Bhubaneswar, Nov. 23: The government has decided to focus on targeted intervention (TI) programmes for high-risk groups in its battle against AIDS.
Fifty-one TI projects will be taken up in the state in the current year as part of the third phase of the National AIDS Control Programme.
Health minister Bijoyshree Routray, who reviewed the progress of AIDS control programmes, said of the 24,676 blood samples screened between January 2002 and September 2005, 2,506 were found to be HIV positive. Besides, 641 cases of full-blown AIDS and 459 deaths were also reported.
Ganjam was the worst-affected district, recording 163 deaths due to AIDS, followed by Kendrapara (56), Puri (34), Cuttack (32) and Koraput (30).
According to the mapping survey conducted by ORG-MARG, 10 districts were identified as ?highly vulnerable?, 11 as ?medium vulnerable? and the remaining nine as ?low vulnerable?.
The Orissa State AIDS Control Society (OSACS) has undertaken TI programmes in the state for the highly vulnerable populations. At present, 10 TI projects are being run by NGOs in seven districts (Khurda, Rayagada, Angul, Jajpur, Ganjam, Puri and Cuttack) for high-risk groups such as commercial sex workers, truckers, migrant labourers, fisherfolk, jail inmates and slum-dwelling women.
It has been proposed to take up 26 new TI programmes in several districts of the state this fiscal. Besides, the National AIDS Control Organisation has also approved 15 new TI projects for the state, taking the total to 51.
Highlighting the new initiatives, Routray said the government will undertake 150 new TI programmes to cover the core and bridge groups, open 408 sexually-transmitted disease clinics in medical institutions across the state, equip 65 licensed blood banks with AIDS test equipment and set up 15 blood component separation units.
Besides, 408 voluntary confidential counselling centres, seven testing centres, another 408 prevention-of-parent-to-child transmission centres and 29 community care centres will also come up in the state, the minister said.
PEP drugs are being provided to hospitals across Orissa for the treatment of doctors and staff who have been accidentally exposed to the virus.
