HIV testing and counselling for students in all engineering and degree colleges in Karnataka
Karnataka is launching integrated health camps for HIV testing and counseling across all engineering and degree colleges. The initiative follows reports of rising infection rates among youth aged 18 to 35 in the state.
Why it matters
Proactive health screening in educational institutions is a critical public health intervention to address rising HIV prevalence among the youth demographic.
On the request of Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS), Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) and Collegiate Education Department have taken steps to conduct Integrated Health Camp (IHC) for HIV testing and counselling for students in all engineering and degree colleges.
According to the report of Sankalak-Status of National AIDS & STD Response 2024 of National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), Karnataka ranks third in the country in the number of HIV infected people. Currently, there are about 2.60 lakh HIV positive people in the State, out of which 2.05 lakh are receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment. The fact that about 54 thousand people are unaware of their infection is a cause for concern.
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