Students’ rally, road show mark World Aids Day

Before the rally, a street play describing the ills of AIDS and its prevention was presented by members of the AIDS council.

In the evening, a play based on a real life story about a girl, who after contracting the disease from her husband, was thrown out by her in-laws, was staged.

Addressing the gathering, Punjab Health Minister Manoranjan Kalia announced an AIDS awareness project for the rural women of the state. He said the PSACS today started a two-week campaign for AIDS awareness in nine districts of the state.

Roopnagar Civil Surgeon Dr R.S. Sagoo said 15 such camps will be held in the district starting from tomorrow, in which people of all strata will be examined for various Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

AIDS awareness should be a joint effort: ADC
Panchkula: "We must all share the responsibility to create AIDS awareness among our fellow beings, especially the rural population which is the least informed as far as this diseases concerned." This was stated today by Additional Deputy Commissioner Sukriti Likhi, while speaking at the district-level function organised at the General Hospital here on the occasion of the World AIDS Day today.

Likhi also sought the cooperation of government officials, social organisations and doctors to make the week-long family health awareness campaign a success by focussing the attention of the people on the causes and effects of AIDS. The campaign will be launched tommorow, she said.

She said the Haryana AIDS Control Society, which would launch the campaign, has already made special arrangements to acquaint the rural population with the same. She said lady doctors had been deputed to apprise women about the disease so that they are not inhibited in seeking answers to all their queries about AIDS.

Civil Surgeon Dr H.C. Nagpal, while speaking on the occasion, said about 40 lakh people in our country were suffering from AIDS and 43 per cent of them were women. Preventive measures alone could save one from this deadly disease, he added.

District Health Officer Dr S.P. Bharadwaj, while addressing the gathering, talked about the modes of its transmission, symptoms and the attitude of the society towards AIDS patients.

Meanwhile, to curb HIV transmission, the Environment Society of Haryana today started a campaign against the use of unsafe injections by the traditional medical practitioners in Ambala and Panchkula.