AIZAWL, Oct 11 - Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga today made a clarion call to fight HIV/AIDS in the State.
Kicking off the HIV/AIDS sensitization campaign at the Chief Minister�s conference hall here, Zoramthanga said the present status of Mizoram with regard to HIV/AIDS prevalence cannot be ignored.
�Mizoram has the dubious distinction of having a high HIV prevalence rate. The deadly disease should be fought on a war footing so that the State rate comes down,� he said.
The Chief Minister also said that efforts should be renewed to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS, and its treatment and prevention.
Earlier, the Aizawl District AIDS Prevention and Control Committee decided to launch a sensitization programme on AIDS in all government offices within Aizawl.
In the first phase, the sensitization programme will be launched in 10 selected government offices in Aizawl with Chief Minister�s Secretariat being the first.
Today�s event was attended by several officials including Aizawl Deputy Commissioner Vanlalngaihsaka, ADC and Aizawl district AIDS Prevention and Control Committee chairman John LT Sanga and Mizoram State AIDS Control Society project director Dr Lalthlengliani. Lalthlengliani said that nearly 2,000 people have died due to AIDS in Mizoram since the first case was detected in October 1990. While the rate of HIV prevalence in the country shows a declining trend, Mizoram, on the other hand, has registered a growth in the number of HIV-positive people.
Quoting a report by the National AIDS Control Organization in 2017, the project director said that at least 2.04 per cent of Mizoram�s population was found living with HIV-positive status against the national average of 0.2 per cent.
