**********************************************************
SAATHII Electronic News Letter
HIV NEWS FROM INDIA

SOURCE: Chennaionline.com, Express India, BBC, Webindia123.com
Rediff.com, Kanglaonline.com, Newkerala.com, E-pao.net,
The Times of India, NDTV.com and IndiaFM.com.

Posted on:01/10/2005

COMPILED BY: Jacob Boopalan 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/scroller.html

==============================================================

1. HIV/AIDS policy for industry by year-end
Chennaionline.com, September 20, 2005.
http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7BF962D2DF-EEE5-40B7-A\
9DC-6037EA0A5128%7D&CATEGORYNAME=National

2. PU to organise inter-university contest on HIV/AIDS
Express India, September 20, 2005.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=149549

3. Indian women face peril of HIV
BBC News, September 20 2005.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4260314.stm

4. AIDS vaccine to hit Indian markets soon: Kalam
Webindia123.com, September 23 2005.
http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=119594&n_date=20050923&cat=H\
ealth

5. AIDS! What's your company doing?
Rediff.com, September 24 2005.
http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2005/sep/24spec.htm

6. Quality education mooted for HIV+ children
Kanglaonline.com, September 24 2005.
http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=26323&typeid=1

7. NCC to train cadets to combat hiv/aids
Newkerala.com, September 25 2005.
http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=25626

8. HIV/AIDS seminar held
E-pao.net, September 25 2005.
http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=13.14.250905.sep05

9. West Bengal youth on anti-AIDS bike ride
Newkerala.com, September 25 2005.
http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=25722

10. AIDS ambush threat to army in North-East
The Times of India, September 25 2005.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1241313.cms

11. Govt bullish on HIV/AIDS vaccine
NDTV.com, September 27 2005.
http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=Aids&slug=Govt+bullish+on+HIV\
%2FAIDS+vaccine&id=79267&callid=1&category=National

12. Medicines Sans Frontier to treat AIDS patients in state
Kanglaonline.com, September 27 2005.
http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=26395&typeid=1

13. HIV/AIDS sensitization among SHGs mooted
Kanglaonline.com, September 27 2005.
http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=26399&typeid=1

14. International support for Manipur's AIDS patients
Newkerala.com, September 28 2005.
http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=26871

15. Shilpa does her bit for AIDS Awareness
Indiafm.com, October 1 2005
http://www.indiafm.com/news/2005/09/30/5941/

==============================================================

1. HIV/AIDS policy for industry by year-end
Chennaionline.com, September 20, 2005.
http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID=%7BF962D2DF-EEE5-40B7-A\
9DC-6037EA0A5128%7D&CATEGORYNAME=National

Bangalore: Confederation of Indian Industry expects its 5,000
plus member companies to adopt its HIV/AIDS policy for industry
by the end of this year, a senior CII official said today.

CII wants to engage the industry in meeting the challenge of
HIV/AIDS, Dr Tarun Das, chief mentor of CII and managing trustee
of Indian Business Trust for HIV/AIDS, told a CII conference
on 'Business Response to HIV/AIDS'.

He said some 2,000 companies had already been covered under the
HIV/AIDS policy, which includes development of a workplace
policy for industry and framing of workplace protocols, which
are standardised on ISO 9002.

CII has set up the Indian Business Trust in 2000, to bring focus
on the HIV/AIDS work, to engage the business leadership and
provide a forum of convergence, for the business' response to
AIDS.

The policy, among others, states the company will provide a safe
and healthy work environment for employees, educate its employees
on prevention, care and counselling of HIV/AIDS and allow a HIV
positive employee to continue to work unless medical conditions
interfere with the specific job being done.

==============================================================

2. PU to organise inter-university contest on HIV/AIDS
Express India, September 20, 2005.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=149549

Chandigarh: The Department of Youth Welfare, Panjab University,
is hosting a North Zone Inter-University Contest on the topic
'The Youth is More Vulnerable to HIV/AIDS in India' from
September 22 to 24 at ICSSR Complex, Panjab University.

