Varanasi Becomes UP’s Only ‘Saksham’ District in NACO HIV-Care Assessment

Varanasi: Varanasi has been classified as the only “Saksham” district in Uttar Pradesh in the latest district-level HIV-care assessment reported from the National AIDS Control Organisation portal. The designation reflects progress on diagnosis and viral suppression, while also showing that one major link in the treatment chain still requires work.

The assessment uses a 95-95-99 framework. The first target is for at least 95 per cent of the estimated people living with HIV to know their status. The second is for 95 per cent of diagnosed people to be linked to antiretroviral therapy. The third seeks viral suppression in 99 per cent of people receiving treatment.

Under the classification described by health officials, a district meeting one parameter is “Sangharsheel,” two is “Saksham,” and all three is “Surakshit.” Varanasi met the first and third parameters. That makes the recognition meaningful, but it should not be presented as if the district has completed every target.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Mukesh Kumar credited a network that includes the state AIDS control society, testing and counselling centres, the ART centre, sexually transmitted infection services, opioid-substitution treatment, targeted-intervention teams, community organisations and clinical staff. District TB officer and DISHA in-charge Dr Piyush Rai said the review followed revised NACO guidelines and a state workshop held in Lucknow on 18 June.

The second parameter—linking diagnosed patients to ART—is where the public-health system must concentrate. A diagnosis without prompt treatment can be lost between counselling, travel, stigma, work schedules and shortages of documents. District teams should identify where patients drop out without exposing names, then bring refills and follow-up closer to the communities that need them.

Viral suppression is both an individual health outcome and a prevention achievement. With sustained, effective treatment, the amount of virus in the blood can become so low that sexual transmission does not occur. That message should be communicated accurately because it encourages testing and treatment while challenging fear-based stigma.

Privacy remains essential. Rankings can motivate institutions, but no campaign should identify a patient, reveal a clinic visit or pressure people to test publicly. Voluntary, confidential services and respectful counselling are what make strong statistics possible.

Varanasi’s classification is a milestone, not a finish line. The district should publish its next improvement plan, protect uninterrupted medicine supply and measure how quickly a newly diagnosed person enters care. Reaching “Surakshit” will require closing that middle gap so that awareness of status consistently becomes treatment—and treatment consistently becomes a healthy life.