Spread awareness about HIV, hepatitis: Punjab Health Minister to students

The Punjab State AIDS Control Society today organised a youth symposium on HIV at Chandigarh University to make the youth aware about HIV. The symposium was organised under the theme “Be Aware, Take Care, End HIV”. The event began with a two-minute silence to pay tribute to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack.

The Chief Guest on this occasion, Punjab Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education and Research Minister Dr Balbir Singh, appealed to the students to make their friends and people around them, aware of HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C. He said each student should do his duty to make at least 100 youths aware.

He said Red Ribbon Clubs are being run in 725 colleges and universities across Punjab by the Punjab State AIDS Control Society.  He said free treatment was being provided to the youth suffering from drug addiction through 43 OST centres. Free treatment of STI/RTI infections was being provided through 31 safety clinics, and for the purpose of safe blood transfusion, 183 blood centres had been set up, where blood was transfused only after testing for five major diseases, including HIV, he added. Apart from these, 72 Target Intervention Projects were also being run, which were working to protect high-risk groups such as FSW, IDU, migrants, truck drivers and others from HIV, the minister said.

Chandigarh