More awareness required to check spread of HIV/AIDS: Dikshit

New Delhi, Dec 1 (UNI) Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said misconceptions about HIV/AIDS need to be corrected at all levels and more awareness is required to check the spread of the epidemic.

''There are over 2.5 crore people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide.

The figure is alarming and compels all people concerned to give a thought to it,'' Ms Dikshit said after inaugurating Dr Anil Kalia Memorial Sneh Sadan to mark the World AIDS Day.

The Chief Minister also flagged off the Mobile Integrated Testing and Wellness Access) Campaign, an endeavour to provide a comprehensive service to people The Delhi Government has taken several measures including, Delhi AIDS Control Society helping NGO's to make functional 30 targeted interventions to focus on high risk core group .

Around 1,200 AIDS patients are currently receiving help through free Anti Retroviral Treatment Centre in various hospitals in Delhi.

Apart from focussing on voluntary counseling and Testing Services an initiative has been taken to extend the outreach of these services through mobile vans to cover vulnerable population, an official said.

''These facilities have also been introduced in the campuses of Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia and JNU,'' She said .

MITWA services were first flagged off by the Delhi Chief Minister in 2005.

At present two mobile vans are being run by DSACS and 11 vans are run in collaboration with Mobile Health Scheme of Directorate of Health Services.

Services provided by these vans are free of cost and include general health check up, dispensing of drugs, syndromic treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases&Reproductive Tract Infection and HIV counseling and testing and distribution of IEC material and condoms and conduction of folk media activities like Nukkad nataks.

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