Vedanta to sign AIDS-help MoU

BHUBANESWAR, Dec. 1: Vedanta Aluminium, Lanjigarh has become the first private sector industrial house in Orissa to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Orissa State AIDS Control Society (OSACS) to join hands in the fight to combat HIV/AIDS. As per the MoU, the dispensary at the Niyamgiri Vedanta Nagar (rehabilitation colony) of the company will act as an Integrated Counseling and Training Centre (ICTC) under a public-private partnership arrangement between the company and OSACS, a press statement stated. The centre will deliver quality counseling and testing support to all those who come to it voluntarily, informed Dr. Sabita Swain, chief medical officer, Vedanta Aluminium. OSACS will provide test kits for testing and training to doctors and paramedical staff for delivering quality counseling and testing services to all the stakeholders as per guidelines of National AIDS Control Organization (Naco), she said. “This will set a new trend in Orissa’s fight against the epidemic. The community members in our periphery, truckers and migrant workers shall be benefited by the ICTC”, said Dr Mukesh Kumar, chief operating officer, Vedanta Aluminium adding that the proposed ICTC will cater to the needs of a population of around 50,000. n SNS ---thestatesman.net