Armed Forces Enroll Wives in Fighting HIV/AIDS

June 12, 2007

ARMED FORCES ENROLL WIVES IN FIGHTING HIV/AIDS

Can an injury caused due to a syringe used on an AIDS patient infect

the injured with HIV? No, it won't. Because HIV must enter your body

in sufficient quantity for you to get infected. That's another reason

why it is almost impossible to get infected with HIV from a barber's

razor. Is it true most of the women infected with HIV are

prostitutes? Myth again! Most women infected with HIV are housewives

and a majority of them, over 70 percent in fact, get it through their

husbands.

Revealing facts like the ones above are samples from a set of 40 Q & As

included in a three booklet set and a CD released by Surgeon Vice-

Admiral Yogendra Singh, Director General, Armed Forces Medical

Services (AFMS) in New Delhi today. The booklets and the CD were

distributed to more than 100 participants at a workshop for Armed

Forces Wives Welfare Associations. The participants, wives of serving

soldiers, drawn from the three services, will form Peer Group

Leaders, who will disseminate awareness on HIV/AIDS among peer groups

of about 20 wives of soldiers in the field units.

The rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in the armed forces has alarmed

authorities. Since the first detection of HIV in a soldier returning

from a UN mission in 1992, the virus has affected 0.028 percent of

the forces' strength, a statement laid before parliament last year

said. 104 HIV-infected soldiers were discharged from service in 2004

alone. The workshop and the focus on Peer Group among wives of

soldiers is part of a thrust programme in the armed forces to combat

HIV/AIDS, the enemy within the ranks.

Underlining the role women could play in checking HIV spread, Admiral

Singh motivated soldiers' wives to create awareness and combat the

menace. " The youthful, exuberant and aggressive attitude of our

troops combined with the long separation from families and high

mobility has compounded the risks faced by them, " Admiral Singh said

in his inaugural address to the two-day workshop.

Mrs. Anupama Singh, Mrs Mehta and Mrs. Zareen Major,

Presidents of Wives Welfare Associations of Army, Navy and Air Force

respectively are attending the workshop. It has been organized by

AFMS and the US Pacifc Command, in association with two NGOs—SOMA

India and Partners in Development Initiatives (PDI).

PK/SK

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