The Centre would soon strengthen the HIV-AIDS infrastructure to control the disease in Punjab. The announcement came after the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Santosh Chowdhary reviewed the HIV-AIDS situation in the State on Wednesday.
At the review meeting with senior officials of Central and State Governments, Chaudhary expressed concern over the rising cases of HIV-AIDS in Punjab and attributed it mainly to the increased abuse of Injectable Drugs Users (IDU) among youths.
“The rate of HIV-AIDS infection is increasing constantly in Punjab, which is three times higher than the national average... Punjab is having the highest infection percentage in the country,” Chowdhary said. She emphasized on the need to curb the increasing menace of drug abuse and to launch an awareness campaign among youths.