Lucknow: Over 200 condom vending machines to be installed in city

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Over 200 condom vending machines to be installed in city

24 Nov 2008,

LUCKNOW: Feeling embarrassed while buying a pack of condoms will be passe. UP

State AIDS Control Society has made arrangements for installing 250 condom

vending machines in the capital as part of their plans to promote safe sex

drives.

An information to this effect was given by project director, SP Goyal. " It has

been seen that despite all the awareness, people still hesitate in asking for

condoms from the medical stores. The result is that they take the risk, which is

not good. Condom vending machine would be a good zero-embarrassment option, " he

said.

These machines will be installed at common places in the city. The spots include

malls, cinema halls, market places, hospitals among others. As a part of the

same drive, around 350 condom vending machines will be installed in Kanpur too.

If another scheme materialises, HIV positive and AIDS inflicted persons will not

have to travel long distances to anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centres for their

medicines. They distance has been shortened by way of a link-ART centre, which

will come up in 30 districts of the state. As of now, there are about half a

dozen ART centres scattered in urban areas.

" Reaching the centre is an expensive affair and so patients skip the treatment,

which causes morbidity and eventual death. Link centres would help sustaining

the treatment and improving quality of life of HIV positive affected, " shared a

member of UP network for positive persons.

" Once the link centres are in place, patients enrolled at ART centre, can take

their routine medicines from the link centre, " said Goyal.

Bullets:

- Estimates made by the National AIDS Control Society (NACO), there are 23.30

lakh HIV positive persons in India.

- Their population in the state stands at 1.8 lakh.

over, only 36,579 have been identified for treatment.

Lucknow: Officials at UPSACS informed that several programmes had been organised

in view of the AIDS awareness week to be observed in the first week of December.

The activities will with a mass media campaign starting November 25. It will be

followed by workshop on authors on November 26 and badminton tournament on

November 27.

A painting and slogan writing competition will be held on November 28 while

November 30 will see a fete and candle light procession. The events will ends

with a mini marathon on December 1 which is observed as AIDS awareness day

across the globe.

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