YMA, MSACS to combat HIV & drug addiction
In a 'consultative deliberation' held at the central YMA hall in Aizawl on Friday, MSACS project director Jane R Ralte said 32,544 people have been infected since Oct 1990 till March end this year, while the number of HIV infected people during the 2024-2025 financial year (April 2024 to March 2025) was 2,021.
Ralte said 1,302 infected people (68.13% of 2,021) during the last fiscal contracted the disease through unsafe sex of which the large majority are having permanent partners (wives or husbands or lovers), followed by those having casual sex partners.
"There is also an increase in infections among males who have male partners," she said.
Among those infected during the last financial year, 83.47% are between the age group of 15 and 49 years, making the use of condoms during sex more important, she said. She appealed to the YMA to educate youths to carry condoms wherever they go.
President of the central YMA Lalhmachhuana said not only drug addicts but some people with wealth and good reputation in the society are vulnerable to HIV infections and can propagate the disease.
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Lalhmachhuana suggested that YMA leaders and MSACS officials should form groups to study the behaviour of people on the streets at night.
The advantage of Oral Substitution Therapy (OST) over Intravenous Drug Use (IDU) was also discussed in the consultation.
Aizawl: The central committee of the Young Mizo Association (YMA), the largest community-based organisation among the Mizos, and the Mizoram State AIDS Control Society (MSACS) have agreed to work closely together in combating the spread of HIV and addressing drug addiction.
In a 'consultative deliberation' held at the central YMA hall in Aizawl on Friday, MSACS project director Jane R Ralte said 32,544 people have been infected since Oct 1990 till March end this year, while the number of HIV infected people during the 2024-2025 financial year (April 2024 to March 2025) was 2,021.
Ralte said 1,302 infected people (68.13% of 2,021) during the last fiscal contracted the disease through unsafe sex of which the large majority are having permanent partners (wives or husbands or lovers), followed by those having casual sex partners.
"There is also an increase in infections among males who have male partners," she said.
Among those infected during the last financial year, 83.47% are between the age group of 15 and 49 years, making the use of condoms during sex more important, she said. She appealed to the YMA to educate youths to carry condoms wherever they go.
President of the central YMA Lalhmachhuana said not only drug addicts but some people with wealth and good reputation in the society are vulnerable to HIV infections and can propagate the disease. Lalhmachhuana suggested that YMA leaders and MSACS officials should form groups to study the behaviour of people on the streets at night.
The advantage of Oral Substitution Therapy (OST) over Intravenous Drug Use (IDU) was also discussed in the consultation.
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The current guidelines cover objective parameters to be an agency to implement CSC related services, parameters used for rigorous monitoring and evaluation based on their performance. The HIV infected individuals will soon be able to get their medicines and refills directly from these local CSCs, eliminating the need to travel long distances to ART centres and when they are unable to travel due to sickness. The CSC will also counsel them comprehensively and also ensure measures related social stigma are handled well." He said that some of the patients on ART may prefer private healthcare to begin with and also during treatment from ART Centres. In such circumstances, the government often lacks crucial data on whether they're actually receiving treatment. 'To address this, all newly diagnosed HIV-positive individuals will now be linked to an ART centre. Furthermore, a digital mobile application will be instrumental in tracing patients anywhere in the country. Our major goal is to monitor active HIV cases and their treatment in India," said Dr. Gangakhedkar.
