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Dr. Rakesh Gupta, Additional Secretary of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Director General of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), stated that under Mission AIDS Suraksha, India aims to achieve HIV control by World AIDS Day on December 1, 2027.

Addressing the ‘Suraksha Sankalp Workshop’ organized by the National AIDS Control Organisation in Bengaluru today as part of the nationwide implementation of the ‘Mission AIDS Suraksha’. Dr. Rakesh Gupta said, the goal is to completely bring the HIV epidemic under control in India. The Union Government is working on a war footing through ‘Mission AIDS Suraksha’ to make the country HIV-free by December 1, 2027. In this regard, it aims to achieve the global targets of 95-95-99. Two Hundred Nineteen priority districts with high HIV impact and infection rates have been identified across the country. These have been identified based on the rate of infection, prevalence, disease load and high-risk groups.

Special attention is being paid to the HIV status of Karnataka. Dr. Rakesh Gupta provided information that the HIV prevalence in the state is 0.44%, which is higher than the national average of 0.2%. Approximately 2.91 lakh people are living with HIV infection in the state. About 4,700 new HIV cases are being detected annually. Speaking further, although this mission is implemented in 31 districts of the state, 27 districts have been identified as high-priority districts and where more focus is being given. While Karwar, Udupi, Koppal, and Mandya have achieved the first '95' target, Raichur and Chamarajanagar districts have achieved the second '95' target.

To prevent infection from spreading to the infants of pregnant women, it is planned to make the necessary medical kits available at the district level in collaboration with District Health Officers. Only two districts in the country have achieved all three targets. However, it is a matter of joy that three districts in Himachal Pradesh are soon to achieve this feat.

Dr. Rakesh Gupta expressed confidence in achieving the target through organized efforts at the grassroots level in Karnataka and the cooperation of local officers. This workshop is a good platform for district teams to formulate their challenges and strategies and the goal of this mission is to convert all districts into 'Surakshit+' zones in the coming days.

Shri Harsh Gupta, Principal Secretary of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka said that, HIV control programs in the state have been given a new form. The objective is to achieve significant results within the next 6 months. Instead of running integrated services, counseling and treatment systems separately, there is a need to integrate them with each other. This provides seamless service to patients. The districts of the state have been divided into three levels. Special attention will be given to 'Tier-3' districts with low performance. Shri Harsh Gupta stated that instructions have been given to quickly rectify data reconciliation or structural issues.

The NACO team has provided simple guidebook manuals to facilitate senior officers, including District Collectors and Additional District Collectors, to effectively manage the HIV control program. Emphasizing infection prevention, Shri Harsh Gupta opined that our primary goal is not just providing treatment to the infected but also preventing the spread of infection among high-risk groups, and along with providing treatment to HIV-infected persons, it is necessary to monitor them continuously so that they do not stop treatment midway. Shri Harsh Gupta informed that the National AIDS Control Organisation team is traveling across the state and conducting direct interactions with district-level officers.

Padma Basavantappa, State Director of KSAPS, District-level officers from various districts and representatives from Tamil Nadu and Nagpur were present at the workshop. Capacity-building activities to perform various tasks were provided for the representatives in the program.

 

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