Chandigarh, April 10
The 59th Executive Committee Meeting of the Chandigarh State AIDS Control Society (CSACS) was held today under the Chairmanship of Mandip Singh Brar, IAS, Secretary, Health, U.T. Chandigarh.
The meeting focused on reviewing the progress of ongoing HIV/AIDS prevention and control activities in the Union Territory, with particular emphasis on strengthening linkages of People Living with HIV (PLHIV) to ART Centres in Chandigarh. Detailed deliberations were held on low-performing indicators, including comprehensive root cause analysis and identification of actionable strategies to enhance programme effectiveness.
The Secretary Health, UT Chandigarh directed that special emphasis be placed on achieving the second “95” target, ensuring that all diagnosed PLHIV are promptly initiated on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) are retained in care. Emphasis was also laid on counselling newly diagnosed individuals on the very first day regarding the importance of early ART initiation and long-term adherence, with the objective of minimizing Loss to Follow-Up (LFU). It was further directed to undertake intensive track-back campaigns using all available mechanisms to bring LFU clients back to treatment.
During the meeting, Dr. Sadbhavna Pandit, Project Director, CSACS, presented a detailed overview of programme performance and key strategic interventions, highlighting existing gaps and outlining targeted measures for improvement. It was also directed that enhanced coordination be established with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to engage private practitioners for expanding access to NACP services for PLHIV in the private sector.
A key highlight of the meeting was the presentation on the “Ratri AIDS Suraksha Abhiyaan (RASAbhiyaan)”, an innovative night intervention strategy aimed at strengthening outreach among vulnerable populations during late hours through microplanning and collaboration with partner NGOs to ensure saturation coverage. Further, the details of Mission AIDS Suraksha, a national strategic initiative aimed at achieving the 95-95-99 targets and triple elimination of vertical transmission of HIV, Syphilis, and Hepatitis B, were shared with all the members. It has planned to achieve 95-95-99 targets by 1st December 2026, thereby ensuring the successful accomplishment of the mission target. The mission focuses on strengthening testing coverage, ensuring rapid linkage to treatment, improving viral load suppression, and enhancing service delivery systems to achieve HIV epidemic control by 1st December 2027.
The Chair emphasized the need for intensified outreach, increased HIV testing, and sustained community engagement to accelerate progress towards HIV epidemic control.
