Lionel Richie (above) is writing a song on AIDS that will be performed by contestants in the final show of Indian Idol, a talent search on television, early next month. The idea came up after a chat with actor Richard Gere, who is involved in awareness campaigns against the disease. (PTI)

New Delhi, Jan. 29: Nearly 20 years after the AIDS control programme was launched in the country, the government believes the time has come to make an independent assessment of the various schemes promoted by health authorities to fight the disease.

The National AIDS Control Organisation (Naco), the nodal body for the campaign, has already advertised for the stocktaking exercise and a number of agencies have expressed their willingness. Some five or six agencies have also been shortlisted. A committee will decide which agency or agencies will get the contract.

Originally, the idea was to allow an independent foreign company to do the stocktaking but the plan was abandoned in favour of a local agency that will be in a better position to review the work in the country?s interiors.

Union health minister Anbumani Ramdoss is keen that a detailed review be done to gauge the effectiveness of the current programmes. He also wants to know how Naco is utilising the huge funding from abroad.

The AIDS control body received a $100-million grant from the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) to prevent parent-child transmission. Another $14.8 million was granted for fighting HIV/TB co-infection.

Naco had also secured additional money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that made an initial commitment of $200 million to upscale activities for AIDS prevention. India is second only to South Africa, which has the highest cases of AIDS in the world.