The Orissa State AIDS Control Society (OSACS) seeks US support

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AIDS Society seeks support from US

Thursday August 2 2007 13:28 IST

BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa State AIDS Control Society (OSACS) has sought

support from the US Government for its several HIV/AIDS prevention

and control initiatives.

During a meeting with the US Consul General Henry Jardine here on

Wednesday, Project Director, OSACS, Parameswar Swain said programmes

like rehabilitation of HIV/AIDS orphans, livelihood projects for

people living with the disease, condom promotion activities and

establishment of a paediatric anti-retroviral therapy centre at

Ganjam can get a boost if the society gets support from the US.

Jardine, who was on a day-long visit to OSACS to understand its

programmes for control and prevention of HIV/AIDS, promised that he

would take up the matter with the US embassy and find solutions.

Swain said the recent revelation that an estimated number of people

with HIV/AIDS in India has dropped by more than half must not mean a

scaling down of activities by OSACS. It rather calls for a more

focussed approach.

The OSACS also presented the Orissa scenario. As per the Behaviour

Surveillance Survey Report 2006, Orissa has a prevalence rate of 0.22

percent among adult population. Among the districts, Ganjam was at

the top with 3.25 percent PR followed by Angul with 1.75 percent,

Balangir 1.25 percent and Bhadrak 1 pe cent

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