India, Karnataka should be AIDS free in next 5 years: Siddaramaiah

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has said India and Karnataka should be AIDS free in the next five years, and urged that all people should work together in this direction.

Addressing a World AIDS Day 2023 event at the Vidhana Soudha on Friday, Siddaramaiah said: "Today is World AIDS Day. It is the responsibility of all to prevent this epidemic. The disease was discovered in India in 1986 and in Karnataka during 1987. In recent days, the number of HIV patients and its prevalence is decreasing. This is a good development. Awareness should be created among the people and the youth to build an HIV-free society."

"There was a slogan to bring the number of AIDS-affected to zero by 2015-20. But this goal has not been achieved. Achieving this goal is the responsibility of both the health department and the entire society," the chief minister added.

He further said that precautionary measures must be followed to control the disease.

"HIV-affected people can lead peaceful lives. I hope that the zero-day will happen in five or six years. India ranks third in the world. We need to be more aware. Some people have misconceptions about the disease. They think that if one talks to a patient, they can contract the disease. But it won't. It is mostly spread through transfusion of blood. People should be aware of all this. Disease can be prevented if we are aware of the causes," Siddaramaiah said.

"Precautionary measures should be taken beforehand instead of suffering later. Efforts should be made to create collective awareness. If one contracts AIDS, nothing happens immediately. But it is an incurable disease. Despite all the development in science, no cure has been found for AIDS. The health department must conduct research regarding this," he added.

"This year's AIDS Day is observed with the motto: "Let Communities Lead". Our (Karnataka) government had implemented the AIDS Control Act in 2017," he said.

Talking to an HIV patient who participated in the programme, the chief minister said the former has lived for 26 years after contracting the disease and was brave.

Siddaramaiah appreciated that the HIV patient had faced the disease bravely even though he had undergone angioplasty.