Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday launched nutrition scheme for children living with HIV-positive in the State during a State level awareness campaign organised here by HP State AIDS Control Society on the occasion of National Youth Day.
Thakur said this initiative would go a long way providing nutritional supplement and boosting immunity of around 400 youth up to 18 years of age who had been detected positive for HIV. He said the state government would also provide every possible support to these children to enable them living a normal and healthy life.
The Chief Minister said the state government has also taken another important decision to make it mandatory for every expectant mother to go for HIV test from this year so that in case any mother is HIV-positive, the virus did not pass to the baby.
Expressing his deep concern over the raising cases of AIDS, which at present were around 5700 in the state, he said there was need for massive awareness about this disease up to the village level.