********************************************************** SAATHII Electronic Newsletter HIV NEWS FROM INDIA SOURCE: The Deccan Herald, The Hindu, www.kanglaonline.com, www.firstscience.com, www.zokuomtongthai.blogspot.com, www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com, www.merinews.com, www.xpress4me.com, The Times of India, www.emaxhealth.com. Posted on: 04/10/2007 COMPILED BY: Randhir Kumar, B. Vilasini, and L. Ramakrishnan SAATHII Chennai office. Note: this compilation contains news items about HIV/AIDS published in the Indian media, as well as articles relevant to HIV/AIDS in India published internationally. Articles in this and previous newsletters may also be accessed at http://www.saathii.org/orc/elibrary =============================================================== 1. Manual help to fight AIDS (Bangalore) The Deccan Herald, September 10, 2007. http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Sep82007/she2007090723976.asp 2. Ranbaxy gets WHO approval for three anti-HIV drugs (Chennai) The Hindu, September 11, 2007 http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/484200709101521.htm 3. HIV diagnosis of infants to be possible soon (Imphal) www.kanglaonline.com, September 11, 2007. http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=39257&typeid=1 4. Global Health Project targets reducing AIDS among India's adolescents (Tampa) www.firstscience.com, September 13, 2007. http://www.firstscience.com/home/news/medicine-and-health/global-health-project-targets-reducing-aids-among-india-s-adolescents_36309.html 5. Extramarital Sex Spreading HIV/AIDS in Mizoram (Aizawl) India eNews, September 13, 2007. http://www.indiaenews.com/health/20070903/68338.htm 6. Policy Released for Children Affected with AIDS (Mumbai) www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com, September 13, 2007. http://www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/200709/market07.shtml 7. HIV/AIDS Patients And Second-line Anti-Retrovirals In India (Kolkata) www.merinews.com, September 13, 2007. http://www.1888pressrelease.com/hiv-aids-patients-and-second-line-anti-retrovirals-in-india-pr-6122z4lpf.html 8. HIV/AIDS: Triumph Of Human Spirit (Dubai) www.xpress4me.com, September 13, 2007. http://www.xpress4me.com/news/international/india/20003133.html 9. AIDS awareness camps in city schools (Patna) The Times of India, September 15, 2007. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/AIDS_awareness_camps_in_city_schools/articleshow/2370735.cms 10. HIV Cases Declining Among Military Personnel In India (India) www.emaxhealth.com, September 16, 2007. http://www.emaxhealth.com/53/15936.html =============================================================== 1. Manual help to fight AIDS (Bangalore) The Deccan Herald, September 10, 2007. http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Sep82007/she2007090723976.asp Bangalore: Manual help to fight AIDS When Venkatamma, 17, was abandoned by her husband, she had no option but to work to support herself and her newborn daughter. Being poor, young and single, she was an easy target for pimps. However, despite being forced to have sexual relations with several men at the construction site in Hyderabad where she worked, Venkatamma did not raise her voice for fear of losing her job. However, when she started keeping unwell, Venkatamma went to the doctor, who told her that she was HIV+. Although stunned and confused, Venkatamma hoped her family would support her. But there, too, she was in for a huge disappointment. Instead of helping her to come to terms with the news, her brother threw her out of the house and even stopped her from meeting her daughter. If this story sounds familiar, it is because there are many women like Venkatamma who, due to their low status and inability to negotiate safe sex, are vulnerable to contr acting HIV. According to the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), 39 per cent of the total number of people living with HIV are women and the numbers are only rising. But what is really worrisome is that a majority of them, particularly, rural married women, lack access to appropriate communication material on HIV and AIDS and that has greatly impeded prevention and treatment efforts. With the intention of equipping low-literate and neo-literate rural women with the right information, the Population Council has developed a training manual on women's vulnerabilities to the infection. 