Bihar Health Minister announces initiatives to Prevent HIV

Patna: Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey on Saturday announced that the state government has taken significant measures to combat HIV/AIDS and provide support to those affected.

Pandey said here that the state government is spending an amount of Rs 130 crore every year to support the families of AIDS victims, so that they can get a proper lifestyle.

According to a UNI report, he said that 17.50 lakh AIDS patients were being treated in the country. The Minister said that there are 31 A.R.T.s in Bihar through which about 88,000 HIV patients of the state were getting free treatment.

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Pandey said that about 63,000 HIV infected people were getting an assistance of Rs 1500 per month under Bihar Shatabdi AIDS Victim Welfare Scheme. In addition to this, under Parvarish Yojana, an assistance of Rs 1000 per month is being provided to the 15,000 HIV infected and affected children for which the government was spending Rs 130 crore every year.

The Minister said that the HIV infected youth of Bihar were also getting skill training by Bihar Skill Development Mission and Labour Department.

He said that the centre and the state government both were sensitizing people towards prevention of HIV/ AIDS.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar laid the foundation stone for the country's first 100-bedded child cancer hospital, Mahavir Child Cancer Hospital, in Phulwari Sharif town of Patna. This ambitious project is being spearheaded by the Mahavir Cancer Institute, which already operates two cancer hospitals, and is set to provide free cancer treatment for children up to 18 years. The child cancer hospital will have the capacity of 100 beds. It will be an ultramodern, six-storey facility and will be built in an expected time period of 18 months.

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