AP occupies 3rd position in AIDS prevalence: Minister

Hyderabad, Jun 6 (UNI) Andhra Pradesh occupied the third place in AIDS prevalence in the country, with an estimated five lakh AIDS patients living in the State, Health and Family Welfare Minister S Chandrasekhar said today.

Addressing the media here, he said the number of people registered with Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centres had increased to 1.06 lakh till March 2008 from 42,639 in 2007. The number of ART centres had also been increased to 24 from just three as on August 2007.

Stating that a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) programme for integrating RMPs, private sector clinics and Community Health Centres would be initially implemented in a district in the State soon, the Minister said the programme would help to check the epidemic in the State.

Mr Chandrasekhar said the Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society (APSACS) and Hindutan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust, in close partnership with the Satyam Foundation, CII and FICCI, would develop workplace interventions in the steel, mining, IT and tobacco industries from July one, 2008.

From April 2007 to March 2008, around 13.50 lakh HIV tests were conducted, he said, adding the number of HIV testing centres in the State had scaled up from 286 to 677.

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