By IANS,
New Delhi: Maharashtra figures among the AIDS-affected states with around 420,000 HIV-AIDS patients, or 18 percent of the country’s total affected population, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said Monday.
The state is also home to 25,000 HIV affected children, the highest in the country, he said while addressing the national convention of MPs, legislators, zila parishad chairpersons and mayors on HIV and AIDS here.
Mumbai, along with Thane, Nagpur, Chandrapur and Latur, is among the high AIDS prevalence districts, with 32 of the state’s 35 districts falling in the ‘A Category’, the chief minister said.
Chavan said the state’s responsibility increased since Maharashtra and Mumbai are the most favoured destinations for migrants from all over the country.
Detailing the state’s HIV-AIDS statistics, Chavan said the prevalence of HIV/AIDS among pregnant women has fallen from 1.26 percent in 2004 to only 0.26 percent in 2011.
“As per Sentinel Surveillance, prevalence among female sex workers has also dropped from 43 percent in 2004 to 7.4 percent in 2009,” Chavan said.
However, he regretted that the closure of projects of Alliance India and Clinton Foundation have made it difficult for the state to tackle this issue.
Discussing measures taken by the state government for HIV testing, Chavan said 1,327 Integrated Counseling and Testing Centres (ICTCs) have been set up across the state.
Besides, the government has set a total of 176 support, treatment and care centres for people living with HIV-AIDS across the state.
Chavan stressed the need for a massive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign involving elected representatives, civil groups and media to create awareness about the problem.
The two-day national convention was addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and attended by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and other dignitaries.