With 17,897 HIV positive persons, Mizoram reports highest number of AIDS patients in India

Aizawl, Dec. 2 (PTI): Mizoram reported on Monday that at least 17,897 people are infected with HIV/AIDS, the highest in the country, with nine persons testing positive everyday.

Over 42 per cent of those in the age group of 25-34 have tested positive for HIV in the state, one of the least populated in the country, said officials of the Mizoram State AIDS Control Society (MSACS) that released the data on the occasion of the World AIDS Day.

Several awareness programmes were organised here and across the state to mark the Day, which was on December 1, a Sunday.

Officials said 2,557 fresh HIV cases were detected in 2018-19, which was “extremely high” as the state has a merely ten lakh population.

Among the total number of HIV patients, 6,069 are female, they said.

While HIV infections were earlier higher among drug addicts and sex workers, currently cases of AIDS are also being reported from higher strata of the society, an official said.

Officials sought cooperation of political leaders, civil society members and the churches to fight the menace in the Christian-dominated state.

Organisations express concern over frequent stock-out of ART medicine in Manipur 

Our Correspondent

Imphal, Dec. 2 (EMN): Expressing concern over the frequent stock-out of Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) medicine in Manipur, five different organisations dealing with the issues of HIV/AIDS on Monday, appealed to the state government  for maintenance of ART buffer stock for the welfare of the people particularly people living with HIV(PLHIV).

Speaking to reporters at Manipur Press Club here on Monday, President Nalinikanta Rajkumar of Community Network for Empowerment (CoNE) appreciated the initiative taken up by the state government for the welfare of the people living with HIV.

“Though the government has been providing free ART and saving the lives of people, frequent stock-out of the drug has compelled the people living with the disease resistant to the drug to switch their regiment from first line to second line and third line untill there is no option for them,” he lamented.

Despite the assurance given by the government during the recent State Grievance Redressal Committee meeting, he said nothing has been materialized till now.

Rajkumar also informed that out of 13,075 PLHIV who are on ART, only around 1600 of them have been started monitoring for viral load which is very less comparing with UNAIDS 90:90:90 target.

Despite various developments seen in the fight against the HIV epidemic, there are still veracious issues to be looked into and monitored carefully to achieve the target of eliminating AIDS by 2030.

According to the technical report of the India HIV Estimate 2017, there are about 31,549 PLHIV in Manipur out of which 13,075 of them including 6,182 women are on ART as of October 2019, MNP+ President Deepak Leimapokpam informed.

When such a large number of PLHIV are not under ART in addition to frequent ART stock out issue faced in the state, it will not be possible to achieve the 90:90:90 target for 2020 to end AIDS by 2030 as set by UNAIDS, he said.

Leimapokpam  also pointed that the CD4 machine installed in the government hospitals in Imphal are outdated and unreliable.

He further expressed the need of hour to form a committee comprising members from the community, ART centre and Manipur state AIDS Control Society should be formed so as to they can regularly check the availability of medicine.

Representatives from NGOs also pointed out the need for the government to include all the stakeholders to solve the issues.