Shillong, Aug 17: Prevalence of HIV among the adult population in Meghalaya is on the higher side as compared to the national average, according to the Project Director of Meghalaya AIDS Control Society (MACS), B Decruse.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the two-day Rock the Ribbon Youth Festival 2023 held at the State Central Library here, Dr Decruse said that the prevalence of HIV among the adult population at the national level is estimated at 0.21% while in Meghalaya it stands significantly higher at 0.39%.
The two-day Rock the Ribbon Youth Festival 2023, organised by the Meghalaya AIDS Control Society (MACS), began on Thursday.
The event is being organised in collaboration with different colleges in East Khasi Hills. Students from different colleges will be taking part in the “Rock Band Performance” and other competitions over the two days.
The MACs had organised similar events in East Jaintia Hills and West Jaintia Hills districts.
Similar programmes will be organised in Ri-Bhoi, West Khasi Hills and all districts in the Garo Hills in the coming weeks.
Other activities include Khasi traditional singing competition, drama competition, marathon, quiz, beat boxing, face painting and paint ball.
The winner of the various competitions will compete at the state level. The winners from the state level will represent Meghalaya in the competition to be held at the national level.
The MACS project director said the objective of this festival was to create awareness among the youth since they constitute 31% of the HIV/AIDS burden in the country.
According to him, they are targeting the youth since they are the most vulnerable population group to be infected by HIV especially among the injecting drugs users (IDUs).
