NACO targets AP in push to eliminate HIV

Vijayawada: The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), under the Union ministry of health and family welfare, will organise a state-level Suraksha Sankalp Karyashala here on Wednesday, as part of its intensified nationwide strategy to strengthen HIV response at the district level. The workshop will be chaired by Dr. Rakesh Gupta, Additional Secretary and Director General of NACO.

The event will bring together key policymakers and administrators, including Saurabh Gaur, G Veerapandian, and Dr K Neelakanta Reddy, along with district collectors, health officials and AIDS control officers from across Andhra Pradesh. The gathering aims to review current progress and develop actionable strategies to strengthen HIV prevention, testing, and treatment services.

This initiative is part of Mission AIDS Suraksha, a focused national drive by NACO to accelerate interventions in high-burden regions through targeted district-level engagement.

Andhra Pradesh, with an adult HIV prevalence of 0.58 percent and an estimated 3.1 lakh people living with HIV, has been identified as a priority state. As part of this effort, 23 districts—including Guntur, Krishna, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, and Kurnool—have been prioritised for enhanced programme implementation and monitoring.

District teams will present progress reports, identify gaps, and formulate tailored action plans to improve outcomes on the ground. The workshop will also emphasise strengthening prevention strategies, expanding testing services, ensuring sustained treatment adherence, and improving viral load suppression among patients. The Karyashala is expected to foster coordinated planning among national, state, and district stakeholders, reinforcing a data-driven and collaborative approach. Through such focused interventions, NACO aims to accelerate progress towards the 95-95-95 targets and advance India’s goal of eliminating AIDS as a public health threat.