HIV-AIDS prevention tops India’s agenda, says minister (Lead)
July 4th, 2011 - 11:05 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) Awareness of prevention of HIV-AIDS, utilisation of funds received from international and country-based donors and countering the taboo and stigma associated with the incidence tops the government’s medical agenda, union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said here Monday.
“We have the schemes in place, we have international and national funds also whose collective support has helped us bring down the HIV statistics in India. The efforts have been appreciated across the world,” Azad said in his address at the national convention of zila parishad chairpersons and mayors on HIV-AIDS.
With over 2.5 million HIV positive people in the country, the health minister expressed the hope of connecting rural employment schemes to HIV schemes.
“We have taken Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s suggestion and efforts will be made to connect HIV programmes with rural employment guarantee schemes,” Azad added.
The prime minister earlier said at the inaugural session of the convention: “Linkages should be made between the HIV-AIDS programme and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to facilitate employment of HIV positive persons.”
The programme was organised by a forum of parliamentarians on HIV-AIDS, which was attended by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and a host of union ministers.
The convention saw participation of MPs, legislators, zila parishad chairperson, representatives from the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and UNAIDS.
While awareness emerged as a prime concern of the parliamentarians, reaching the grassroots level through a “well informed” zila parishad (district councils) was also stated to be a key element.
“We would soon like to start a rural development channel where the message of awareness on HIV-AIDS can be taken to the zila panchayat heads. We have to pull out the stigma and discrimination associated with the disease,” said Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.
Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suggested to the health minister to establish a forum of former health ministers where suggestions and plans could be given for prevention and eradication of HIV.
“I would suggest to the health minister to establish a forum of health ministers so that we can give our experiences as ex-health ministers and contribute to policy making by rising above politics,” Swaraj said.
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