BHUBANESWAR: With the World AIDS Day theme of ‘Getting to Zero’, the State Government on Thursday started a number of initiatives to meet the goal of “zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths” in the State. At a function organised to mark the event, Health and Family Welfare Minister Prasanna Acharya announced the inauguration of CD4 testing facilities at Rourkela, Balangir and Balasore Anti-retroviral Therapy (ART) centres and setting up of nine ‘Link ART’ centres in the State. Patients who are already on ART can switch over to these link centres for medicines in their respective districts. He said with the help of NACO, the State Government has also set up a blood component separation facility at the blood banks of VSS Medical College and Hospital, Burla, and the Bhubaneswar Municipality Hospital. Five blood banks in the State will be upgraded as major blood banks and three more migration transit points will be made operational in Jharsuguda, Balugaon and Jajpur Road to create awareness about the disease among migrants, the Minister added. To spread awareness on the disease, the Government has also decided to print messages on HIV prevention on the tickets of 120 buses run by OSRTC. Health Secretary Anu Garg said the total number of HIV positive cases in the State by October this year stands at 22,934 and of whom 1,531 are suffering from AIDS. As per official reports, Ganjam continues to have the highest number of HIV/AIDS patients which accounts for 39 per cent of the total HIV detection. Although there are four modes of transmission of HIV, in Odisha more than 83 per cent of transmission is through sexual route. She urged the officials of OSACS and NGO working in the field to create awareness among people on HIV/AIDS for achieving the goal of ‘Getting to Zero’.
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