BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has been able to bring down the HIV prevalence from 0.31 per cent in 2010 to 0.13 pc now which is below the national average of 0.22 pc. Speaking at a State level event organised on the occasion of World AIDS Day on Saturday, Health Secretary Dr Pramod Meherda said the decline of new HIV infection is 30 pc in the last seven years against the national decline of 27 pc.
“The State is ahead of the national average in AIDS control. There is also decline of 22 pc in AIDS related deaths. As many as 44 pc women have been diagnosed with HIV infection among the new cases and 40 pc contribute to the number of deaths,” he said. As per the UN-AIDS global commitment of 90-90-90, Dr Meherda said, 90 pc of people with HIV should be diagnosed, 90 pc people with HIV diagnosed should receive Antiretroviral therapy (ART) and 90 pc people on ART should reach suppressed viral load by 2020.
“To achieve the goal we have to first ascertain the HIV status of each susceptible person through screening at a facility and community level. We are hopeful to achieve it with sustained team efforts and help of advanced technology,” he said.Even as nearly 603 pregnant women are estimated to be HIV infected, so far only 276 per year are being diagnosed. A policy has been adopted for detecting remaining infected women by screening 100 pc pregnant women during first trimester, he added.
According to the latest estimate, as many as 46,264 people are living with HIV infection in Odisha. While coastal district Ganjam has topped the list with 15,034 HIV infected patients, Boudh in at the bottom with only 59 cases.
Cuttack district has 6,264 HIV positive cases followed by Sambalpur 2745 cases, Khurda 2523 cases, Koraput 2356 cases, Angul 1,655 cases, Balasore 1,460 and Balangir 1,334. A padyatra was organised to mark the occasion. Health Minister Pratap Jena and Project Director of Odisha State AIDS Control Society Dr Sanjay Kumar Patnaik took part.