NACO concludes review of all SACS for implementation of AIDS control programme

Mumbai, March 27, 2023 :

 

The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has successfully concluded review of all State AIDS Control Societies (SACS) in two phases towards proper implementation and monitoring of AIDS control programme.

The review meetings of implementation of the National AIDS Control Pogramme (NACP) at the state level were convened under the guidance of Alok Saxena, director general (DG), NACO, Government of India and chairpersonship of Nidhi Kesarwani, director, NACO in a phased manner. NACO has been tasked by the Government of India to provide access to quality care for every person living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in India.

“The objective of these review meetings was to ensure the achievements of the annual targets set by NACO and SACS in a time-bound manner,” informed Alok Saxena, DG, NACO.

In the first phase, review of 14 States i.e. Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Odisha, Puducherry, Sikkim, Telangana and Uttarakhand have been conducted, in the presence of Project Directors of the States. Similarly, in the second phase, review of 22 states i.e. Karnataka, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andaman & Nicobar, Daman & Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh have been conducted in the presence of the project directors of these states.

“This comes at a time when the much awaited guidelines to carry out the different provisions of the HIV and AIDS (Prevention & Control) Act, 2017 have been notified by the Government of India. The process of notifying a total of nine guidelines under the section 46 has indeed been an interestingly challenging task but our hard work has paid off in face of these documents which will actively complement the HIV and AIDS (Prevention & Control) Act, 2017,” Saxena added.

The HIV and AIDS Policy for Establishments, 2022 has recently been released by the additional secretary and director general, NACO. It has to be ensured that all establishments around the country adhere to these guidelines. That can only happen when the continuum of advocacy is carried at all levels with support of the SACS.


“In this line, this year’s International Youth Day theme ‘Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating a World for all ages’ gave us an opportunity to broaden our activities in terms of the target audiences. Prevention messages were shared among people from all age groups. Some unique interventions carried out by Manipur, Delhi, Odisha, Nagaland, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Goa inside this edition. Taking the Multi-sectoral collaboration, it has to be noted that under the NACP, different state level Joint Working Group meetings were carried by the SACS of Manipur and Maharashtra”, informed Dr. Anoop Kumar Puri, deputy director general (IEC & MS), NACO. Pharmabiz