This is being organised to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS among
the youth. The Association of Indian Universities and National
AIDS Control Organization has sponsored this contest under the
UNAAIDS (Universities' Action on AIDS) Programme.

All the 63 universities of North Zone will participate in this
debate and the five winning teams will participate in the
Inter-University National Debate Contest to be held sometime
in November 2005.

==============================================================

3. Indian women face peril of HIV
BBC News, September 20 2005.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4260314.stm

At the Vasavya Mahila Mandali home for vulnerable women and
children in the city of Vijayavada in the southern Indian state
of Andhra Pradesh, 23-year-old Nagmani clutches her five-year-old
daughter in her lap.

"After my husband died my parents in-law threw me out of their
house," she says.

"My brother's wife didn't want me in my family's house either.
I had no place to go, that's why my daughter and I came here."

Test results show Nagmani too is HIV-positive, but that's too
much for her to cope with. She refuses to accept she is infected.

India already has over five million HIV-positive people.

Global progress towards the UN Millennium Development Goal of
halting and reversing the spread of Aids by 2015 is minimal,
and India is likely to find it particularly hard to fulfil.

Currently 39% of HIV-positive Indians are women.

The government here says it is trying to promote awareness.

But health workers fear unless there is a massive campaign to
combat the widespread ignorance of HIV, especially among women,
the situation will soon get much worse.

"Not only the illiterate women, but the so-called educated women
also are not aware of HIV/Aids.

"That is the pity of the situation among women here," says
Dr Deeksha, the medical director of Vasavya Mahila Mandali,
which - in addition to running the home for vulnerable women -
also works in HIV awareness and cares for women in Andhra Pradesh.

Taboos

Sex is still largely a taboo subject in India, which makes
education even more difficult, according to Dr Anbumani Ramadoss,
the Indian health minister.

"We are trying to sensitise the husband in the first phase,
saying don't do this and don't do that and try to be faithful
and abstinent.

"It's a closely-knit community out there, and getting into the
community, it takes a lot of work and energy," he says.

But the Indian government has come under fire from Aids activists,
who accuse it of not doing enough to promote awareness or care.

"I think it's pretty much out of hand as far as I'm concerned,"
says Anjali Gopalan of the Naz Foundation.

"We're seeing a tremendous rise in numbers of people who are
living with HIV," she says.

"We are seeing a rise in the number of orphans, so I think the
window for opportunity that we did have even five years ago is
not there any more."

High-risk groups

Government prevention programmes have focused until very recently
almost exclusively on high-risk groups such as sex workers,
gay men and lorry drivers.

Consequently it is still largely seen as a disease confined to
these groups by those Indians who are aware of HIV.

Accurate figures on HIV awareness are not available, but
Dr Deeksha of Vasavya Mahila Mandali estimates at least 70% of
women in the rural areas where she works have not heard of the
virus.

The first time Lakshmi, 33, who lives in a slum just outside
Vijayavada, learnt of HIV was when she received her positive
test results.

"My husband is a truck driver and I got HIV through him. I had
never heard of HIV or condoms before that and because I can't
read, I couldn't understand any of the posters or banners."

Lakshmi's 12-year-old son died of Aids two years ago, which was
when both she and her husband discovered they too were HIV-positive.

"I was very much afraid about my HIV status because no one wanted
to touch us and people wouldn't let us into their houses.

"There's so much stigma," she says. "As a woman, I didn't want
to go outside.

"Then I found a doctor who would touch me and he told me it's
nothing to worry about and then I got the willpower to live."

Lakshmi has begun her own fight against ignorance by educating
and counselling women in her area about HIV.

But it is only through people like her and the work of a handful
of non-governmental organisations that HIV awareness is being
spread amongst women in rural India.

According to Anjali Gopalan, the lack of services and awareness
programmes is at a critical stage.

"We haven't really improved the services that exist at ground
level and there seems to be such a tremendous resistance even
now," she says.

Without a massive increase in awareness programmes - particularly
aimed at women - India risks an epidemic which could cost
millions of lives.