'Our Stories: Women Speak Out Against HIV', an interactive and visually attractive training manual, which was introduced in April this year and has already reached out to over 4,000 women. It has been designed by Vikalpdesign, a development communications design agency. According to Vijaya Nidadavolu, who headed the communications project for the Population Council, the existing literature tends to overlook women who have no reading skills. "This manual is aimed at rural married women in the age group of 15 to 35 years. We did not want to focus specifically on their economic background. Our main concern was that some material be made for rural pockets where other media on HIV seem to have penetrated very minimally," said Nidadavolu. This is perhaps the first time a manual on a sensitive subject like HIV and AIDS has been based entirely on inputs and drawings by rural women in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, the states chosen for the project. They were chosen because of their differences in HIV prevalence rate. In Andhra Pradesh, where prevalence rates are high, the Council collaborated with the Andhra Pradesh Mahila Samantha Society (APMSS) in Mahaboobnagar and Karimnagar. In West Bengal, where the prevalence rate is on the rise, it partnered Child In Need Institute (CINI) in Murshidabad and South 24 Parganas. Simple and specific Simple to understand, the manual has colour-coded specific aspects, like vulnerability of women, routes of transmission, HIV testing, prevention methods and need for support to HIV+ people, of the four stories published. It also has some pullouts that provide a three-dimensional effect, which keep the readers engaged. Interestingly, the manual was developed after several rounds of discussions with the target audience. All the stories are based on real-life incidents of women who had never even heard of the virus until it entered their homes. In fact, according to Vijaya Usha Rani of APMSS, women have been able to relate to the stories because they have either seen or heard of similar incidents. For example, Mangamma's story touched many a women belonging to areas populated by truckers. Happily married with three children, Mangamma, 27, found that she and her trucker husband were HIV+ when they fell ill, a few months after her husband was given blood following an accident. Ignorance about the infection and its modes of transmission led Mangamma's husband to suspect her of being unfaithful. When he resorted to violence, other villagers supported him. It was only when the local ANM came visiting that she was able to give him the correct information. However, says Moumita Saha of CINI, the stories were chosen not only because they were women's own stories but because they addressed the low risk perception women in the two states had about themselves vis-à-vis domestic violence, migration and ability to negotiate safe sex. Discussions also revealed that although women living in districts closer to urban areas had higher exposure to HIV messages, in general, knowledge regarding the virus was low and misconceptions high. While the stories emphasise how lack of information exacerbates women's vulnerability leading to abandonment and domestic violence, it also narrates how women have faced the challenges head-on. =============================================================== 2. Ranbaxy gets WHO approval for three anti-HIV drugs (Chennai) The Hindu, September 11, 2007 http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/484200709101521.htm Chennai: Ranbaxy gets WHO approval for three anti-HIV drugs Pharma major Ranbaxy Laboratories today announced that World Health Organisation (WHO) has included the company's three drugs for treatment of AIDS in its pre-qualification list. With the new additions, 15 Anti Retroviral (ARV) products of the company are now in the WHO's pre-qualification list consisting of single dose and fixed dose combination products, Ranbaxy said in a communique to the Bombay Stock Exchange. "Recent years have seen major reduction in cost of ARVs and Ranbaxy has been on the forefront in providing affordable ARVs to patients across nations. We now need to look for other benefits for patients and develop smarter products," Ranbaxy CEO and MD, Malvinder Mohan Singh said. These ARVs are made available in compliance kit packs, designed to enhance patient compliance for medication and are the company's latest additions to the WHO list, the firm informed. These packs contain two fixed dose combination tablets of Lamivudine or Zidovudine or Stavudine with a single tablet of Efavirenz. Among these, Lamivudine or Stavudine + Efavirenz formulations are the first by any company on the WHO list, Ranbaxy said. The company's ARVs, including the recently approved WHO pre-qualified products, are manufactured at its manufacturing facilities in India, inspected and approved by some of the most stringent agencies in the world. The company has already filed a range of ARVs for USFDA approvals and has started receiving tentative approvals from the USFDA under the PEPFAR program. The company's ARVs are sold in over 50 countries worldwide, Ranbaxy said. Shares of the company were last trading 1.32 per cent up at Rs 415.30 on the BSE. =============================================================== 3. HIV diagnosis