| National AIDS Control Organisation | |
| Size: | 130px |
| Abbreviation: | NACO |
| Formation: | 1992 |
| Purpose: | HIV/AIDS control programme in India |
| Headquarters: | New Delhi |
| Parent Organisation: | Ministry of Health and Family Welfare |
| Website: | http://www.naco.gov.in |
The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), established in 1992 is a division of India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that provides leadership to HIV/AIDS control programme in India through 35 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Societies, and is "the nodal organisation for formulation of policy and implementation of programs for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in India.".[1] [2] [3] [4]
Along with drug control authorities and NACO provides joint surveillance of Blood Bank licensing, Blood Donation activities and Transfusion Transmitted infection testing and reporting.
NACO also undertakes HIV estimations biennially(every 2 years) in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Medical Statistics (NIMS). The first round of HIV estimation in India was done in 1998, while the last round was done in 2017.[5]
In 2010, NACO approved the TeachAids curriculum for use in India, an innovation which represented the first time that HIV/AIDS education could be provided in a curriculum which did not need to be coupled with sex education.[6]
In 2012, National AIDS Control Organisation, along with other 16 organizations working on HIV/AIDS, ran an event "Hijra Habba" under the program of "Pehchan". The event witnessed more than a 100 representatives of the Transgender and the Hijra community from 17 states, interacting with members of the government, NGOs and Civil Society.[7]