==============================================================

4. AIDS vaccine to hit Indian markets soon: Kalam
Webindia123.com, September 23 2005.
http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=119594&n_date=20050923&cat=H\
ealth

President A.P.J Abdul Kalam Friday said vaccines against AIDS
developed in India would be commercially available in three to
four years.

"Trial is already on and I am very sure the vaccine will be
available in the market in three to four years' time," Kalam
said in Shillong, capital of the northeastern state of Meghalaya.

Kalam, however, did not elaborate on the vaccine.

An official of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO)
said the first phase of trials for the vaccine began this month
at the National AIDS Research Institute at Pune.

"President Kalam and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative,
which coordinates the global search for a vaccine, is supporting
us in our efforts to develop the vaccine," the NACO official
said requesting anonymity.

India is considered to be very advanced in biomedical research
facilities, besides having a strong pharmaceutical industry
that has developed cheap and effective AIDS drugs being exported
across the globe.

The country has an estimated 5.1 million HIV-infected people,
next only to South Africa.

Kalam spoke about the vaccine while addressing a two-day
international conclave on "Combat HIV/AIDS: A Uniformed
Intervention" organized by the Assam Rifles Wives Welfare Association.

Representatives from UN AIDS and experts from South Asian nations
working in AIDS awareness campaigns attended the meeting. The
Assam Rifles is a paramilitary force engaged in countering
insurgency in the northeast.

The conclave assumes significance after army and paramilitary
authorities in the northeast confirmed scores of soldiers in
the region were struck by HIV, with promiscuous sex attributed
as the main reason for contracting the deadly virus.

The Assam Rifles was the first to officially acknowledge the
presence of a large number of troopers afflicted with HIV-AIDS,
though other army and paramilitary units in the northeast are
yet to come up with a formal assessment.

Lt. Gen. Bhoopinder Singh, director general of Assam Rifles,
said 40 troopers had died of AIDS and 139 were affected by the
disease. The first HIV-positive Assam Rifles trooper was detected
in 1992.

"All personnel of the Assam Rifles or other armed forces could
be administered the vaccine once it is ready," said Kalam.

From Meghalaya the president travels to Mizoram where he will
Saturday address the state assembly, besides interacting with
students and teachers of Mizoram University.

Kalam is also expected to visit a village and interact with
farmers, tribal villagers and primary school students.

==============================================================

5. AIDS! What's your company doing?
Rediff.com, September 24 2005.
http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2005/sep/24spec.htm

First, the hard facts: India has a population of five million
people who are HIV+, and almost no integrated action plan to
combat what is being called the biggest killer disease of all
time.

Certainly, there is little corporate preparedness for it so,
today, should you discover that a colleague has picked up the
debilitating virus, chances are he or she will be fired under
some pretext.

Most companies don't have clearcut non-disclosure policies to
shield the privacy of workers who are HIV+. There is still no
insurance cover for the disease, and few companies cover medical
expenses for it -- particularly at its most rampant stage,
when anti-retroviral drugs can cost your entire providend fund
savings.

Phir Milenge and My Brother Nikhil are celluloid celebrations
of the individual fight for dignity and recognition in a society
that's heavily biased against anyone even rumoured to have picked
up the virus. In the real world, though, the skew is still
formidably against these individuals, especially in the workplace.

An identified HIV carrier faces all sorts of discrimination at
work, and this in an environment where co-workers are happy to
discuss, even celebrate, their victories and triumphs over heart
disease, hepatitis, diabetes or asthma.

That's the negative picture. On the positive side, there's
possibly more happening in corporate India than many of us
realise. Some companies, either on their own or with NGO and
government participation, have opened counselling centres,
provided medical cover for workers, and are working to eradicate
the social opprobrium against HIV carriers from the workplace.

A tour to Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, off GT Karnal Road,
is a case in point. As a transit residential colony for truckers
with a floating population of 3,000-3,500 at any given time,
where they live away from their families for upwards of six
months at a time, it is the quintessential breeding ground for
HIV/AIDs. More importantly, though, it is also a place for
prevention and such treatment as is possible.

