Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Feb 26: India is aiming to bring HIV under control by December 1, 2027, under the Mission AIDS Suraksha initiative, Director General of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), Rakesh Gupta, said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the inaugural session of a three-day regional review meeting in Guwahati on the implementation of the National AIDS and STI Control Programme, Gupta stressed that the Northeastern region remains central to India’s HIV response. Of the country’s 219 high-priority districts, 60 are located in the Northeast, excluding Sikkim.
Gupta, who also serves as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, described the Guwahati workshop as the start of an intensive, region-specific review and action-planning exercise designed to accelerate progress in high-burden districts. The focus, he said, is on strengthening district-level planning and execution to fast-track national HIV control goals.
Meghalaya is among the states participating actively in the review, with focused discussions on four identified high-priority districts — East Jaintia Hills, East Khasi Hills, Ri Bhoi and West Jaintia Hills.
As part of intensified national efforts, 11 regional workshops titled ‘Suraksha Sankalp Karyashala’ are being organised across India during February and March 2026, covering all 219 high-priority districts. The Guwahati meeting is the first in the series and includes 60 districts across the seven Northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
Over the three-day deliberations, district representatives are working on customised strategies to help their regions attain “Surakshit Plus” status by meeting the global 95-95-99 targets. These benchmarks call for 95 per cent of people living with HIV to know their status, 95 per cent of those diagnosed to receive sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 99 per cent of those on treatment to achieve viral suppression.
The review is assessing the implementation of the National AIDS Control Programme across the Northeast, with emphasis on district ownership, micro-level performance monitoring, identification of gaps and preparation of corrective action plans aligned with local epidemiological patterns.
Senior officials, including Project Directors of State AIDS Control Societies and programme leaders from across the region, are participating in the exercise, which is being conducted in three batches to enable state-specific discussions.
The consultations are expected to culminate in practical, state-tailored roadmaps, reinforcing the Government of India’s commitment to eliminating HIV/AIDS as a public health threat and advancing the objectives of Mission AIDS Suraksha.