Bend it like Beckam: AIDS awareness in Kerala

[Guest guest]

AIDS awareness: State to bend it like Beckam

Friday August 13 2004 00:00 IST

KOCHI: Ace striker I.M.Vijayan and Excise Minister K.V. will

sport the jersey to bring greater awareness on HIV/AIDS and to drive

home the message that the disease will not spread by touching or

sharing food.

The State Government is chalking out a School AIDS Policy in the

backdrop of recent incidents of discrimination against children of

HIV/AIDS patients. The Kerala State Aids Control Society (KSACS) has

also included a module on AIDS awareness in the Family Life

Education programme in schools.

A joint initiative of the Centre for Advanced Projects and Solutions

(CAPS) and professional football club VIVA Kerala, the `match as

message' game will be held at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium on

August 16 at 2.30 p.m.

HIV positive siblings Akshara and Ananthu who faced discrimination

during school admission in Kannur recently will inaugurate the

friendly match between the Minister's Eleven headed by K.V.

and I.M.Vijayan's VIVA Eleven. Both the teams will have

representation from HIV infected persons from across the State,

besides MLAs, bureaucrats, film television and sports stars.

Bharat Bhushan, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, told

reporters here on Thursday that a football match involving

celebrities and HIV-infected persons will be helpful in removing lot

of misconceptions regarding AIDS. ``Football involves lot of body

contact. We want to sent out a message that playing together and

sharing food do not spread AIDS,'' he said. He said though awareness

levels regarding HIV/AIDS are high in Kerala, people have not been

able to overcome social indifference and prejudices.

KSACS Dy Director M.Prasanna Kumar said the Government is also

planning to provide Anti Retro Viral (ARV) drugs free of cost to

AIDS patients in the State. ``ARV drugs will be provided to patients

through the five medical colleges in the State,'' he said.

The Government has allotted Rs 1.65 crore for the project which is

expected to benefit around 1500 AIDS patients. The Government is

also planning to provide special drugs to pregnant women with HIV to

prevent spread of the disease from mother to child. Currently,

nearly 50 percent of the HIV affected children die before attaining

the age of five.

http://www.newindpress.com/Newsitems.asp?

ID=IER20040812122100 & Title=Kerala & Topic=0

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A football match for a noble cause

KOCHI, AUG. 12. It will be a football match with a difference. Leading sports

stars, officials and local celebrities will play a friendly football match at

the Rajiv Gandhi indoor stadium here on August 16 to mobilise public opinion

about HIV and AIDS-infected people.

The Kerala Excise Minister K.V. and former Indian captain I.M. Vijayan

will lead the two teams in the match, jointly organised by Kerala's new

professional club Viva Kerala and the Kochi-based NGO, Centre for Advanced

Projects and Solutions (CAPS).

The players include FIDE vice-president, P.T. Ummer Koya, former football

internationals, C.C. , M.M. and K. Babu, MLA. There will be a few

HIV/AIDS-affected players in both the teams.

" I was a district-level footballer during my sub-junior days and I often

received tips from Olympian Rehman, " revealed Mr. Koya, who is also the

secretary of the All India Chess Federation, here on Thursday.

The one-hour match, which will begin at 3 p.m., will be played indoors, under

lights. — Our Principal Correspondent

http://www.hindu.com/2004/08/13/stories/2004081303391600.htm

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Removing the stigma of AIDS

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, AUG. 16. It was a different game altogether; there was no restriction on

the number of participants. And, it was star-studded. There were well known

faces in sports, politics and films. All had come together to remove the stigma

of HIV/AIDS.

A football match was held on the occasion, led by the former international

footballer from the State, I.M. Vijayan, and the Minister for Excise and

Fisheries, K.V. . Well- known coaches, a number of sportspersons from

different fields, sports officials and politicians along with people with HIV+

status played the match at the Rajiv Gandhi indoor stadium in Kochi. During the

second half of the match, youngsters from the show biz world joined the

Minister's eleven. Siddharth, Ajay , Reji V. Nair, Arun, Vinayakan, Unni

Sivapal were some of them.

The celebrity match was aimed at spreading the message of bringing HIV+ children

into the mainstream of society.

The one-hour match was organised by the Centre for Advanced Projects and

Solutions (CAPS), an NGO working for AIDS awareness and the football club, VIVA

Kerala FC. The two children from Kannur, Akshara and Ananthu, who were recently

the victims of society's misconceptions, inaugurated the programme. School

children from the city cheered the participants.

Targeted intervention

The Kerala State AIDS Control Society (KSACS) has started its targeted

intervention programmes to check the spread of AIDS after running the awareness

programme for about four years or so.

Over the years, when children of infected parents reached school, the awareness

bubble burst. People refuse to acknowledge the awareness programmes about how

the disease is transmitted. Quite a few cases of children being discriminated

against and being refused admission to schools have turned the clock backwards,

said an official of the NGO.

With a new initiative, the KSACS along with the non-governmental organisations

working in this field brought in celebrities to give voice to its campaign.

http://www.hindu.com/2004/08/17/stories/2004081717180300.htm