Chennai Dec. 18. Though Tamil Nadu was not pencilled in in the Bill Gates itinerary when the Microsoft chief was in India recently, the State is among the first few in the country to fall under the scanner of the Gates India Foundation.

During a two-day visit here, its director, Ashok Alexander, met heads of departments, including the Health Secretary, and project directors of the Tamil Nadu Aids Control Society and the Aids Prevention and Control Society. Speaking to The Hindu, he said the visit was ``exploratory'' and intended to be a ``fact-finding mission''. Tamil Nadu ``has a celebrity profile in terms of work done on HIV/AIDS. We want to understand what is happening here and explore the possible areas of collaboration between this State and the Foundation in this sector".

Mr. Alexander had met members of the Indian Network for Positive Persons, the Tamil Nadu Network of Positive Persons and the Positive Women Network of South India, and other organisations working with people living with HIV AIDS such as CHES and Desh. He also visited the Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram, and projects undertaken by the non-governmental organisations. Among the issues that figured in the discussions were work among high-risk groups, awareness generation, higher HIV incidence in some districts and problems arising from migration.

"I am very impressed with the quality of work in the State, by the Government and the NGOs. Tamil Nadu is truly a model State. There are a lot of lessons to be learnt from here," he said. Though a formal commitment had not yet been worked out, the Foundation was seriously examining the prospects of "funding a high impact programme in Tamil Nadu".

The Director, who studied the situation in Andhra Pradesh on an earlier exploratory visit, said the Foundation was keen on examining the HIV/AIDS projects in as many States as possible, before coming to a conclusion on funding patterns.

Health department officials say the visit, though preliminary, has been promising and the feedback, positive. Now, there are possibilities of direct collaboration with the Foundation on utilising the recent contribution of a $100-million grant to support the AIDS programme of the country, they explained. "It is a very positive development — one that will have a substantial impact on the work being done among persons living with HIV/AIDS in the State. We are hopeful that it will come through," said the APAC director, Bimal Charles.