PM To Chair the first meeting of National Council on AIDS

February 15, 2006

PRIME MINISTER TO CHAIR FIRST MEETING OF NATIONAL COUNCIL ON AIDS

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh will chair the first meeting

of the National Council on AIDS here tomorrow. The Prime Minister

had on World AIDS Day i.e. 1st December, 2005, categorically

stated, " the National AIDS Control Programme must move out of the

narrow confines of the health department and become an integral part

of all government departments and programmes to create a national

response, which alone can help reverse the epidemic " .

The NCA meeting is expected to generate a National level multi-

sectoral response in its fight against AIDS and to precisely make

HIV/AIDS every one's responsibility. More than 5.1 million people

are living with HIV/AIDS in India today with the epidemic making

inroads from the High Risk Groups to the general population. The

Government and its agencies will need the support of non-

governmental organizations, civil society and the private sector to

counter the further progression of HIV.

The National Council on AIDS (NCA) was constituted by the Ministry

of Health and Family Welfare in June last year with the Prime

Minister as its Chairman. The main objective of the NCA is to

prevent the spread of HIV and facilitate a strong multi-sectoral

response to combat it effectively. Minister for Health and Family

Welfare is the Vice Chairman of the NCA which consists of thirty-one

Union Ministers, seven Chief Ministers and representatives from

civil society and private sector. Three out of seven Chief Ministers

representing the States are from the high prevalence states of Tamil

Nadu, Maharashtra and Nagaland, one from moderate prevalent state of

Gujarat and one each from the three highly vulnerable states of

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. The NCA is expected to meet at

least once every year.

The main functions of the NCA are to mainstream HIV/AIDS issue in

all Ministries and Departments by considering it as development

challenge and not merely a public health problem, to lead the multi-

sectoral response to HIV/AIDS in the country with special reference

to youth and the work force and to review the inter-sectoral

commitment.

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