For, located somewhat discreetly so as not to call attention
to them (and thereby scare away patients) are clinics operated
by Apollo Tyres and the Transport Corporation of India for the
specific treatment of sexually transmitted infections and/or
HIV/AIDS.

Apollo Tyres along with Care India (part of Care International,
a humanitarian organisation) has deployed a full-time counsellor,
four outreach workers, two doctors, one paramedic officer and
40 peer educators, three of whom are women.

Doctors there say that while full-blown AIDS cases are referred
to government hospitals, what's critical is timely intervention
in the case of patients with symptoms of sexually transmitted
infections.

"Having an STI increases chances of contracting HIV by five
times," says Dr Brighu Kapuria. The funds for the programme
(also used for clinics in Pune, Hyderabad and Nagpur) are drawn
from the Apollo Tyres Dealers' Welfare Fund.

The Transport Corporation of India, which has access to half a
million truckers (who are a high-risk category), is working
through a grant of $8.5 million (spread across five years) from
Avahan -- the Indian arm of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
"We may soon set aside a corpus of our own, which will become
part of our annual budget for this purpose," says D P Agarwal,
vice chairman and managing director, TCI.

Helping such corporates are multilateral agencies and government
bodies, the latter provoked into action and now seeking high-profile
involvement to ensure the stigma is taken out of AIDS treatment.

No wonder the umbrella body National AIDS Control Organisation
wants to make Mukesh Ambani its business ambassador. NACO's
director general S Y Quraishi is also trying to rope in companies
like Coca-Cola and Pepsi to partner NACO in its AIDS prevention
initiatives.

"The corporate sector, which has the necessary supply chain,
starting in the metros and ending in the smallest villages,
can act as a major vehicle for spreading awareness," says
R K Pachauri, director general, The Energy Resources Institute,
which recently organised a seminar in Delhi to address these
issues.

It's clear that corporate India is no longer playing ostrich
to the epidemic. Ranbaxy, for example, had joined hands with
The William Jefferson Clinton Foundation two years back for
the distribution of low-cost anti-retroviral drugs.

"We felt that generic ARVs are essential in winning the worldwide
struggle against HIV/AIDS, and therefore took a conscious
decision to provide high quality, cost-effective generics,
including fixed dose combinations in afflicted countries," says
Malvinder Mohan Singh, president-pharmaceuticals and executive
director, Ranbaxy. The company claims it makes no profit on
these drugs.

Another pharma major, Wockhardt, is building capacity among
caregivers through a faculty development model. So far Wockhardt
Harvard Medical International HIV and AIDS Educational and Research
Foundation has raised 4,700 specialised care providers
(including nurses, doctors and paramedics).

"Those who were not treating HIV/AIDS patients started treating
them, and those who were already treating them developed upgraded
expertise and skills," says Colonel J S Gill, president, WHARF.
While HMI contributes $50,000 per annum, Wockhardt matches it
and more with its own contribution.

The corporate-government sector partnership becomes more strategic
when it comes to raising money for advanced stage treatment,
such as anti-retroviral treatment. With almost all insurance
companies excluding HIV/AIDS from their coverage, including
group insurance policies, companies need to spend more money.

Most insurance companies don't even have plans to extend their
insurance coverage to the disease. "The nature of the disease
is such that its occurrence is usually preventable. Even in
most developed countries, HIV/AIDS is largely excluded (from
coverage)," says M Ramadoss, chairman cum managing director,
Oriental Insurance.

With only 25 functioning government-run ART centres, and around
40 in the private sector, there is certainly scope for more.
So far, only 25,000 patients are being treated in government
recognised ART centres, even as India struggles with over
100,000 full-blown AIDS cases who require treatment. "We plan
to have 75 more ART centres by the end of the year," says Quraishi.

But even that would not be enough. While most companies say
that the same medical benefits are extended to workers with
HIV/AIDS, it's clear the treatment is shunned when it comes to
ARTs. This is where companies like Bharat Petroleum have done
their bit -- by raising self-help groups to create a resource
pool for treatment of the disease, part of which is contributed
to by workers themselves.

Again, at Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, a senior official says
that it has an arrangement with the contractors where both parties
contribute Rs 100,000 each in cases of accidents. "We may extend
the same for HIV/AIDS," he says.

