Reports on Clinton's India Visit

[Guest guest]

1) Clinton keeps his date with AIDS patients:-

2) Clinton announces AIDS initiative

3) Clinton has a busy schedule

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Clinton keeps his date with AIDS patients:-

New Delhi | May 26, 2005 7:26:11 PM IST

Former US President Bill Clinton today visited Ram Manohar Lohia

Hospital (RML) and interacted with AIDS patients and the hospital

staff here.

Clinton, who is on a three-day visit to India as special UN envoy,

said that doctors in India are doing a marvelous job in treating HIV

positive people and giving medications to the people who have AIDS.

" I have seen the health charts and they are doing remarkably well.

Most of these people are going to have a longer life span because of

what these staffers and nurses are doing, " Clinton told reporters

after his half-an-hour long interaction with the patients and the

hospital staff.

" You should be proud of what they are doing here and the public

should support their efforts, " he said.

Clinton also saw the register which was maintained for AIDS patients

and talked to the counselor about the kind of support being provided

to the patients.

Dr. B.B. Rewari, senior physician at RML and focal person for

conducting the visit, said that Clinton was impressed with the kind

of treatment being provided to AIDS patients in India.

" He wasn't sure whether the records, which are maintained in India,

are kept in the US, " Rewari said.

Ram Lakhan, 36, one of the AIDS patients who talked to the former US

president, said that Clinton was a very warm person and that he was

happy to meet a person of his stature.

Ram Lakhan wants to open an NGO 'Jagriti Support Group' and Clinton

said that the citizens of India should support people like him.

Earlier in the day Clinton had said that urgent steps were required

to train medical personnel to treat AIDS patients failing which

millions out there are going to die.

" AIDS is 100 per cent preventable disease...Yet 8000 people die

every day, " he said launching an initiative of his foundation with

the assistance of state-owned National AIDS Control Organisation

(NACO) to train 1.5 lakh private sector doctors in HIV/AIDS care and

treatment over the year. (ANI)

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Clinton announces AIDS initiative

Toufiq Rashid

New Delhi, May 26: FORMER US President Bill Clinton, on a two-day

visit to the Capital, met doctors and CII members today and

discussed the seriousness of the AIDS situation in the country. He

also met PM Manmohan Singh and senior government officials, before

leaving for tsunami-affected areas in Tamil Nadu.

At Taj Palace Hotel's Darbar Mahal, Clinton announced a joint

initiative of the Clinton Foundation and NACO to provide training in

AIDS care and treatment to over 150,000 doctors in the country.

Warning that HIV/AIDS is fast spreading in countries like India and

China, Clinton emphasised the importance of the initiative. ``AIDS

is a 100 per cent preventable disease and treatment can prolong

life. Yet 8,000 people die every day,'' he said. While meeting

doctors, he stressed the need for adequate training.

Clinton said the availability of affordable medicines and trained

medical personnel are ``two big barriers'' in the way of speedy and

effective treatment of AIDS patients. He also expressed concern over

the spread of the disease among children. ``Our aim is to ensure

that there is no shortfall in Anti-Retroviral Drugs for children.

Our aim is to bring the treatment cost from $500 per year to $200,''

he added.

Clinton visited RML Hospital — one of two hospitals in the Capital

that provide patients ART — and met counsellors and AIDS patients

there.

In a three-hour session with the CII, Clinton encouraged the

industry to be pro-active and help control the AIDS epidemic. He

also stressed the need for a workplace policy on AIDS.

NACO director general Dr S.Y. Qureshi has asked Clinton to be

a ``mentor of the organisation''.

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Clinton has a busy schedule

Statesman News Service

NEW DELHI, May 26. — The day two of former US President Mr Bill

Clinton was solely focussed on HIV/AIDS, meetings with Indian

leaders and a visit to a local hospital. Of course post-tsunami

reconstruction, the main purpose of his trip also figured, though

that will come into sharper focus in Tamil Nadu tomorrow.

The charisma of the former President cannot be camouflaged. Even

when dealing with something as horrific as HIV/AIDS, it was a most

camera-friendly Bill Clinton charming 50-odd medicos and others with

an unassuming smile. The countless shutterbugs crammed behind the

chairs in the conference hall couldn't have been happier. The former

US President gestured dramatically and did a thumbs up as well! Then

it was down to business most serious.

Mr Clinton was inaugurating a programme to train 150,000 private

sector doctors from all corners of the country as part of the

Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative. When it comes to HIV/AIDS,

he says, he is most worried about India. " This is because India has

a rapid-growing economy, large number of people are packed in small

spaces and there is too much social stigma. " He cited examples of

Brazil and South Africa in combating the deadly disease.

The need of the hour is adequate medical infrastructure and

universal access to medication. There are 5.1 million HIV-affected

in India, in the age group of 20 and 35. The sensitisation programme

is absolutely essential keeping in mind the fact that we are now

dealing with second generation HIV patients. The Foundation under an

MoU with the Centre, is assisting National Aids Control Organisation

in scaling up the national anti-retroviral treatment programme.

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