Morung Express News
Dimapur | October 29
An HIV intervention programme was launched at the Central Jail, Dimapur on October 29 with Health & Family Welfare Minister, P. Longon as the chief guest. It is part of a larger Prisons HIV programme known as Project Sunrise funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With the 8 north-east states as the target, it is being implemented by the National Aids Control Organisation in partnership with Family Health International (FHI) 360 – a non-profit human development organisation dedicated to improving lives by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions.
In Nagaland, Community Awareness & Development Foundation (CAD) was selected as the agency for implementing the programme at the Central Jail. The project will span 5 years (2015-20) and will cover Kohima, Dimapur, Tuensang, Wokha, Kiphire, Phek and Zunheboto.
According to Sangti Konyak, Project Coordinator, CAD, the FHI 360 through the project aims to enhance institutional and human capacity “to accelerate HIV & AIDS response and scale up the quality of the comprehensive package of services primarily for People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) in the 8 NE states.”
Health Minister, Longon, in his address, while stating that the need for such a programme has been felt for quite some time, said, “I believe the intervention would be able to address the gaps in HIV service delivery inside the prison and all HIV patients will be able to receive treatments which are given free of cost and enhance their quality of life.” According to him, the inmates may fall within the “High Risk” category and vulnerable to HIV.
Raising concern on the state’s status as among the high prevalence rate states, he said that despite continuous effort to generate awareness, stigma and discrimination still prevail. “We are yet to create an enabling environment for those already affected.” While the project would address one segment of the issue, he though added that once the affected inmates are out, the responsibility should rest on us to take further initiative for continuing the care and support.