But while they're still reluctant to take the call on advanced
treatments and expenses for ARTs, increasingly, companies are
coming to terms with exercises in prevention and counselling.

So while Apollo Tyres and DMRC create awareness through
infotainment and mass media, the Confederation of Indian Industry
has set up manned counselling helplines at its offices across
the country. It is also training healthcare workers, including
nurses, lab technicians and paramedics to handle HIV cases more
positively.

Hindustan Lever is using its distribution network to spread
the message of AIDS in rural areas. "We use our women representatives
(known as Shakti Ammas, who distribute our products in rural areas)
for condom distribution and to create awareness. Our internet
kiosks, called I Shakti, are used to disseminate knowledge
among people in the rural areas in vernacular languages," says
Dr T Rajgopal, vice president, medical and occupational
health, HLL.

And just so that you know what to do too when it strikes someone
in your office, CII has recently brought out a publication,
AIDS in the Workplace, A Guide for CEOs, which lists simple
action points that senior management needs to take up.

Larsen & Toubro is developing the most important link through
its peer educators Shishir Kumar Singh, Jitendra Kumar Sharma
and Ramesh Tiwari. Similarly, at Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar,
peer educator Shobhana runs a telephone booth, which is
transformed during lean hours into a counselling den for sex
workers from Delhi's Jahangirpuri area.

Are these lean efforts symptomatic of corporate India's efforts
to become more humane? Perhaps, as Rajgopal of HLL puts it:
"Positive people can remain productively employed for 20 years
if they are taken care of."

Eventually, then, it may be the corporate gains of a healthy
workforce with a high morale that will make the difference in
corporate responsibility.

But not everyone's happy with the pace of change, and certainly
not private foreign funds, who find the government-private sector
initiative moving at a snail's pace. Ashok Alexander, director
of Avahan, which has committed $200 million for a five-year
programme, says Indian corporates can do much more. "In Africa,
business did not respond to the epidemic and the result has
been disastrous. Let that not happen in India," he warns.

His solution is a clear non-discriminatory HIV/AIDS policy,
the extension of these policies to suppliers and dealers,
bringing their skills in distribution and management into
arresting the spread of the virus, and lending their
infrastructure (such as retail outlets) for condom distribution.

Other activists would like to see greater transparency in the
outlays and disbursements for such spends. A recent report on
a website associated with the Global Fund alleged that $112
million sent by The Global Fund for use in HIV/AIDS relief
remained unutilised till very recently.

NACO officials counter that most global funds come with
conditionalities attached that take a while for compliance.
For instance, one such tranche was based on disbursements that
required 1,50,000 doctors to be trained in the treatment of the
disease.

While funds battle over disbursement initiatives, if urgent aid
is not administered, India could well go the way of Africa.
Instead, with its growing role in the global market, it needs
to step up efforts to ensure that one disease alone does not
take it back to the dark ages.

Will corporate India deliver?

Living with Aids and Modicare

Ravi Kant (name changed) found out in 1997 that he was HIV+
and shuttled between the All India Institute for Medical Sciences
and a couple of NGOs, seeking medication.

As his disease progressed, his medicine costs escalated and he
was recommended anti-retrovirals, which are largely imported
(a few Indian companies like Ranbaxy, Cipla and Aurobindo Pharma
are making them).

Three years back, Kant got in touch with the Modicare Foundation.
Today, his medicine costs, around Rs 100,000 (a combination of
four drugs that have to be taken in a dosage of 18 tablets a day)
a year, are being met by Modicare along with its other sponsors.
Modicare also helps him get part-time jobs from time to time
to keep him going.

Bhadramati (name changed), who along with her husband and son
is HIV+, gets Modicare's help in gathering rations for the family.
She has done a tailoring course from Jan Shiskshan Sansthan
(a government vocational training institute with a tie-up with
the Modicare Foundation) and has applied for a teacher's
position in a government-run vocational training institute.

The Modicare Foundation, which was set up in 1996, spends
Rs 3-4 crore (Rs 3-40 million) annually on its HIV/AIDS programme.

