Mizoram Seeks UN Assistance to Fight AIDS Epidemic

Aizawl, January 13, 2020:

The Mizoram government has sought financial and logistics support from the United Nations to control the spread of HIV infection in the state.

Mizoram, which is known as the highest AIDS-prevalent state in the country, has called on to the United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) in Washington DC to fight the deadly disease.

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Health Minister R Lalthangliana, who is currently on US tour, has sought financial, logistics and technical support from the UNAIDS, which in turn, assured of all possible help. They also expressed their interest in holding a joint meeting between Mizoram officials and UNAIDS officials to raise awareness on the growing prevalence of AIDS in Mizoram.

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It may be mentioned here that the first case of AIDS was reported in 1990 and since then, more than 2,400 people have died. According to Mizoram State AIDS Control Society (MSACS), 2.04 per cent of the state’s nearly 11 lakh population suffer from AIDS.

Lalthangliana said that on an average, nine people are diagnosed with HIV positive every day in Mizoram. He also said that 67 percent of the cases were sexually transmitted ones while 28.12 per cent of those were due to the usage of infected needles.

In December, Mizoram Kohhran Hruaitute Committee (MKHC), a conglomerate of major churches in the state, had passed a resolution to fight AIDS.

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