The Hindu : Make AIDS awareness must in schools: Expert

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 02, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Make AIDS awareness must in schools: Expert

By Our Special Correspondent

GULBARGA Dec. 1. R.C.Kanta, an expert in AIDS education and senior surgeon, said on Sunday that the Centre and State governments should emulate Andhra Pradesh, which had made AIDS education compulsory up to secondary education to effectively spread awareness among the adolescents on the impending threat.

Dr. Kanta was delivering a special lecture on AIDS to mark World AIDS Day organised jointly by the Karnataka AIDS Prevention Society, the Health Department, and the Kannada Vaidya Sahitya Parishat at the Government General Hospital here.

He complimented the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N.Chandrababu Naidu, for adopting the right approach to prevent the spread of the disease. By making AIDS education compulsory up to the secondary education in Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Naidu had done yeoman service to society.

He called upon the Government and the aid agencies to redouble their efforts to create awareness among the people, particularly women in rural areas and in the regions where illiteracy was high. According to a study, women, particularly married women, possessed little knowledge about the disease and its prevention aspects.

Dr. Kanta said more AIDS awareness campaigns should be launched in rural areas to remove the stigma attached to the disease and the sociological problems faced by persons afflicted with the disease.

The awareness programme should carry a definite message that the disease was not a killer disease and that it could be prevented by taking simple precautionary measures and there were affordable medicines to prolong the life of AIDS patients.

He said a lot needs to be done to remove the stigma attached to the disease and despite the multi-pronged awareness campaigns launched by the Government and the aid agencies to spread the message about AIDS and its repercussions, society was yet to accept this fact, and the AIDS and HIV patients were treated like untouchables and boycotted from the social life. "There were several instances of families deserting the AIDS patient."

Dr. Kanta said he had come across several instances of social boycott of AIDS and HIV patients by families and friends in village because of lack of education about the disease.

The Government should redouble its efforts to provide infrastructure and other support to organisation and individuals involved in providing relief to AIDS and HIV patients in the country.

Explaining his bitter experience with the private individuals and government officials for getting an accommodation to house the AIDS and HIV infected patients, Dr. Kanta said moved by the plight of the HIV and AIDS patients, who died a miserable death unattended, he had decided to open a HIV and AIDS rehabilitation centre in Gulbarga and formed Kayaka Welfare Trust and tried to get an accommodation on rent to house the AIDS and HIV patients, but in vain.

"All my attempts to rent a house in Gulbarga to establish the rehabilitation centre failed because of the reluctance of the house owners to lease out their houses for housing AIDS and HIV patients," he said.

His experience with the Government officials to get a piece of land or accommodation was also not every enviable. "My request for a piece of land for starting the rehabilitation centre is gathering dust in the Revenue Department for the past several years."

Dr. Kanta said that he could not meet the Deputy Commissioner to discuss the proposal to start the rehabilitation centre. "I do not want to blame anybody and only want to place before the people the ground situation prevailing for those who make some attempts to provide some solace to the affected people."

Inaugurating the World AIDS Day, the Chief Executive Officer of the Gulbarga Zilla Panchayat, M.Maheshwara Rao, stressed the need for people to show compassion to people afflicted with the disease and more programmes for creating awareness about the disease among the people.

The misconceptions surrounding the disease need to be removed from the minds of the people.

The Gulbarga Zilla Panchayat Vice-President, Sharanaprakash Patil, the Chairman of the Health and Education Standing Committee, Jagdev Guttedar, the District Surgeon, M.M.Baig, the District Health officer, S.S.Bagale, were present.

The Resident Medical Officer, P.L.Rasalkar, welcomed the gathering.

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