"It can go up according to the need," says Samir Modi, vice
chairman Modicare Foundation, who says he set it up because
"the corporate sector has the luxury to invest in HIV/AIDS projects.
They have a corpus towards corporate social responsibility.
And in today's situation, this is the best way for them to give
back to society what they have earned from it."

What corporates are doing

* Steel Authority of India works in collaboration with NACO
and the World Bank. It has roped in union leaders on educating
other workers.
* Delhi Metro Rail Corporation uses mass media and infotainment
to educate contractual labour.
* Tata Motors medical benefit schemes extend to those suffering
from HIV/AIDS, reimbursing them for the treatment of the disease.
* DCM Shriram Consolidated's Kota plant is setting up an
ARV distribution centre and voluntary counselling and testing centres.
* At Tata Steel, AIDS awareness programmes form a part of
the managing and deputy managing directors' score cards.
* CII also has a training programme on ART which includes
discussions, case study presentations on initiation of
treatment, dose of drugs, treatment of opportunistic (unusual)
infections, and development of resistance to anti HIV drugs.
* CII, Reliance Industries Limited, Hazira and Lok VIkas
Sanstha (a local NGO) are training 50,000 workers in 200
industrial units.

Calculate The Difference

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation feels that, while the total
annual allotment to fight HIV/AIDS in India is currently $146
million, a fully funded prevention and care programme in India
could cost over $1 billion a year. Here are some of the sources
of that spend:

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $200 million
to be spread over five years through its India AIDS initiative,
Avahan. In two years, over one-third of the money has already
been disbursed.

IFC has earmarked $200,000 for projects on HIV/AIDS; about half
of this has already been processed and partially disbursed.

The Global Fund has allocated $241 million for five years.
$112 million has already flown in.

Planning Commission budget estimates are $118 million
(Rs 534 crore) for 2005-06. For 2004-05, it was $105 million
(Rs 476 crore). These are disbursed through NACO and various
States AIDS Control Organisations.

The Global Fund has committed $8.2 million to a five member
NGO private sector consortium (of which CII is a member) spread
over five years.

==============================================================

6. Quality education mooted for HIV+ children
Kanglaonline.com, September 24 2005.
http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=26323&typeid=1

IMPHAL: In the face of rising number of HIV/AIDS cases among
children, the people living Centre Manipur Network of Positive
People`s (MNP+) in partnership with Catholic Relief Centre
organised an advocacy meeting on quality education for infected
children at its Service Delivery Centre at Loklaobung, Imphal.

Giving the welcome address, L Deepak, president MNP+, said that
till July 2005 the number of HIV positive people in Manipur has
reached 20,524 and, as per a survey by Action Aid India, the
tentative number of HIV positive children is about 800. He
elaborated that these figures being "just the tip of the iceberg",
there is a pressing need to address the issue of infected children.

Today`s meeting was aimed at providing advocacy to heads of
schools and students organisations on developing an understanding
with school authorities on how the right to education of positive
children can be protected. Representatives from St Joseph,
Paradise Academy, Little Flower School and Nirmalabas school
as well as functionaries from AMSU and DESAM were present.

In the keynote address, Sushil Huidrom, state advocacy advisor,
said that in a survey carried out by MNP+ in Imphal East, Imphal
West and Thoubal 73 single orphans, 59 double orphans and 99
infected children living with parents were found.. Out of this
148 were school-going. He pointed out that the drop out rate
is very high and if timely intervention is not carried out the
rate will increase. He gave finance, lack of guidance, health
problems, stigma and discrimination from school, mental stress
and residential problems as the main reasons for positive
children not going to school.

As part of the programme, two HIV positive persons gave personal
testimony on how they became HIV positive and how their lives
changed after joining MNP+. It was followed by an interaction
session which was moderated by Sushil.

It was unanimously agreed by the school and students organisations
representatives to start an advocacy programme to provide HIV/AIDS
awareness to heads of schools and parents. So far MNP+ has
conducted seven advocacy programmes targeting different sections
of the population to spread awareness of HIV/AIDS and thereby
eradicate stigma and discrimination.

