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Educating pilgrims about AIDS
ALLAHABAD: `Ham rahenge to dharm rahega, hum nahin to dharm nahin',
(existence of religion is synonymous with the existence of human
lives) is the catchphrase of a group of volunteers of a social outfit Prayagraj
Seva Samiti which has taken upon the mantles of educating the
multitudes visiting the Magh Mela about the evils of the Aquired
Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and persuade them to desist from
using polythene in their endeavour to keep the river pollution free.
"Undertaking such a signature campaign in the Sangam area on the
occasion of Magh Mela would definitely have reverberations throughout
the country in the backdrop of the fact that the annual Magh Mela is
a reflection of Mini India," said convenor Teerthraj Pandey while
talking to TOI.Mrigank Tiwari, for Times of India
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College sacks four hostel staff for testing positive for HIV
CHENNAI: In these days of recession, pink slips are not uncommon. But a well-known college in Tamil Nadu's a southern district of Dindigul, sacked four of its hostel staff -- cooks and kitchen assistants -- because they tested HIV positive.
The incident which smacks of discrimination has snatched four staff members, including a woman, of their livelihood. They are now either working as daily wage coolies in fields and on construction sites or desperately searching for jobs.
Jaya Menon, for Times Of India -
No doctors for 6 HIV+ patients
Two have gallstones, one is carrying a steel rod inside one of his legs and three are suffering from inflamed appendix, hernia and renal calculi. But no surgeon in Bihar is coming forward to operate on them. The reason: All of them are HIV positive patients.
The six, four from Patna and one each from Munger and Nawadah, have been turned down during the last six months by the district hospitals of Munger and Nawada and even the medical college hospital in Patna.Binod Dubey, for Hindustan Times
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‘Test all prisoners for HIV’
MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday ordered the Maharashtra government to conduct voluntary counselling and HIV testing for its 7,000 jail inmates incarcerated in the four central prisons in Thane, Yerwada, Nashik and Amravati. The campaign is part of a massive exercise to assess the prevalence of HIV in jails across the state.
Shibu Thomas, for Times of India -
Social stigma, ignorance still plague HIV-positive people
NGOs believe talking about the disease will generate greater
awareness; groups focus on financial help, too
New Delhi: Imagine a 13-year-old having to live in a hovel outside a
village where he suffers complete isolation as an outcast, with his
mother leaving him food at a safe distance.
This scene from a medieval nightmare was enacted in modern day India,
as ignorance on HIV/AIDS continues to drive how society deals with
people afflicted with it.Taru Bahl for, livemint.com
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Govt, state hospitals seen as better bet for HIV treatments
Govt, state hospitals seen as better bet for HIV treatmentsPrivate hospitals are known to turn away HIV-positive people even though they may be better equipped
New Delhi: All roads lead to state clinics and hospitals when it comes to HIV/AIDS, even as lack of experts and fears on safety seem to constrain most private establishments.
"I would always recommend a (HIV) positive person to visit a government hospital. They are well trained...and there is a clear standard operating procedure... More importantly, first line medication is free of cost," says Loon Gangte of the Delhi Network of Positive People. "In private clinics, they will prescribe you expensive drugs, or at times even give wrong prescription, or put you straight on second-line treatment."
Radhieka Pandeya, for livemint.com -
Condoms Trump Abstinence in Obama Global AIDS Policy, Aide Says
President-elect Barack Obama will reverse U.S. family planning and AIDS prevention strategies that have long linked global funding to anti-abortion and abstinence education, a public-health adviser said.
Public health policies of President George W. Bush's $45- billion PEPFAR program have brought AIDS drugs to almost 3 million people in poor countries such as Rwanda and Uganda, more than under any other president. Still, requirements that health workers emphasize abstinence from sex and monogamy over condom use have set back sexually transmitted disease prevention and family planning globally, said Susan F. Wood, co-chairman of Obama's advisory committee for women's health.
AWID -
National Orientation cum Training Program on Blood Safety Begins at Chandigarh
Manoj Godara, Chandigarh, 18th December, 2008 :An Orientation cum Training program on Blood safety, jointly hosted by State AIDS Control Society, Chandigarh and Blood Transfusion Council, Chandigarh, is on the go at hotel Aroma from 18 to 20 December, 2008 under National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) of GOI.
The conference includes the Program officers of 17 states who have congregated to deliberate on the National Blood Policy (NBP) and communicate various programs under NACP- III. Though, the focus will be essentially on discussing the various activities carried out by the delegates in their respective states with regard to safe blood donations. The representatives will be taken for a field visit to various blood banks in the Tricity. Chandigarh has been spotted as the conference venue by NACO (National AIDS Control Organization) because of its exemplary contribution in blood donation.
The India Post -
HIV Patient Becomes Role Model
She was once shunned by the people in her village in Kotangipatti Union in the district, as she was afflicted by HIV. But the 29 year old Easwari, now a panchayat councillor, has become a role model to guide women afflicted with AIDS.
When she filed the nomination papers for contesting in the general ward, many in the village coerced her to withdraw her papers giving a series of reasons like she would not be able to function effectively, her life span was doubtful and people would not mingle with her.
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