of infants to be possible soon (Imphal) www.kanglaonline.com, September 11, 2007. http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=39257&typeid=1 Imphal: HIV diagnosis of infants to be possible soon HIV diagnosis of infants will soon become possible and HIV positive parents need not wait for 18 months to know the statuses of their childre. The practice till now, as per the NACO policy of Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission of HIV, is to wait for the infant till the 18th month to do HIV antibody test. Dr Ng Brajachand, head of department, microbiology RIMS, said, "The good news is very soon there will be no need to wait till the child reached the 18th month. Now with the Dried Blood Spot (DBS) collection and transport facility, accurate infant diagnosis of HIV can be done by DNA-PCR testing." Dr Brajachand said that HIV diagnosis with the traditional methods is not accurate for infants due to the presence of the mothers` antibody in infants below 18 months. Keeping the need for early diagnosis of HIV at the forefront, he said that NACO devised a method by which DBS samples of infants could be collected, stored and transported to DNA-PCR testing centres identified by the government. The doctor said that the DNA-PCR for infants had to be done twice before the infant reaches 18 months for best result. He said the process for DNA-PCR will begin soon in the state after getting the green signal from NACO. Dr Premchand, deputy director MSACS, said that NACO had asked the state AIDS control society to give training to the key personnel of PPTCT centres with the support of Clinton Foundation. Conveying the role of Clinton Foundation, M Sanatomba, regional programme manager, Clinton Foundation, said that the DBS kits are being given to the key personnel by Clinton Foundation through NACO. Sanatomba said, "The national roll out of quality infant HIV DNA-PCR testing, care and treatment will be carried out in phases. In the first phase training on DBS collection, packaging anf transport is being held with key representatives from the PPTCT centres in the nine districts of Manipur." In the training held today at the conference hall of the Jubilee Hall, RIMS, paediatrician/medical officer, laboratory technicians and nurses working in the PPTCT centres at all the districts of Manipur along with RIMS took part. The objective of the workshop was to facilitate proper DBS samples collection, storage, packaging and transportation to the PCR testing centres and to distribute DBS kits to all the centres. Dr Sameer, Clinton Foundation expert, explained in detail the various steps involved in DBS samples collection. A video presentation on the same was given, followed by a practical demonstration at RIMS` laboratory. The training programme was organised by the department of microbiology, RIMS and sponsored by Clinton Foundation and MSACS. =============================================================== 4. Global Health Project targets reducing AIDS among India's adolescents (Tampa) www.firstscience.com, September 13, 2007. http://www.firstscience.com/home/news/medicine-and-health/global-health-project-targets-reducing-aids-among-india-s-adolescents_36309.html Tampa: Global Health Project targets reducing AIDS among India's adolescents The University of South Florida's global health initiative to help India build an infrastructure to fight AIDS has been strengthened with a $1.36-million research training grant from the National Institutes of Health. USF Health received the five-year grant Sept. 11 from the NIH's Fogarty International Center to create an interdisciplinary training program focused on the biomedical, behavioral, cultural and ethical aspects of detecting, treating and preventing HIV/AIDS among adolescents in India. USF will partner with Vadodara Medical College in Gujarat, India, to teach Indian physicians, scientists, nurses, and other health professionals how to conduct and evaluate community-based HIV clinical studies for this vulnerable population. "This program represents another exciting opportunity for USF to shine in the international health arena and to broaden the scope of our HIV research and training partnerships in India," said USF pediatrician Dr. Patricia Emmanuel, principal investigator for the project. "It will enhance new knowledge in the area of adolescent health and benefit USF and the local communities in India." India ranks second worldwide, following South Africa, in the number of HIV and AIDS cases. In some places in India, half of all new HIV infections occur in adolescents and young adults. Young people are at greater risk for HIV for several reasons, including girls' increased biological susceptibility and a tendency for risky behaviors like unprotected sex and IV drug use, Emmanuel said. India has made some significant inroads in committing resources to the pressing