Goa to have centre of excellence in HIV care by next year

Panaji, November 30: Goa Minister for Health Vishwajit Rane said that state government will soon set up the center of excellence in HIV care by December 2019. He was speaking as a chief guest after attending Positive Power Summit 2018 organized by Human Touch at Sanskruti Bhavan on the eve of World AIDS Day.

 

Listening to the various difficulties faced by the children suffering from HIV, Minister Rane said the government would come out with the new policy and certain amount of grants from state budget would be given to various initiatives in the field to create infrastructure so that the children suffering from HIV lived a better quality of life. Minister Rane said,''We as policymakers need to change the narrative. We need to be more sensitive on how to take this issue forward.'' Addressing the gathering, Dr Jose D'Sa, Project Director, Goa Control of AIDS Society informed that the theme for the 2018 observance of World AIDS Day was Know your status.

He said,''Our main goal is getting to zero which means we need to aim at getting zero HIV infection, zero conversion of HIV to AIDS, zero AIDS-related threats and most importantly get zero discrimination. Goa State AIDS Control Society is trying to achieve this goal by 2020.'' Peter Borges, Founder of Human Touch, said during last two years in Goa, 610 people had been found infected with HIV positive.

He further said,'' HIV is not only transmitted by sex but it is transmitted by sexism, poverty and Homophobia. If we are going to end the menace of AIDS, we must cure the disease in our heart and in our minds.'' On the occasion, people, who had contributed to ending AIDS in Goa, were felicitated with Goa Red Ribbon Warrior.