Guwahati, Feb 25: Under Mission AIDS Suraksha, India aims to attain HIV control by 1 December 2027, coinciding with World AIDS Day, informed Dr. Rakesh Gupta, Additional Secretary and Director General, National AIDS Control Organisation, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), during the inaugural session of the three-day Review Meeting of the Northeastern States on the implementation of the National AIDS and STI Control Programme (NACP) in Guwahati.
The State of Meghalaya is actively participating in the review, with focused deliberations on accelerating progress in its identified high-priority districts – East Jaintia Hills, East Khasi Hills, Ri Bhoi and West Jaintia Hills. The meeting aims to strengthen district-level planning and implementation strategies to fast-track the achievement of HIV control targets.
As part of intensified national efforts, eleven regional workshops titled Suraksha Sankalp Karyashala are being organised across the country during February–March 2026, covering all 219 high-priority districts. The Guwahati workshop marks the first in the series and covers 60 identified high-priority districts from the seven Northeastern States – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
Dr. Gupta emphasised that the Northeastern States remain a priority in the national HIV response, with 60 of the 219 high-priority districts located in the region (excluding Sikkim). He noted that the Guwahati workshop marks the beginning of an intensive, region-focused review and action-planning exercise aimed at accelerating progress in high-priority districts across the Northeast.
During the three-day meeting, representatives from various districts are deliberating on tailored strategies to enable their districts to achieve Surakshit Plus status by meeting the global 95-95-99 targets. These targets ensure that 95% of all people living with HIV know their HIV status, 95% of those diagnosed receive sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 99% of those on treatment achieve viral suppression.
The meeting is undertaking a comprehensive review of NACP implementation across the Northeastern region, with a particular focus on strengthening district-level ownership, assessing micro-level performance indicators, identifying implementation gaps, and developing corrective action plans aligned with local epidemiological trends.
Senior officials, including Project Directors of the State AIDS Control Societies and programme leaders from across the region, are participating in the review, which is being conducted in three batches to enable focused, state-specific deliberations.
The deliberations are expected to culminate in clear, actionable roadmaps tailored to the epidemiological profile of each State, reinforcing the Government of India’s continued commitment to ending HIV/AIDS as a public health threat and advancing the objectives of Mission AIDS Suraksha.
