Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad   

'Govt. to go slow on pre-marital test for HIV'

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD Nov. 10. The Medical and Health Minister, Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, on Sunday said the Government would go slow on the issue of bringing a law making pre-marital blood test to detect HIV mandatory.

Addressing a press conference in connection with the World AIDS Day programme on December 1, the Minister said the issue of such a test was sensitive, requiring approval from all sections of people. "Only when everybody approves, we will introduce the Bill. It cannot be rushed through,'' he said ruling out the possibility of introducing it in the Assembly session beginning tomorrow.

He said a meeting of all legislators would be convened soon to raise awareness on HIV/AIDS. An exhibition of posters would also be put up. The next group to be targeted for awareness programme would be lawyers. This was apart from the College AIDS Awareness Programme (CAAP), all over the State in 1,000 colleges in 13 universities covering about 5 lakh students. While 550 were junior colleges, the remaining were degree and professional colleges. Earlier, the School AIDS Awareness Programme was taken up covering 13 lakh students.

The AIDS control programme this year would also focus on preventing, reducing and eliminating stigma and discrimination, the international campaign theme for the year 2002-03.

The World AIDS Day programme would be organised in a befitting manner on December 1 throughout the State with the slogan "Live and Let Live''. Awareness programmes would be launched for educating youth and self-help groups.

The Minister said the State had four lakh HIV infected people by the end of 2001, the second highest in the country. A disconcerting feature was that 89 per cent of them were in the productive age group of 15 to 39.

Among pregnant women, a very high HIV positivity was reported from April to September 2002 in Khammam (9.15 per cent), Krishna (8.96 per cent), West Godavari (6.59 per cent), Karimnagar (3.66 per cent), Guntur (3.39 per cent), East Godavari (2.61 per cent) and Nalgonda 2.60 per cent. In the remaining districts, it was above one per cent and the average positive rate was 1.94 per cent.

The State was in the process of mapping the disease pattern and profile. It was spending Rs. 34 crores on AIDS awareness and other related programmes, utilising the services of NGOs. A Government Order has been issued, a few months ago, making it compulsory for all public functions to begin with a talk on HIV/AIDS.

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