Collector inaugurates IEC intensified campaign 2026 in Salem

Salem District Collector K. Elambahavath inaugurated the Intensified Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign 2026 and an awareness rally on Tuesday (August 18, 2026).

The National AIDS Control Organisation launched the campaign nationwide. It will be held from August 12 to October 12, 2026. The two-month long drive aims to create awareness among administration, government-aided and private students about HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, treatment and ending social stigma.

On Tuesday, the Collector and City Police Commissioner K. Joshi Nirmal Kumar inaugurated the awareness rally and signature campaign. More than 500 students participated in the rally which travelled via the Thiruvalluvar Statue, the Corporation Office, and the Government Hospital and reached the Collectorate.

Speaking after the inauguration, the Collector stated that in the Gram Sabha meetings held on August 15, the staff of Tamil Nadu State Aids Control Society (TANSACS) participated in creating awareness and administering an awareness pledge to the public on the prevention of HIV/AIDS. Camps will be conducted through the mobile vehicle of TANSACS, and HIV, syphilis, and other tests will be taken.

Likewise, awareness programmes will be conducted through autorickshaws in Omalur, Sankari, Mettur, and Attur taluks. Media cultural events will be held for 16 days in places where HIV impacts are high. Similarly, through the Integrated Children Development Services (ICDS), awareness will be raised among the anganwadi workers and village panchayat members at the taluk level, the Collector added.