Guest guest Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 A walk of (for) life They number around 30 and belong to different states. After covering hundreds of kilometres by walk as part of their 6000-km campaign to promote awareness on AIDS they arrived here last week. Of the 30, some of them are HIV-positive men while the rest are students and socially conscious people from various walks of life. They embarked on the marathon campaign & #65533; 'AIDS Walk For Life' on 1 December last year from Raj Ghat, New Delhi, to educate the teeming millions in the country about the nature of HIV/AIDS and how to stop its spread. Crossing cities, towns, and villages. the participants covering about 20km every day, arrived in the metro after traversing through 13 States. They will be in Tamilnadu till 24 May before moving on to Andhra Pradesh. They make use of street theatre, videos and educational material in support of their campaign. Clad in T-shirts and caps displaying AIDS awareness messages, they carry placards and posters and distribute pamphlets highlighting the ways to 'prevent AIDS'. There is also a health van providing general medical care as well as counselling on AIDS, besides giving information about where one could go for HIV testing. The walk has been organised by Project Concern International (PCI). Kavita Chandok, project manager, PCI India, Salem, said 'this is just an attempt to take proper information of HIV/AIDS to the length and breadth of the country'. The PCI organised a function on the Marina Grounds here yesterday. Speaking on the occasion, R. Nataraj, Chennai City Police Commissioner, said, 'we are implementing the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act together with NGOs and other volunteers for its enforcement. We rescue women involved in prostitution and suffering from sexually transmitted diseases and restore them to their families'. Bimal , epidemologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global AIDS programme/India, said, 'Our first and foremost responsibility is to stop this (AIDS) from spreading. People from all walks of life have to do something. If not, 10 years down the line, we will find more orphans and more sick children . A multi-sectoral and comprehensive response is necessary to tackle HIV/AIDS, and there must be sustained action'. K Manivasan, project director, Chennai AIDS Prevention and Control Society, said the focus should be on preventing transmission of the disease from parent to child, and more centres should be set up to address this particular issue http://newstodaynet.com/17may/rf3.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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