public health problem of AIDS. But, a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that to curb the spread of the HIV epidemic, the developing nation must meet several challenges, including increasing the number of patients treated, improving the monitoring of therapy, caring for patients with tuberculosis coinfection, and reducing the stigma and discrimination associated with AIDS. "We expect to train more home-grown investigators who can confront these barriers by addressing research questions specific to the HIV epidemic in India," Emmanuel said. The new grant – the latest of three NIH Fogarty International awards to USF faculty,was spearheaded by USF Health's Signature Interdisciplinary Program in Allergy, Immunology and Infectious Disease (SPAIID) and the USF-India Center for Health, HIV/AIDS Research and Training (CHART-India). Emmanuel will work with co-principal investigators Dr. Shyam Mohapatra and Dr. Eknath Naik. The grant will expand the existing HIV infrastructure built by CHART-India. Since 1999, USF medical and public health faculty have established several CHART centers across India to care for people with HIV/AIDS, train staff and conduct research. The Fogarty project will draw upon the expertise of USF's nationally-recognized Tampa Bay Adolescent Medicine Trials Unit. The unit, directed by Emmanuel, is one of 15 NIH-funded clinical sites across the country providing comprehensive services to HIV-infected adolescents. Emmanuel oversees a large team of researchers and clinicians who work with both adolescents and children,educating youth at high risk for HIV in an effort to prevent AIDS, offering new treatments, and evaluating barriers to clinical trial enrollment and retention. "This prestigious grant is a national recognition of our strategic efforts to create an effective network for the globalization of translational and clinical research," said Dr. Abdul S. Rao, senior associate vice president for USF Health. "It also underscores the efforts of our interdisciplinary signature program in allergy, immunology and infectious diseases, which was established last year to facilitate such activities." =============================================================== 5. Extramarital Sex Spreading HIV/AIDS in Mizoram (Aizawl) India eNews, September 13, 2007. http://www.indiaenews.com/health/20070903/68338.htm Aizawl: Extramarital Sex Spreading HIV/AIDS in Mizoram Health officials in Mizoram are worried over recent data that points to promiscuous sex among married people as one of the primary reasons behind the spread of HIV/AIDS in the northeastern state. The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in a recent report said 554 of the total 1,910 people living with HIV/AIDS in Mizoram were in the age group of 30-39. "This is not the age group of intravenous drug users and naturally the main mode of transmission could be sex with multiple partners," said K. Ropari, project director of the Mizoram State AIDS Control Society (MSACS). The NACO report said 1,006 people living with HIV in Mizoram contracted the virus through sexual contact, while 732 people were infected due to intravenous drug use. "Extramarital affairs could be the main reason behind this high figure. We have to create an awareness drive for condom acceptance," said C. Lalsangzuala, regional director of Francois Xavier Bagnoud (FXB), a charity mission working to rehabilitate people living with HIV/AIDS. "It is evident that a wife would not approve her husband carrying a condom in his wallet, but since there is a high chance that the husband indulges in an extramarital affair there is a need for condom acceptance awareness," he added. Other healthcare workers in the state echoed similar views. "Condom acceptance awareness has to be encouraged among married men who are vulnerable to having sex outside marriage. The husband is not only inviting trouble for himself but also putting at risk his wife and other family members," Chawnglungmuana, medical director of the Society for Lifeline Operation in Mizoram (Shalom), an organisation working for HIV/AIDS patients. Several healthcare groups have urged the powerful church in the Christian-dominated state to help prevent promiscuity among married people. "I think we need to take a serious look at our society and the church also has a role to play in educating and counselling married couples," said Mahlimi Hmar of the Centre for Peace and Development in Aizawl. Mizoram is listed as the seventh highest HIV/AIDS prevalent state in India with the northeast considered a high-risk zone. "We may be a high-prevalence state, but we also need to highlight that Mizoram is one of the very few states in India to test blood samples. We have already tested one-third of our total 1.2 million population," Ropari said. The Mizoram government has enlisted the support of various social organisations, including