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HIV Cases On the Rise In Maharashtra: What Are The Government Strategies To Curb This?

HIV Cases On the Rise In Maharashtra: What Are The Government Strategies To Curb This?
The global threat of (HIV) epidemic persists, underscoring the crucial need for heightened knowledge and the adoption of more effective methods to prevent its transmission. Given the worrisome increase in HIV-positive cases, there is an immediate and pressing need for a comprehensive strategy to address this escalating issue. According to the 15th round of HIV Sentinel Sero-surveillance (HSS), the HIV epidemic in India remains concentrated among high-risk groups (HRG), notably with a higher prevalence of 6.26% among injecting drug users (IDU).

The Mumbai Districts Aids Control Society (MDACS) reports that almost 12 people are testing positive for HIV everyday in Maharashtra.

Written by Kinkini Gupta |Updated : September 24, 2023 3:03 PM IST

HIV cases are on the rise in Maharashtra. As per the data shared by the Mumbai Districts Aids Control Society (MDACS), almost 1,432 HIV cases have been recorded between April to August this year. All of these cases were reported from the city. This means, about 12 people get infected with HIV every single day. The rate of cases is very high and this has forced the health officials of Maharashtra to take this matter seriously. Officials say that most of the cases involve the youth, adolescents and vulnerable risk groups of the state.

The Maharashtra State AIDS Control Society (MSACS) has mobilized official and the team to think of strategies that will stop further spread of the disease and increase awareness about it among the youth. As per the statistic provided by officials, from the year 2022 to 2023, almost 14,347 people were diagnosed with HIV in the state. Among them, 5-6 per cent of the patients were between the age of 17-22.

Urgent Government Strategies Needs To Be Implemented

The AIDS Society of India reported to agencies that the rise in cases has been gradual but steady and the cases especially involve adolescents. This is not at all good for the society. Officials say that people these days are aware of sex through the internet, TV series, etc. They are also exposed to different kinds of dating apps through which they often meet strangers. But, amidst all this, they severely lack scientific education on sex which needs to be inculcated in them right away. There is an urgent need for conducting RCC to promote awareness about HIV and sexually transmitted infections.

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The RRC movement was started by the Government of India to spread awareness about HIV / AIDS among students in schools and colleges. There aim was also to promote blood donation among the youth between the age of 17-25 years. The process is completely voluntary.

One of the senior officials reported that new government strategies are already underway. The Red Ribbon Clubs (RRC) campaign will be organised in 14,000 colleges. According to MSACS data, there are approximately 2.36 lakh people living with HIV in Maharashtra and in Mumbai there are more than 4,000 HIV-positive persons.