The battle against AIDS enters its third phase
As India plods on ahead to counter the hitherto serious impact of AIDS, there is good news. The year 2007 is important in the history of our fight against HIV/AIDS, with the third phase of National AIDS Control Programme (NACP-III) beginning this year.
SOON AFTER THE first case of HIV was detected in Chennai in 1986, Government of India swung into action and took a series of initiatives. The initial response was setting up of an AIDS Task Force and a National AIDS Committee.
The response was characterized by the implementation of a medium term plan (MTP 1990-92) which in turn had evolved into a national level programme. In 1992, India demonstrated its resolve to control the HIV epidemic by launching the National AIDS Control Programme Phase I (NACP-I). Based on the lessons learnt from NACP-I and the emerging scenarios at the state level, the Government of India had formulated NACP Phase II in 1999 and implemented the programme in all states over the next seven years.
NACP II also focused on the need for effective involvement of non-governmental organisations and civic society to create an enabling environment for the prevention and control initiatives.
Based on the lessons learnt from and achievements of Phases I and II, India has now developed the Third Phase of the National AIDS Control Programme (2007-2012). The design of NACP III implementation plan has gone through a very wide range of consultations at national, state and district levels.
According to K. Sujatha Rao Additional Secretary and Director General National AIDS Control Organisation, at the cusp of NACP III, despite fears and doomsday scenarios, HIV/AIDS incidence in India is still quite low. This is a tribute to the efforts of countless social workers, NGOs, CBOs, medical personnel political leaders, public and private partners along with national and international organisations.
It will not be out of place to recall at this stage that Reliance Industries Limited, which is one of the leading industrial institutions in the country and which gives priority to corporate social responsibility, can boast of focusing on understanding the needs of communities and taking planned, organised care of the health and social welfare needs wherever they have arisen.
At Reliance Industries Limited, corporate social responsibility reflects their approach towards sustainable development, setting standards in addressing consumer interests, ecology, operational safety, occupational health, employee welfare and community services. The company would like to point out that "think beyond business", the adage coined by Founder Chairman late Dhirubhai Ambani, has been carried forward as a mission by the elder sibling Mukesh Ambani and his wife Ms Nita Ambani. As part of its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, the company has taken up initiatives to control the spread of conditions such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, in an effort to eradicate them.
For detection and control of these diseases, the Community Medical Centres at Haziraand Jamnagar in Gujarat concentrate on the workplace as well as on the villages, involving the local population and families of the workers. Comprehensive healthcare to all those affected is imparted through counseling, education training, social and nutritional support.
The Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on Mumbai Pune highway caters to the primary and secondary level health needs of residents of Reliance Township, residents of other industrial colonies around the area as well as the community there. It also provides emergency care to victims of highway accidents.
A well-equipped DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short Course) at Hazira has been described as a remarkable example of providing treatment facilities for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. RIL Hazira’s HIV/AIDS prevention programmes in its workplace community and supply chain covers awareness generation, prevention, treatment care and support in partnership with two NGOs Lok Vikas Sanstha and Gujarat State Network of People living with HIV/AIDS.
That this is exactly what the doctor (in this case DG NACO) K Sujatha Rao prescribed, is proved by the conferment of the prestigious TERI Corporate Award for Business Response to HIV/AIDS 2007. Ms Nita Ambani, the fountainhead of social initiatives of the Company recently observed: the impact of business on society results from the way business behaves. What really matters is the outcome. More strength to her, shall we say?
The slew of activities in the RIL health centres is in tandem with the NACP III objectives. According to the NACP roadmap, considering more than 99 per cent of the population is free from infection, NACP III will place the highest priority on preventive efforts, while at the same time seeking to integrate prevention with care, support and treatment. According to NACP III plans, there will be investment in community care centers to provide psycho-social support outreach services, referrals and palliative care.
As India plods on ahead to counter the hitherto serious impact of AIDS, there is good news. The year 2007 is important in the history of our fight against HIV/AIDS, with the third phase of National AIDS Control Programme (NACP-III) beginning this year.
SOON AFTER THE first case of HIV was detected in Chennai in 1986, Government of India swung into action and took a series of initiatives. The initial response was setting up of an AIDS Task Force and a National AIDS Committee.
The response was characterized by the implementation of a medium term plan (MTP 1990-92) which in turn had evolved into a national level programme. In 1992, India demonstrated its resolve to control the HIV epidemic by launching the National AIDS Control Programme Phase I (NACP-I). Based on the lessons learnt from NACP-I and the emerging scenarios at the state level, the Government of India had formulated NACP Phase II in 1999 and implemented the programme in all states over the next seven years.
NACP II also focused on the need for effective involvement of non-governmental organisations and civic society to create an enabling environment for the prevention and control initiatives.
Based on the lessons learnt from and achievements of Phases I and II, India has now developed the Third Phase of the National AIDS Control Programme (2007-2012). The design of NACP III implementation plan has gone through a very wide range of consultations at national, state and district levels.
According to K. Sujatha Rao Additional Secretary and Director General National AIDS Control Organisation, at the cusp of NACP III, despite fears and doomsday scenarios, HIV/AIDS incidence in India is still quite low. This is a tribute to the efforts of countless social workers, NGOs, CBOs, medical personnel political leaders, public and private partners along with national and international organisations.
It will not be out of place to recall at this stage that Reliance Industries Limited, which is one of the leading industrial institutions in the country and which gives priority to corporate social responsibility, can boast of focusing on understanding the needs of communities and taking planned, organised care of the health and social welfare needs wherever they have arisen.
At Reliance Industries Limited, corporate social responsibility reflects their approach towards sustainable development, setting standards in addressing consumer interests, ecology, operational safety, occupational health, employee welfare and community services. The company would like to point out that "think beyond business", the adage coined by Founder Chairman late Dhirubhai Ambani, has been carried forward as a mission by the elder sibling Mukesh Ambani and his wife Ms Nita Ambani. As part of its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, the company has taken up initiatives to control the spread of conditions such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, in an effort to eradicate them.
For detection and control of these diseases, the Community Medical Centres at Haziraand Jamnagar in Gujarat concentrate on the workplace as well as on the villages, involving the local population and families of the workers. Comprehensive healthcare to all those affected is imparted through counseling, education training, social and nutritional support.
The Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on Mumbai Pune highway caters to the primary and secondary level health needs of residents of Reliance Township, residents of other industrial colonies around the area as well as the community there. It also provides emergency care to victims of highway accidents.
A well-equipped DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment Short Course) at Hazira has been described as a remarkable example of providing treatment facilities for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. RIL Hazira’s HIV/AIDS prevention programmes in its workplace community and supply chain covers awareness generation, prevention, treatment care and support in partnership with two NGOs Lok Vikas Sanstha and Gujarat State Network of People living with HIV/AIDS.
That this is exactly what the doctor (in this case DG NACO) K Sujatha Rao prescribed, is proved by the conferment of the prestigious TERI Corporate Award for Business Response to HIV/AIDS 2007. Ms Nita Ambani, the fountainhead of social initiatives of the Company recently observed: the impact of business on society results from the way business behaves. What really matters is the outcome. More strength to her, shall we say?
The slew of activities in the RIL health centres is in tandem with the NACP III objectives. According to the NACP roadmap, considering more than 99 per cent of the population is free from infection, NACP III will place the highest priority on preventive efforts, while at the same time seeking to integrate prevention with care, support and treatment. According to NACP III plans, there will be investment in community care centers to provide psycho-social support outreach services, referrals and palliative care.