The first day of December has been observed as World AIDS Day for several years now. Despite the many awareness campaigns held all over the world to dispel myths about the disease, many people still know little about HIV/AIDS and special government programmes to help those affected by the disease. Proving this was a survey and awareness campaign organised by the Kerala State AIDS Control Society and the LGBT advocacy organisation, Queerala.
The campaigners arrived at Marine Drive on Sunday morning armed with leaflets and questionnaires to spread awareness.
Through the day, the group handed out 200 survey forms and distributed about 1,000 red ribbons, speaking to each person they approached about the disease and discrimination faced by those affected by it.
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“We conducted the survey to find out how aware the general public is about HIV/AIDS and government programmes for AIDS patients. We will study the results of the survey before we embark on programmes in the future,” said Vivek Kumaran, counsellor with Santhwanam, a community-based organisation under KSACS. “Many people who took the survey did not seem to know that the government provides free testing for HIV and counselling for those affected by it,” Mr. Kumaran said.
Jijo Kuriakose, co-founder of Queerala, said people responded positively to the programme and seemed eager to know more about the illness. “We found that a lot of myths still persist. Many people seemed to think that sex is the only way the disease can be transmitted. Some even believe that mosquitoes can transmit HIV,” he said. Many people whose friends had AIDS also came up to the campaigners to find out more about special government programmes and helpline numbers.