Shillong, Aug 13: Meghalaya can’t afford silence anymore.
The Meghalaya AIDS Control Society unveiled updated data on Wednesday for Intensified IEC Campaign 3.0, flagged off at Lady Keane College, here today, and the numbers are a wake-up call.
in just three months, April to June 2026, MACS detected 558 new HIV-positive cases in the general population. In the same period, 60 pregnant women tested positive. That’s 618 people in 90 days — 618 families who now need testing, treatment, counselling, and most of all, dignity.
Zoom out and the picture is bigger. As per the HIV Estimation Report 2025, 9,244 People Living with HIV call Meghalaya home. MACS is urging every media house to stick to these verified figures. “Facts save,” a senior official said. “Panic spreads when numbers don’t.”
So, the response is going loud, local, and relentless.
IEC 3.0 isn’t a poster campaign. It’s a statewide movement built to reach people where they live, study, work and celebrate.
In schools and colleges: 3,000 school sessions and 85 college sessions will target young people early, because stigma grows where knowledge is missing.
In villages:1,026 village-level meetings will put doctors, counsellors and community leaders in the same room as families, breaking myths in the local dialect.
On the streets: 30 folk performances and 30 flash mobs will turn health messages into music and movement. Ten pop-up awareness booths across districts will offer instant information and referrals.
At home: 15,000 households will be covered door-to-door, so no question goes unasked out of fear or shame.
In hospitals: 12 special camps in government facilities will focus on testing, counselling and immediate linkage to ART.
Why the urgency? Two gaps stand out. First, late testing. Second, missed prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Both are fixable. Antiretroviral therapy works. Taken consistently, it helps people live full lives and slashes transmission risk. But only if people know their status early and are supported without judgment.
That’s the heart of IEC 3.0. Not fear. Access.
From a village square in West Garo Hills to a college hall in Shillong, from a folk song in Jaintia to a flash mob in Tura, the goal is identical: get the right information, in the right language, to the right person, at the right time.
MACS is pulling in teachers, nurses, ASHAs, musicians and local influencers because in Meghalaya, culture and community are the strongest messengers. The Society has also reaffirmed confidentiality for everyone who tests positive, stronger counselling support, and priority PPTCT services for pregnant women to protect both mother and child.
This is about more than statistics. 9,244 people are already living with HIV in the state. Another 618 joined that number last quarter. Each one deserves care, not whispers. Each one deserves truth, not stigma.
MACS’ ask is direct:
To the public — Get tested. Know your status. Start treatment early if needed.
To the media — Use verified data. Tell human stories. Help turn awareness into action.
With 1,026 villages, 3,085 schools and colleges, 60 cultural events, 10 pop-ups, 15,000 homes and 12 hospital camps activated, Meghalaya is making one bet: that awareness, delivered with empathy, can outrun the virus.
Test. Talk. Treat. That’s the message now echoing across the hills.
