Bringing the focus firmly to districts where impact is most critical, the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, convened a high-level workshop in Chandigarh today, bringing Punjab’s priority districts together to drive focused, data-led action towards achieving the 95-95-99 targets.
Dr. Rakesh Gupta, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt of India & Director General, NACO, chaired the meeting. Shri Kumar Rahul, Principal Secretary, Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Punjab, also participated along with senior State and district-level programme functionaries.
In his address, Dr. Rakesh Gupta highlighted, “In states like Punjab, where injecting drug use contributes significantly to HIV transmission, our response must be urgent and accelerated. District-level strategies, supported by data and convergence with other health services, are essential to reversing this trend.”
He further added that empowering districts with greater ownership and accountability would be critical in translating national goals into measurable local impact. The workshop is part of a series of structured engagements being undertaken by NACO across States to strengthen HIV programme delivery in high-burden districts through a decentralised and data-driven approach.
Punjab, with an HIV prevalence of 0.42% and an estimated 1,10,715 people living with HIV (PLHIV), remains a priority State under this focused strategy. A total of 21 priority districts, namely Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Moga, Pathankot, Mansa, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, S.A.S. Nagar, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Gurdaspur, Barnala, Faridkot, Sangrur, Patiala, Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar, Firozpur, Bathinda, Rupnagar, and Sri Muktsar Sahib have been identified for intensified programme action.
District teams presented their progress, highlighted operational challenges and developed targeted strategies to strengthen HIV prevention, testing and treatment services. Highlighting the State’s commitment, Shri Kumar Rahul stated, “Punjab is committed to strengthening its HIV response through targeted and evidence-based interventions.
This workshop has enabled districts to align their strategies with local realities and reinforce accountability for improved service delivery and health outcomes.” The workshop witnessed active participation from senior district officials, including Deputy Commissioners, Additional Deputy Commissioners, Civil Surgeons and District AIDS Control Officers, reinforcing a coordinated and outcome-oriented approach to HIV programme implementation.
The day long workshop fostered cross-learning and the districts identified concrete action plans for target oriented results. The successful completion of the Chandigarh workshop marks another important step in India’s ongoing efforts to strengthen district-led action, ensuring that progress towards the 95-95-99 targets is accelerated across priority geographies.
By fostering collaboration across national, state and district levels, NACO continues to drive a unified and impactful response towards ending AIDS by 2030.