Worldwide, 1 out of 4 people living with HIV are unaware
Morung Express News
Kohima | December 1
Knowing one’s status is an essential entry point to HIV care, support, treatment, and prevention services, a practitioner stressed today as Nagaland along with the rest of the world commemorated the 30th World AIDS Day on December 1 with the universal theme ‘Live Life Positively. Know your HIV Status.’
Organised by the Department of Health and Family Welfare and the Nagaland State AIDS Control Society (NSACS) at the High School Junction in Kohima, the event was graced by Kenneth I Juster, US Ambassador to India as the Chief Guest and S Pangnyu Phom, Minister H&FW as the Chief Patron.
In his speech, the US Ambassador recognized the ongoing efforts of the Indian government, NGOs, Health care providers, faith based and community based organizations and the members of the community in the fight against HIV and AIDS.
“India’s national AIDS program is acclaimed as a global model. US government is a proud partner in supporting these efforts. India’s response has been remarkable successful in containing the spread of HIV with a 27 percent decline in new HIV infection since 2010,” said Juster.
Considering the theme as critically appropriate at a time when the Indian government recently passed the HIV and AIDS bill which aims to safeguard the rights of people living with HIV status and to confront social stigmas, he expressed optimism that the bill will contribute to improve access throughout India for HIV testing.
Juster expressed pleasure in the US government’s role in fighting against HIV and AIDS in the North East region. For the past 15 years, Juster mentioned that the US through PEPFAR has saved more than 16 million lives, prevented millions of HIV infections and brought the world closer than ever to controlling the ‘HIV pandemic.’
“US have invested more than 80 billion dollars in the global HIV and AIDS response, the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease,” he added.
Focusing on this year’s theme, Mellissa Nyendak, Branch Chief, Prevention, Care & Treatment-CDC India advocated that knowing one’s status is an essential entry point to HIV care, support, treatment, and prevention services. “Worldwide, 1 out of 4 people living with HIV are unaware they have HIV,” said Nyendak who also informed that in India people who test positive can now be immediately linked to antiretroviral treatment to keep them well. Taking medicines consistently lowers the level of the virus which prevents the transmission of HIV,” she informed.
“Knowing your status also provides an important opportunity to learn and engage in harm reduction service. Eliminating HIV related stigma and discrimination is critical. Stigma prevents people from seeking HIV services and ultimately knowing their status. When we support people with HIV, we make it easier for them to live healthy lives with dignity and respect,” asserted Nyendak.
Believing that strong partnerships are critical in the fight against HIV, Nyendak acknowledged the efforts of all organizations in the fight against HIV, while also calling for more collaborative efforts in: encouraging people to get tested, scale up effective prevention to populations at high risk, identify and put into action innovative approaches to reach hidden populations who face heightened risk of HIV. Minister of H & FW Pangyu Phom pointed out the many barriers to HIV testing such as stigma and discrimination which deters people from testing due to fear of rejection and discrimination.
“We must break all these barriers and encourage people to come forward for HIV Testing as it is the only gateway to care, support and treatment,” said Pangyu, who mentioned that Nagaland state have 70 ICTC facilities across the State where free HIV testing is provided.
“As per data since 1999 to September 2018, 10,76,631 blood samples have been tested for HIV out of which 24,218 samples were found HIV positive. Now our target should be to bring the remaining 50 percent of our State population for testing,” he stated urging the gathering to know their status by getting tested at the nearest HIV testing facility and encourage others to do the same.
“In this multifaceted relation with the US, health sector is one sector where they have been with us,” he added, expressing gratitude to the US Ambassador for their efforts in Nagaland. I Himato Zhimomi, Principal Secretary H&FW and the Chairman of NSACS also noted that it is not just in the spiritual realm that Americans have impacted but also through intervention on the health sector.
