal and other public sector undertakings employing large workforce require to be actively involved in the programme. Organised and unorganised sector of industry needs to be mobilised for taking care of the health of the productive sections of their workforce. Social Ministries like Welfare, Women and Child Welfare, Education, etc. should devise and own up the HIV/AIDS control programs within their own sectoral jurisdiction. There should be strong budgetary and managerial support to these sectoral programmes from within these Ministries.

The State Governments at their levels should develop strong ownership of the HIV/AIDS prevention and control programme. As the prevalence of the disease and its implications vary from State to State, the State Governments should devise their own strategies and action programmes for tackling the disease keeping the national objectives in view. It has been observed that wherever there is strong ownership of the program from the State Government side, it has been immensely successful. As high prevalence of the disease is directly related to the degree of urbanisation and consequent high risk behaviour among groups like commercial sex workers, drug users, men having sex with men in these communities, the municipal corporations of large metropolitan cities should be encouraged to draw up their own program strategy for AIDS prevention and control. Direct funding of programmes undertaken by the municipal corporations can go a long way in reducing the administrative bottlenecks and help in effective control of the disease.

As HIV/AIDS is relatively new to the country, there has been no effective field organisation at the district or sub-district level to tackle the problem. In diseases like leprosy, TB, etc. the district level Societies play a very active role in implementing the programmes and receive funds directly from the national programmes. There is an urgent need to create a similar infrastructure at the district level for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. This will not only help in quick channelisation of funds but bring in participation of elected representatives of the people from the 3-tier panchayati raj system and urban municipalities. The district administration headed by the District Magistrate/Collector and the Chief Medical Officer of Health should be able to provide the necessary administrative and technical infrastructure for supporting the programme.