the influential Central Young Mizo Association, to spread a massive awareness drive."Churches, NGOs and other social organisations are working with us," Ropari said.: Health officials in Mizoram are worried over recent data that points to promiscuous sex among married people as one of the primary reasons behind the spread of HIV/AIDS in the northeastern state. The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in a recent report said 554 of the total 1,910 people living with HIV/AIDS in Mizoram were in the age group of 30-39. "This is not the age group of intravenous drug users and naturally the main mode of transmission could be sex with multiple partners," said K. Ropari, project director of the Mizoram State AIDS Control Society (MSACS). The NACO report said 1,006 people living with HIV in Mizoram contracted the virus through sexual contact, while 732 people were infected due to intravenous drug use. "Extramarital affairs could be the main reason behind this high figure. We have to create an awareness drive for condom acceptance," said C. Lalsangzuala, regional director of Francois Xavier Bagnoud (FXB), a charity mission working to rehabilitate people living with HIV/AIDS. "It is evident that a wife would not approve her husband carrying a condom in his wallet, but since there is a high chance that the husband indulges in an extramarital affair there is a need for condom acceptance awareness," he added. Other healthcare workers in the state echoed similar views. "Condom acceptance awareness has to be encouraged among married men who are vulnerable to having sex outside marriage. The husband is not only inviting trouble for himself but also putting at risk his wife and other family members," Chawnglungmuana, medical director of the Society for Lifeline Operation in Mizoram (Shalom), an organisation working for HIV/AIDS patients. Several healthcare groups have urged the powerful church in the Christian-dominated state to help prevent promiscuity among married people. "I think we need to take a serious look at our society and the church also has a role to play in educating and counselling married couples," said Mahlimi Hmar of the Centre for Peace and Development in Aizawl. Mizoram is listed as the seventh highest HIV/AIDS prevalent state in India with the northeast considered a high-risk zone. "We may be a high-prevalence state, but we also need to highlight that Mizoram is one of the very few states in India to test blood samples. We have already tested one- third of our total 1.2 million population," Ropari said. The Mizoram government has enlisted the support of various social organisations, including the influential Central Young Mizo Association, to spread a massive awareness drive."Churches, NGOs and other social organisations are working with us," Ropari said. =============================================================== 6. Policy Released for Children Affected with AIDS (Mumbai) www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com, September 13, 2007. http://www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/200709/market07.shtml Mumbai: Policy Released for Children Affected with AIDS In the continuing efforts towards protecting children from acquiring HIV infection and mitigating impact of HIV/AIDS on children and their families, the Government of India has formulated the first ever comprehensive policy framework for children infected and affected by the epidemic. Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Anbumani Ramadoss and Minister of Women and Child Development Renuka Choudhary jointly released the policy framework at a function in New Delhi, recently. The policy proposes a 'universal'approach in addressing the needs of children and integrating services within existing development and poverty reduction programmes for children. The policy is aimed at children, 18 years or below, affected by HIV/AIDS that includes children who are HIV-positive and a far larger number who are not infected but whose parents are HIV-positive or have died of AIDS. In addition, it addresses those adolescents who are at a heightened risk because they live in communities vulnerable to HIV or are practising unsafe behaviour. "As this infection affects the young adults in their productive age group, their premature death or incapacity has resulted in adversity affecting children. Surveys show how the children are being withdrawn from schools and made to join the workforce to earn income for family sustenance.These conditions need to be addressed. The policy framework is one attempt in this direction as it seeks to provide the much needed call for action to provide medical, social and psychological support to affected children," Ramadoss said. To implement the policy, a life cycle approach will be used, keeping elimination of stigma and discrimination central to the design action. The four-key