BHUBANESWAR: Faced with a massive reverse migration of workers due to coronavirus pandemic, the State Government is up against another big challenge - that of HIV. Migrant workers are at high risk of contracting HIV and are known to have fuelled the spread of the virus in many parts of the State, particularly Ganjam district. Keeping this in mind and bearing the fact that maximum returnees belong to the high HIV prevalence district, the Odisha State AIDS Control Society (OSACS) has planned to undertake to screen of all returning migrant workers.
It has asked all stakeholders and associate organisations to screen all returnees for HIV in their respective districts in coordination with Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC) counsellors. The OSACS has estimated a return of 10 lakh plus migrants to the State.
“The ICTC counsellors will prepare a list of migrant workers, after fetching the data from State Government. The voluntary organisations, district HIV/AIDS nodal officers and additional district public health officer (TB) will then prepare a micro-plan for screening of the returnees in each district,” an official stated.
However, the task is not easy as the fear of coronavirus has gripped people, including on-ground workers. Earlier, the plan was to screen returnees at the quarantine centres but it was dropped as the volunteers were reluctant to go near them without being provided with PPE kits.While OSACS is now planning to test returnees after they are released from quarantine centres, the job is still close to improbable, mainly due to lack of enough manpower and the fear of Covid transmission.
The situation is most challenging in Ganjam. “In Ganjam, there are over 30,000 returnees at various quarantine centres. Another, 20,000 have already been sent back to their homes. Every day, migrants are coming back from Surat. Approximately 2.5 lakh migrant workers are expected to come back to the district. On the contrary, there are only 35 volunteers in the district who can conduct the HIV screening tests,” claimed Lokanath Mishra, executive committee member of Association for Rural Upliftment and National Allegiance (ARUNA), a voluntary organisation in the district. Moreover, the tests can’t be performed by untrained persons. Due to the lockdown, it will be difficult to train more volunteers for conducting the tests, he added.
Amid Covid pandemic, Odisha faces HIV challenge
According to sources, health camps may be organised at various villages for HIV screening but social workers are apprehensive about the response of villagers towards such an initiative.There are a total of 50,228 HIV positive people in the State at present. With the State having set a target of eradicating HIV/AIDS by 2030, screening of returnees will play a crucial role in achieving the goal. “If migrants are not screened properly, the State’s efforts in tackling AIDS will go waste,” sources warned.