Health minister Dr Balbir Singh on Wednesday launched the Intensified Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Campaign 3.0, expressing concern over the rising intravenous (IV) drug use among youngsters and the resulting risk of HIV transmission.
Political Context
Punjab has reported a high burden of new HIV infections in the country. Dr Balbir said the government was conducting awareness campaigns and had launched initiatives to encourage drug users to use fresh syringes to prevent HIV transmission. “Across the world and in the country, the most common mode of HIV transmission is unprotected sex, followed by the sharing of needles among drug users, but unfortunately, in Punjab, the trend has been reversed, with the use of syringes surpassing unprotected sex as the most common mode of transmission in several districts. Health officials attributed the increase partly to expanded screening across the state. She urged youngsters to shun the stigma associated with people living with HIV and not to discriminate against them.
According to the latest report released by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in May, 56% of newly detected HIV-positive cases in Punjab were attributed to the use of contaminated syringes by injecting drug users (IDUs). The state reported 12,435 HIV cases in 2024-25, with the number rising to 14,525 in 2025-26, according to Punjab government data.
Other modes of transmission include contaminated blood transfusions and perinatal (mother-to-child) transmission,” the minister said at the launch of the initiative. Sakhi Sawhney, project director of the Punjab State AIDS Control Society, said antiretroviral therapy (ART) centres had been mapped on Google Maps to make it easier for people to locate and access them.