evidence-based strategies to achieve the goals of the policy are primary prevention among adolescents, prevention of parent to child transmission, paediatric AIDS treatment, protection and care of children and families affected by AIDS. =============================================================== 7. HIV/AIDS Patients And Second-line Anti-Retrovirals In India (Kolkata) www.merinews.com, September 13, 2007. http://www.1888pressrelease.com/hiv-aids-patients-and-second-line-anti-retrovirals-in-india-pr-6122z4lpf.html Kolkata: HIV/AIDS Patients And Second-line Anti-Retrovirals In India The dramatic reduction in the Government estimate of the number of HIV/AIDS patients in India,from 5.2 to 2.5 million, may have a number of causes, the most obvious being a skewed statistical sample or some clerical typographical inversion. Since there are no Government supplies of free second-line anti-retroviral (ART) drugs anywhere in India and since the only organizations providing these anti-HIV/AIDS drugs free, I believe, are Doctors Without Borders in Mumbai and Assam and Calcutta Rescue in West Bengal. It may be that patients whose treatment has failed on the first-line drugs available free at some Government Hospitals are now dying in sufficient numbers to exceed the number of newly diagnosed cases. Since very few patients can afford the costs of the second-line ART. Hardly a cause for congratulation. Issues which urgently need to be addressed in India include the 4% tax levied on Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of ART, even though the manufacturers may provide substantial discounts on ART purchased by eg Calcutta Rescue, intended for free distribution. Does a Government which plans two missions to the moon and previously sent a team to Antarctica have to extract this tax on ART at all; does it have to levy the tax on MRP, rather than on the discounted price? Due to the distances many patients have to travel to reach sources of free first-line or second-line ART, requests have been made for free passes on Government transport: so far in vain. Trying to raise funds for the purchase of second-line ART is no easy matter. Donors, almost entirely based abroad, need persuading that there is no duplication of free supplies of second-line ART. I have used referral letters from Government Hospitals asking me to supply these drugs to named patients in order to convince prospective donors to help. Last September I was to attend fund-raising meetings abroad but could not obtain a return visa, as a UK citizen, to re-enter India after the meetings. I had waited nine months for this visa and after the West Bengal Health Minister returned from an international HIV/AIDS conference in Toronto I appealed to him to help with my visa application. I enclosed with my appeal some of the referral letters re HIV patients. I received no reply to date, but Government Hospitals are now not allowed to send referral letters seeking help from NGOs. The result is that I can take on no more HIV/AIDS patients for free treatment, because I have no referral letters to show the donors, with which I may raise additional funds. These difficulties also now apply to fund-raising for multi-drug resistant TB, cancer and cardiac surgery cases, all of which my organisation Calcutta Rescue tries to help with free treatment. This fatwa on referral letters may be contrasted with the referral by Kolkata Municipal Corporation's Health Department to the NGO Love and Care for Animals of stray dogs for sterilisation and anti-rabies vaccination. =============================================================== 8. HIV/AIDS: Triumph Of Human Spirit (Dubai) www.xpress4me.com, September 13, 2007. http://www.xpress4me.com/news/international/india/20003133.html Dubai: HIV/AIDS: Triumph Of Human Spirit Bharati Sonawane, 30, wants to marry again and start a family. She is waiting for Mr Positive who will be with her till the end. Sonawane is HIV positive. Like her, there are at least 20 women and 70 men who are enrolled in a marriage bureau to find a life partner living with the killer virus. Run by people affected by the virus, the Network in Thane by People Living with HIV & AIDS (NTP+) operates Jeevansaathi (life partner) marriage bureau that helps its members live a happy married life without any prejudice. Set up in 2004 in Thane district, Maharashtra, India, NTP+ has blossomed into a non-profit making organisation that functions on contributions made by donors including its members. Though the success rate of HIV-positive women seeking alliances with HIV-positive men is high, the caste system and age-old customs have prevented many men from finding their life partners. "The success rate among women is high because they are willing to compromise on caste, while the men prefer an alliance from their own community which becomes difficult due to the percentage ratio," says