District-Level Meeting on AIDS Prevention and Control Held in Balasore
Balasore, 29/11 (Krushna Kumar Mohanty): A district-level meeting on AIDS prevention and control was held today at the DTU Hall of the District Headquarters Hospital under the chairmanship of District Collector Suryabanshi Mayur Bikash. The discussion was organised by DAPCU and covered the District AIDS Prevention and Control Committee (DAPCC), the District Fast-Track EMTCT Committee meeting and the formation of the District Community Resource Group (DCRG) under NACP-V for Community System Strengthening (CSS).
The meeting reviewed the status of the National HIV/AIDS Control Programme in the district, ICTC data, last year’s infection trends and gap analysis. Information was shared on the total number of HIV-positive cases detected from 2003 to October 2025. Regular testing at ICTC centres, 100 percent ANC HIV testing, increased spouse testing, outreach and awareness activities, campaigns for migrants and high-risk groups, and routine screening in the jail were highlighted as major achievements of DAPCU.
An Action Taken Report of the previous DAPCC meeting was presented. The need for a dedicated room for DAPCU operations was discussed.
The District Collector stressed the importance of strengthening HIV/AIDS prevention, EMTCT control and community-based communication.
Among those present on the dais were Manoj Kumar Sahu, District Nodal Officer (AIDS), ADMO Amulya Kumar Das and Sanjay Raut, Chief Executive Officer of the Zilla Parishad. DPM Dr. Rashmita Mohanty conducted the proceedings.
