By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: While there is a sudden rise in AIDS cases in the State, attention ought to be paid to AIDS control is getting diluted, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Speaker Charles Pyngrope observed.
Pyngrope was speaking at a function to observe the World AIDS Day 2011 with the theme ‘Getting to Zero’ organized by the Meghalaya AIDS Control Society (MACS) at Don Bosco Youth Centre here on Thursday.
Speaking on the seriousness of the problem, Pyngrope said it has become graver with the ongoing economic slowdown in almost all the country. “With the growing urbanization and the play of money in the hands of the younger generation, there is a serious peril to the health of this new generation”, he said.
“It is time for the centre and the state government to wake up to the seriousness of the situation and contemplate imposing a special HIV-AIDS cess, on the lines of Education Cess, for augmenting funds necessary for the task”, the Speaker added.
One single way in which funds can be augmented in these days of financial squeeze is to earmark, by law, a minimum of 10 percent of the funds meant for Corporate Social Responsibility by companies, exclusively for AIDS control programme, Pyngrope stated.
He further stated the need to impress upon the Insurance regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDA) to make it mandatory for insurance agencies to institute insurance both for men and women against contracting AIDS.
