SHILLONG, April 8: The Health Department has taken serious note of an Assembly panel’s observation that three out of 1,000 pregnant women in Meghalaya are testing positive for HIV/AIDS.
The department has accordingly sought tests for “men contributing to this problem”.
Commissioner and Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department, Sampath Kumar said it is unfortunate that people are not paying attention to advertisements and hoardings displaying the alarming data.
He said there are provisions for conducting HIV/AIDS test on pregnant women, but it is equally important for men to come forward as they are contributing to the problem.
“It is a gender issue as men are not getting tested. The people and the government have to speak out if this problem needs to stop,” Kumar said.
On Wednesday, the Assembly Committee on Women Empowerment had expressed shock over the fact that three out of 1,000 pregnant women in Meghalaya have been testing positive for HIV/AIDS. The panel also raised concern over some 200 sex workers in Shillong being infected with the virus.
Kumar also tagged maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate as gender and socio-cultural problems, referring to the World Health Organisation’s protocol that seeks a minimum gap of three years between deliveries. “We are talking to church leaders and other stakeholders to address the issues,” he said.