NACO Full Form

What is the full form of NACO?

NACO stands for the National AIDS Control Organisation. It is a government department under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Government made up NACO for the application of the programme of National AIDS control programme (NACP) to avert and control HIV/AIDS in India and also to implement the policies and programmes under NACP.

Objectives of NACO

Managing the national AIDS control programme that is strongly grounded in evidence-based planning led to the Broadcast of transparent estimates on the spread and prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases in India and changing India where every person is safe from HIV/AIDS and tries to build partnerships with various NGOs and medical groups.

Ensuring that every person has correct or proper knowledge about the spread of HIV contributes towards barring the stigma and demarcation in society faced by the contagious person and building India where every pregnant woman living with HIV gets the choice to bring an HIV-free baby into the world.

To Transform India, where every person has access to Integrated Counseling & Testing Centres (ICTCs) and Assuring that every person living with HIV has access to quality care and is treated with respect and ensure that every person who is highly vulnerable to HIV heard and reached out to such centers and public places freely.

Policies and Guidelines of NACO

Till now, there is no vaccine or medicine for HIV/AIDS disease. Proper knowledge and awareness are the best ways to prevent HIV/AIDS from spreading further. NACO has set up the following National AIDS control policies for effectively controlling the epidemic in India: Generation of awareness among the population, Condom promotion to prevent the spreading of infections because of neglectfulness, Prevention of parent-to-child transmission and enhancing ICTC services in every part of India. Promotion of voluntary blood donation camps and access to safe blood, the public policy on blood banks assures the delivery of safe blood to indigent citizens.

Programs of NACO

Here are some initiatives that NACO take to prevent HIV spread in the country: NACO, along with drug control authorities, conducts joint surveillance of blood bank licensing and aims to prevent transfusion-transmitted HIV infections caused by infected blood and this will be achieved by the safe blood donation activities, such as blood testing and reporting. It undertakes HIV estimations every two years in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Medical Statistics (NIMS). NACO approved the TeachAIDS curriculum in 2010 for India as it was an innovation that provided HIV/AIDS education in schools and taught about it to students.

NACO and other organizations also supporting the HIV/AIDS programme conducted an event called “Hijra Habba” to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS in transgender people as well.

Function of ICTC

The primary function of ICTC is to conduct HIV diagnostic tests in the country and also provide information about how to avoid it and what might be the changes in the body that make you vulnerable. It also suggests the prevention, care and other steps that one needs to take.

Apart from it, they provide information about other contagious diseases like AIDS and tuberculosis and how to prevent ourselves from such diseases, too. They also provide information about treatment services and other available options to treat it.

Achievement of NACP III

NACP was a period from 2007 to 2012, which shows a significant improvement in the condition and here are some outcomes of it: Counseling and testing services increased up to 74% and achieved a target of 22 million, around 5 million condoms distributed/sold, ensuring a safe supply of blood in every district of India and also tries to connect with the public through mass media, interpersonal communications, print media, etc.

But certain changes occur while shifting from NACP III to NACP IV, like

Earlier focussed on prevention and care, but later it shifted toward social support and changing people's mindset about it. Earlier focussing on the general population, but now it's more on vulnerable and unprivileged populations.

Participants in the program

From the Government side NACO, the Ministry of Railway, Defense and Child and Development, and UN agencies like UNDP, UNAIDS, ILO, UNICEF and Civil Society also played an important role in raising awareness among the population.