Guwahati: Following similar initiatives in Integrated Health Campaign on Tuesday in Guwahati.
The objective of this campaign is to reach out to at-risk populations for screening, testing, and linkages to treatment of STIs, HIV, TB, Hepatitis B & C through a hybrid outreach approach, according to a press release.
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Inaugurating the campaign, DC Sumit Sattawan said, “The Integrated Health Campaign in the district will help in not only detecting People Living with HIV (PLHIV) but also putting them into treatment immediately.”
He further stated that the campaign team would use a hybrid outreach approach to screen, test, and connect people living with HIV, STIs, TB, and Hepatitis B & C to appropriate treatment services.
The DC emphasized the need for all camps to follow target-based goals and directed campaign teams to include college-going students, noting that youth are particularly vulnerable to high-risk behaviors such as unprotected sex and drug injection.
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He also urged all the stakeholders of this campaign to involve themselves in bringing people to the camps, the statement said.
Prior to the inauguration of the campaign, Project Director, Assam State AIDS Control Society (ASACS), Dr. Indranoshee Das stressed on achieving the target of 95-95-95 set by National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of eliminating AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
The first ’95’ means that 95 per cent of people living with HIV know their status. The second indicates that 95 per cent of those diagnosed with HIV receive treatment. The third signifies that 95 per cent of individuals undergoing treatment achieve a suppressed viral load, it mentioned.
The Project Director further said that, following the successful implementation of integrated health campaigns in the HIV-vulnerable districts of Nagaon, Tinsukia, and Cachar, authorities decided to launch a similar campaign in Kamrup (Metro), another high-risk district in Assam.
Meanwhile, District Development Commissioner, Kamrup (M), Parijat Bhuyan expressed hope that such a campaign would help in detecting and eliminating HIV and other related infections like TB, STI, etc., in the district.
The 40-day Integrated Health Campaign has a target of covering 40 camps, especially in HIV vulnerable, unreached pockets within the district, the statement added.
It may be mentioned that the Integrated Health Campaign was first conducted in Nagaon district in the month of July 2023, followed by the districts of Tinsukia and Cachar during the months of February and March 2024.