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Sanath made SAARC Goodwill Ambassador
Sri Lanka's star batsman Sanath Jayasuriya and actress Shabana Azmi were selected as SAARC Goodwill Ambassadors for the programme ‘Uniting for HIV AIDS’ by the selection committee at a meeting held at the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu recently.
From www.dailymirror.lk. -
Stage show and candlelight vigil help WAKE UP PUNE to support people living with HIV
“Aaiye, poori duniya ke saath sur mein sur milakar gayein… HIV positive logon ke saath haath se haath milaakar chalein.” [Let’s all come together and join hands with people living with HIV.]
That was the message delivered by Indian Idol winner Abhijeet Sawant to a crowd of thousands assembled at MG Road Walking Plaza on Sunday evening, gathered for a rally, a stage show and a candlelight vigil organised by the Wake Up Pune HIV/AIDS awareness campaign to show support for those living with and affected by HIV.
“Aur hamesha yaad rakhe, HIV/AIDS ki is jung main [always remember in the fight against HIV/AIDS]… Never give up, never forget!” added fellow Indian Idol star Amit Sana.
The spectacular show was the culmination of a week of events held in Pune to mark Global AIDS Week of Action 2008 (18-25 May). The week started on 18 May with special outdoor awareness events at Mariplex Mall and INOX Cineplex. These were followed by a ‘Positive Living and Sharing’ workshop on 20 May and a rally on 22 May to support and advocate the parliamentary HIV/AIDS Bill. -
Attitudinal Change towards Notions of Gender and Sexuality – South Asia
Dr. Avnish Jolly: South Asian region is going through an attitudinal change towards notions of gender and sexuality. In a recent democratic development in South Asia, Nepal became the first country elect an openly gay man working for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people as its representative in the Constituent Assembly.
This election followed another historic first by a South Asian country — a decision by the Nepali Supreme Court recognising LGBTI people as persons before the law.
From The India Post. -
Comic books with HIV+ heroes to hit stands
New Delhi: The latest comic books hitting the stands will have super heroes who are all HIV positive.
The comic book called O+Men has a team of nine superheroes who became HIV+ through unsafe sex, sharing syringes and through birth.
From IBN Live. -
’69’ restaurant joins forces with Wake Up Pune campaign
Pune, April 17: '69', the health food restaurant, with the tag-line 'Living Life in Every Breath' is opening up on April 19. 69 has opted to be one of the first HIV Positive restaurants in the city, taking the lead in supporting the Wake Up Pune campaign.
HIV Positive is positive about education, positive about awareness, positive about support as is the motto of the Wake Up Pune campaign, says a statement issued here.
From Indian Express. -
Is it time to give up the search for an AIDS vaccine?
After 25 years and billions of pounds, leading scientists are now forced to ask this question.
Most scientists involved in AIDS research believe that a vaccine against HIV is further away than ever and some have admitted that effective immunisation against the virus may never be possible, according to an unprecedented poll conducted by The Independent.
By Steve Connor and Chris Green, for the Independent. The survey can also be viewed online. -
Small blood banks to be closed
NEW DELHI: Small blood banks, collecting less than 1,000 units of blood annually from voluntary donors, will soon be shut down. They will instead function as mere blood storage units, which will be supplied with whole blood and blood components like plasma and platelets by highly sophisticated "mother banks", coming up in each of the four zones.
Each storage unit will then supply blood to hospitals and localities around it to ensure that even the country's most backward areas don't face shortage of the life-saving components.National Aids Control Organisations (NACO) estimates that over 15% of the 2,433 government and charitable blood banks will be converted.
From Times of India. -
Indians more prone to HIV-AIDS than others, says study
NEW DELHI: The biggest ever gene mapping exercise of the "people of India" has shown that Indians are more vulnerable to HIV-AIDS than many other population groups around the world. This is because a protective gene marker against HIV-1 is virtually absent in India, making the population more at risk.
Ashish Sinha, for Times of India. -
Maharashtra to reintroduce sex education
Children these days are exposed to sexual content everywhere - whether it's TV, magazines, or the Internet. But the irony is that the sex education is banned in many states.
Now, one year after protests by parents and politicians, the Maharashtra government is rethinking a sex education policy. They plan to introduce it in schools across the state.
Prerana Thakurdesai, for NDTV.com.
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