Conference AIDSCON-5 begins at PGIMER Chandigarh

Chandigarh, 26 February, 2016: The Conference AIDSCON-5 started on 26^th February, 2016 in the National Institute of Nursing Education (NINE), PGIMER Chandigarh. It invited an impressive response from the public, and more than 300 delegates from various walks of life including Doctors, Para-medical staff, Social Scientists, Public Health Experts and Students attended the Conference. The Delegates had arrived from various parts of the country including Kerala, Orissa, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow, Delhi etc.

Chief Guest Sh. Vijay Kumar Dev IAS, Advisor to Administrator, Chandigarh Administration inaugurated the Conference along with Sh. Anurag Aggarwal, IAS, Home Secretary-cum- Secretary Health U.T., Chandigarh, Dr. B.B. Rewari, National Program Officer, ART, WHO and Dr. Yogesh Chawla, Director, PGIMER.

 Sh. Vijay Kumar Dev, IAS   in his address ,shared that the response to this conference has increased every year this can be judged with the presence of global organizations participating .He added that  Chandigarh is the only state in the country which is organizing this kind of conference and this is the fifth conference.  He stressed to avoid the multiple partners and stick to only one partner honestly. Chandigarh with it’s effective health infrastructure could be the first State to achieve the target of eliminating AIDS as a public health problem by 2030

The Guest of Honor, Sh. Anurag Aggarwal, IAS, Home Secretary-cum-Secretary Health UT Chandigarh he said that as ART Centre in PGIMER has heavy patient load as it caters to the patients from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal so the administration has requested NACO to open another ART Centre at GMCH-32, Chandigarh.

Dr. B.B Rewari, National Program Officer, ART, WHO made a presentation on National Integrated Biological and Behavioral Surveillance (IBBS) and update target of 90:90:90 with the aim to bring the HIV epidemic under control so that it is no longer present as a public health threat to any population or country. 90% of people living with HIV should know their status, 90% of all those who are diagnosed with HIV should be on  Anti Retroviral Treatment (ART) and 90% of those on ART should have suppression of viral load.

 Dr. Vanita Gupta, Project Director apprised the audience of the achievements of the Chandigarh SACS. Dr. Naina Rani, Consultant, WHO presented the PPTCT activities being run by Ministry of Health & Family  Welfare, Govt. Of India to prevent Parent to Child transmission of HIV and syphilis. She said that NACO has planned that all pregnant Women are screened by ANMs using the Point-of-Care Test kits for HIV & Syphilis those who test positive would be confirmed to ICTCs and would be treated. This will ensure elimination Congenital Syphilis and prevent transmission from mother to child.

In the session Communication, Innovation & Impact it was shared that how new media is being used for creating HIV/AIDS awareness. Success of few campaigns run nationally were presented. Ms. Sumati from PIPSE shares the working of National HIV/AIDS helpline 1097 which is 24 hours helpline and the information is available in 8 languages. The Conference will continue on 27^th February, 2016.