Secretary Health cum Chairman HP State AIDS Control Society Amitabh Awasthi here today presided over the inter-departmental meeting organised by HP State AIDS Control Society (HPSACS) for mainstreaming HIV activities to eradicate the epidemic by 2030. Secretary said that collective and concerted efforts must be made to end HIV by 2030. He said that radical ideas should be brought forward and to achieve desired results work must be done in mission mode. Efforts should be made to organise special projects on nutrition support for People Living with HIV (PLHIV), skill building for self employment of PLHIVs and adoption of Children Affected by AIDS (CABA). Secretary asked the Higher Education Department to include a lesson on HIV prevention in curriculum for 9th to 12th classes. He said that it was important that right information on HIV is provided to adolescents and youths, in which Red Ribbon Clubs (RRC) play a vital role.
There are 259 RRCs in the various educational institutions of the state. He asked the Department of Higher Education, Technical Education, HP University, HP Technical University and HP State Private Educational Institution Regulatory Commission to establish RRCs in their respective institutions and organise awareness activities. Secretary said that HIV awareness must be made in youth festivals organized in educational institutions and by Youth Sports and Services Department. He asked all the departments and organizations conducting CSR activities to organise campaigns on HIV prevention. He asked Public Sector Undertaking companies to establish HIV testing facility in their health setups. A committee under the chairmanship of Rupali Thakur IAS was constituted to prepare and action plan for successful implementation of the mission. Representatives of Panchayati Raj, Education, Rural Development, Health and Youth Sports Services would be the member of the committee.