Sonawane, who is also the vice president of NTP+. Deepak Panzade, NTP+ Programme Manager says, "What HIV-positive people need is self-confidence, motivation and a turnaround in life. People who approach us for counselling are those who have problems with social acceptance. And we at NTP+ have a training programme called PSA [Positive Speakers Academy] where members are taught lessons in interaction and public speaking." Panzade says the PSA initiative is supported by Unicef and so far the group has conducted 40 sessions and trained 40 HIV-positive speakers, of whom 60 per cent are women. Ashok Dhokle, NTP+ secretary who is HIV positive, says the group's 789 members receive medicines at a discounted rate. "We are also in constant touch with local NGOs, government and private hospitals for supply of medicines," he says. "Apart from medicines we also guide our members on eating habits and other aspects of community living. Our aim is to improve their quality of life and help them adjust in society," adds Dhokle. The group's thrust now is on setting up a website to help such people. Sonawane adds, "We work and live like a family at NTP+ and our motto is 'Till Death Do Us Part'." =============================================================== 9. AIDS awareness camps in city schools (Patna) The Times of India, September 15, 2007. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Patna/AIDS_awareness_camps_in_city_schools/articleshow/2370735.cms Patna: AIDS awareness camps in city schools The Regional AIDS Training Centre and Network in India (RATNEI) and the Rotary Club of Patliputra on Friday signed an MoU to conduct a series of HIV/AIDS awareness programmes in various schools, colleges and institutions here. RATNEI medical director Dr Diwakar Tejaswi, said there were a lot of misconceptions among the youth about HIV/AIDS. Youth are the most vulnerable section of the society so much so that about 30 per cent of the HIV/AIDS patients are between 15 to 29 years of age. This is an age when a person undergoes a lot of hormonal changes which drives him/her towards sexual activities, he said. Being financially sound they can easily afford to indulge in commercial sex, he said. "It is very important to educate them about the ABC of HIV/AIDS, where A stands for abstinence from sexual activities before marriage, B stands for be faithful to your partner and C stands for condoms if one indulges in a sexual act with a stranger," he said. Dr Tejaswai said we need to talk openly about the use of condoms and promote its use among youth so that they can get rid of their inhibitions and clear their doubts about the disease. President of the Rotary Club of Patliputra Anil Sharaf appreciated the work done by RATNEI. He added that the Rotary Club of Patliputra with the technical support of RATNEI will begin the awareness programme on Saturday itself at the NCC headquarters where 300 NCC cadets will be apprised of different aspects of the disease. The schools and colleges, which are interested in conducting awareness programmes for their students, can contact Dr Tejaswi at 0612-2586788 and 9835078298 and Anil Sharaf at 9334386910. =============================================================== 10. HIV Cases Declining Among Military Personnel In India (India) www.emaxhealth.com, September 16, 2007. http://www.emaxhealth.com/53/15936.html India: HIV Cases Declining Among Military Personnel In India The Indian Ministry of Defence on Monday announced that the number of HIV cases among military personnel in the country is declining, ANI/Daily India Defence Minister A.K. Antony told the country's Parliament that there were 377 HIV cases recorded among military personnel in 2006 -- about 0.28% of the military, compared with 501 cases in 2001. Some reports estimate the number of HIV-positive people in the country's military is as high as 4,000. According to an internal analysis, 81% of military personnel who are HIV-positive are in the army, compared with 2% and 10% in the air force and navy, respectively, ANI/Daily India. According to Antony, the ministry is implementing programs to monitor personnel at high risk of contracting HIV, including those reporting to or returning from U.N. peacekeeping missions, those with sexually transmitted infections and blood donors. In addition, the Armed Forces Medical Services in coordination with the National IDS Control Organization and UNAIDS has launched a program aimed at preventing and controlling HIV among military personnel, PTI/The Hindu reports. The ministry also has increased efforts to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS among military personnel and their families, ANI/Daily India reports. =============================================================== Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in the above articles are those of the respective newspapers, not those of SAATHII.