Mizoram tops in HIV/AIDS cases, govt taking steps to tackle

Mizoram has earned the dubious distinction of being the state with highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the country, but the government was making all efforts to tackle the menace, health minister R Lalthangliana told the Assembly on Tuesday.

A total of 21,538 cases have been registered in the state since October 1990, when the first patient was identified, he stated.

Lalthangliana, while replying to starred questions by MNF leader Vanlaltanpuia and Independent MLA Lalduhoma, also said that HIV prevalence was highest among youth in the age group of 25-34 years, accounting for 42.38 per cent of the total number of cases.

Expressing concern over the matter, the minister insisted that the government had been taking all measures to combat the disease.

Lalthangliana also said that he recently met leaders of NGOs, students' bodies and churches and sought their help to control the spread of the disease, while efforts were also being made to seek technical assistance from UNAIDS.

According to Dr Lalthlengliani, the project director of Mizoram State Aids Control Society (MSACS), at least 2,416 people have died of the disease between January 2006 and September 2019.