Bihar: Move to make policemen aware of AIDS

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Move to make policemen aware of AIDS

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2002 3:02:48 AM ]

PATNA: The Bihar State Aids Control Society (BSACS) has sought co-

operation from director general of police (DGP) R R Prasad for

launching an Aids awareness campaign among policemen in districts.

This follows the reported death of 40 policemen in Maharashtra

allegedly due to Aids.

BSACS project director C K Anil has also sent to the DGP a newspaper

clipping carrying the report on the death of 40 Maharashtra policemen

due to the dreaded disease. The report says incidence of Aids/HIV

among policemen is on the rise in Maharashtra with 202 of them

getting infected with it.

Anil, in a communication to Prasad on January 12, said that the BSACS

held Aids/HIV awareness camps at the headquarters of different

battalions of the Bihar military police (BMP) between August and

December, including those at Patna, Gaya and Dehri-on-Sone.

Anil urged Prasad to direct all the SPs to co-operate with the BSACS

in this endeavour.

The BSACS has also decided to launch a programme for sex workers and

transport workers operating on national highways in the state besides

starting counselling through telephone. It has invited applications

from voluntary organisations in this regard and will hold a high-

level meeting with them between February 12 and 14.

Anil said sex workers have to be motivated to put pressure on their

clients to use condoms for safe sex. Sex workers fear that the number

of their clients would come down if they start putting pressure on

them to use condoms, he added.

The state government, following a directive from the Union health

ministry, has formed an umbrella society in all the 38 districts to

implement various national health programmes for control of Aids,

kala-azar, polio, malaria etc instead of having separate district-

level societies for implementation of different health programmes.

All the district-level societies have been merged into one, Anil said.

BSACS sources said so far 107 Aids cases have been detected in Bihar.

The BSACS is, however, unlikely to achieve the target for

distribution of free condoms among people, particularly those in high-

risk groups, during the current financial year. Against the target of

10 lakh, the BSACS has so far distributed only 1.5 lakh condoms. Anil

said condoms are being rushed to all the primary health centres for

free distribution during the fortnight-long family health awareness

campaign beginning from February 14.

The BSACS recently received Rs 1 crore from the National Aids Control

Organisation for implementing Aids/HIV control schemes in the state.

Last year, it had received more than Rs 7 crore of which it has spent

only Rs 3.5 crore so far.

(sachchidatoi@...)

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