Punjab State AIDS Control Society, Health and Family Welfare Department, Punjab celebrated World AIDS Day at Rayat Bahra University. During this, Health and Family Welfare Minister, Punjab Dr. Balbir Singh attended as the chief guest.
Speaking on the occasion, he said that the purpose of World AIDS Day is to make people aware of AIDS and he said that by 2030 we have to control it completely, in this, the students were made aware of it, they warned about the syringes used during drug use, unsafe sexual intercourse, and blood donation to prevent and avoid it. He said that the AIDS figures in Punjab are currently low. He asked the teachers to make the children aware of this.
On this occasion, he was accompanied by Special Secretary Health Shri Ghanshyam Thori, IAS, Chairman cum Chancellor Rayat Bahra University S. Gurvinder Singh, Group Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Sanjay Kumar, S. Gurpreet Singh GP, former MLA, were specially present. During this event, 14 different institutions and centers that have taken commendable initiatives to control HIV/AIDS were honored.
During this, the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab Dr. Balbir Singh said that World AIDS Day is dedicated to the lives of people affected by HIV and commemorates the efforts made to stop HIV/AIDS. Every year World AIDS Day is celebrated with the aim of raising awareness among the people, remembering those who have died with HIV and fulfilling our promises to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This year's theme is "Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response".
The Health and Family Welfare Minister, Punjab said that the main objective of the fifth phase of the National AIDS Control Program (NACP) started in the year 2022 is to manage HIV/STI & RTI. The aim of this phase is to fulfill the objective of Three 95s, in which 95% of people living with HIV have to know their HIV status, 95% of HIV-infected people have to be on treatment and 95% of HIV-infected people have to reduce their viral load. There are currently about 24.67 lakh HIV-infected people in India.
Dr. Balbir Singh said that many facilities are being provided in Punjab to control HIV. Free HIV testing For HIV treatment and prevention, 115 ICTC centers are being run in Punjab. While 25 ART centers have been provided with the facility of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART), in which about 68 thousand HIV infected people are taking free ART medicines.
Apart from this, special programs have been implemented in Punjab through 71 Prevention Units in collaboration with NGOs, keeping in mind the high-risk people. To prevent drug addiction by sharing needles and syringes, Punjab is running 43 Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) centers through government hospitals and NGOs. In these centers, de-addiction medicines are being provided free of cost so that their standard of living can be improved, drug abuse can be reduced and other health services can be provided.
Dr. Balbir Singh said that HIV discrimination To eliminate HIV/AIDS, the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Act has been implemented in Punjab. State Rules have been implemented under this and to resolve the complaints regarding discrimination against HIV/AIDS affected persons, the Civil Surgeons of Jalandhar, Patiala, Faridkot, Ferozepur and Ropar have been appointed as Ombudsman at the state level and Grievance Officers have been appointed at various organizations and institutions. On this occasion, a play was also presented by the students of the university to create awareness about the ill effects of AIDS.
Additional Project Director Dr. Vishal Garg, Joint Director (IEC) Pawan Rekha Beri and other officers were present on this occasion.