Tripura High Court Seeks Updated HIV/AIDS Statistics from State AIDS Control Society

AGARTALA: The Tripura High Court has asked the Tripura State AIDS Control Society (TSACS) to provide updated statistics on the spread of HIV/AIDS in the state, especially among the youth. This request is made with the objective of assessing the efficacy of current measures in controlling the increasing trend of HIV/AIDS cases.

The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Biswajit Palit, was hearing a suo moto Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the matter. During the course of the proceeding, the court came to know that the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) has sanctioned the setting up of two new Facility-integrated ART Centres (Fi-ARTC) in Khowai and Gomati Districts along with a new District Monitoring Unit to cater to both Gomati and South Districts.

The court was further apprised that TSACS has been ordered to follow up supplementary budget sanction through the Annual Action Plan for the year 2025-2026 in order to operationalize these new facilities. Presently, TSACS has already erected 24 Stand Alone Integrated Counseling & Testing Centres (SA-ICTC) and 133 Facility Integrated Counseling and Testing Centres (F-ICTC) to screen and test.

The court also observes that there exist three PPP model ICTC Centers and one Mobile ICTC Van in operation. In the past five to six years, there has been a rise in Opioid Substitution Therapy from five to 23, for which nine others have been cleared for future sanction. The next date of the court is put on February 20, asking TSACS for a progress report.

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