A woman holds a red ribbon, the universal symbol of awareness and support for those infected with HIV, at a rally in Mumbai on Monday.
The number of new HIV infections in India has come down by 57 percent and related deaths by 25 per cent in the last decade.
On World AIDS Day, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda sought people’s involvement in achieving the ambitious global goals of zero new infection and deaths.
Launching the helpline number — 1097, a digital resource centre and a supply chain management system for HIV patients, Mr. Nadda said, “It’s the work of every individual to come out and fight it (HIV) out. There should be zero discrimination against people with HIV. This should be our commitment.”
Stressing on the importance of “restraint” and “precaution”, he said it was time for people to consider their lifestyle, noting that preventive health care has become important after an era when it was considered that antibiotics can “cure everything”.
“We should be working on two fronts. We should be aware and put special emphasis on prevention and help those living with HIV and AIDS so that they face no discrimination,” he said.
Health Ministry, he said, had signed MoUs with 11 ministries for better coordination in tackling AIDS and MoUs with five more ministries are in pipeline.
The first HIV positive person was reported in 1986 in India which currently has 2.1 million affected people, the third highest in the world even as the country’s efforts in restricting its spread is considered a success by most.
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