Press briefing for signing of MOU between Department of AIDS Control and Ministry of Communications & Information Technology The Ministry of Communications & Information Technology and the Department of AIDS control, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have signed a MoU today with an objective of spreading correct and comprehensive knowledge for prevention of HIV and information on services available in the country. Department of AIDS Control is providing preventive , care and support treatment services through the network of 1873 Targeted Interventions , 1131 STI Clinics, 1137 blood banks, over 15,000 Integrated Counseling & Testing Centres, and 425 ART centres & 870 Link ART Centres. The information about these services needs to reach all the people in the country, especially those who are most at risk for HIV. With the prevalence of 0.27%, India has around 2.1 million people with HIV, which is the third largest number for any single country. Nearly 90% of those infected are in the age group of 15 to 49 years. This group needs to be reached through appropriate technology and most depend on mobile, SMS, email etc for communication. Thus Ministry of Communications & Information Technology (MCIT) has a major role to play in spreading information on prevention and services related to HIV. MCIT will also facilitate effective management of strategic information through National e-governance, Community services centres, and through push based SMS etc. The collaboration with Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY) will support National AIDS Control Programme by reaching out to large numbers of people through Common Service Centers’ with information on prevention and services of HIV. This will also encourage voluntary blood donation and also facilitate access to Social Protection schemes. The telecom services have been recognized world-over as an important tool for reaching everyone with information in a nation. It is one of the prime support services needed for rapid growth and modernization of various sectors of the economy. The partnership between Department of Telecommunications and Department of AIDS Control will help in awareness generation especially through the network of BSNL& MTNL. This will also facilitate display of information at strategic locations up to village level and also HIV/AIDS messages in the promotional material for general awareness. Since HIV vulnerability emanates from is socio- behavioral risks, the health and medical aspect of addressing is just not sufficient. The goal of “zero new infections, zero HIV related deaths and zero discrimination” in the country cannot be achieved unless the epidemic is addressed holistically. Thus Mainstreaming and Partnerships is recognized as a key approach in the National AIDS Control Programme to facilitate multi-sectoral response. The collaboration between Ministry of Communications & Information Technology and Department of AIDS Control will support the national efforts of HIV prevention and care to people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 10:55:55 +0000
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