==============================================================

7. NCC to train cadets to combat hiv/aids
Newkerala.com, September 25 2005.
http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=25626

The National Cadet Corps (NCC) would train cadets to combat
HIV/AIDS with the support of UNAIDS. This was announced by NCC
Director General Lt. Gen. M.C. Bhandari, AVSM, at a news
conference here today.

The United Nations would provide 2 lakh dollars to NCC for
creating awareness on HIV/AIDS. He said that by May next year,
5500 trained NCC cadets would be ready to combat HIV/AIDS by
creating awareness among the people. The targeted States with
more than 5% spread of HIV/AIDS are Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur and Nagaland.

At present, there are 13 lakh NCC cadets all over India. This
is about 4% of eligible student community. He pointed out that
President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had reiterated his call for
making NCC training compulsory for all youth. NCC was made
compulsory from 1963 to 1967.

Now 4,000 institutions and 500 Kendriya Vidyalayas have requested
for NCC training. More and more self-financing institutions
are also requesting for NCC training.

During the last three months, 31 institutions have been allotted
NCC training in Kerala and the waiting list now is 153. There
are 71,027 NCC cadets in the State covering 484 schools, 223
colleges and 5 universities in 11 districts.

NCC Deputy Director General Brig. O.A. James, Group Commander
Col. V.R.R. Pillai and Joint Director (Training) Lt. Col. Sunil
Soni attended the press conference.

==============================================================

8. HIV/AIDS seminar held
E-pao.net, September 25 2005.
http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=13.14.250905.sep05

Imphal: A seminar on HIV/AIDS sponsored by the National
Cooperative Union of India, New Delhi, to sensitise members of
cooperative societies and self help groups was held today at
Mata Cinema Hall, Singjamei.

The seminar organised by NCUI-Women Cooperative Education Project,
Imphal East was graced by MANITRON Chairman Bijoy Koijam and
chairman of management committee ICM Kh Borkeshor Singh as
chief guest and president respectively.

IMC councillor Ph Guneshwar Singh and IMC principal SC Borah
were the guests of honour.

Bijoy Koijam in his speech highlighted on the ill-effects of
HIV/AIDS on the socio-economic condition of the State in general
and the people in particular. He also urged the people infected
with the disease to avail facility extended at Anti-Retroviral
drugs centres opened at RIMS and JN Hospitals.

The MLA also stressed on people's vigilance to check spread of
HIV/AIDS.

In his presidential speech Borkeshor said the seminar is the
fifth organised under the sponsorship of NCUI in two projects
of Manipur - Bishnupur district and Imphal East.

deliberated on the pre-sent HIV/AIDS scenario in the State
Borkeshor advocated preventive methods to protect the society
from HIV/AIDS menace.

On the benefits of SHGs' presence in a small State like Manipur,
he urged the Government to pass an ordi- nance on the promotion
of SHGs and frame a policy on it so that marginalised State
womenfolk could capitalise on available resources to enrich
living conditions.

==============================================================

9. West Bengal youth on anti-AIDS bike ride
Newkerala.com, September 25 2005.
http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=25722

Twenty-two-year-old Somen Debnath has nurtured a dream for years
that of undertaking a bike ride to spread a message about the
dangers of AIDS or Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome.

That long-cherished dream is now being realized by this West
Bengal resident, as he cycles his way through Bhubaneshwar on
his rickety bike plastered with red ribbons and a board reading
out aloud the story of his daunting mission against AIDS.

Debnath has spent the last years traversing through countless
villages, towns and cities in India and Nepal to spread his
AIDS awareness message. In Nepal, he has gone to almost every
school and college and visited several homes, to talk to people
about the dangers of this deadly disease.

Debnath's encounter with the disease has been anything but
pleasant. He saw a 30-year-old die of the disease due to the
sheer neglect of his relatives and village where he was residing.
The man died pleading for help, and a shocked Debnath, who was
then 19, wonders what killed him more, HIV or a broken heart
at being reviled by one's own.

"I saw an AIDS victim had died and nobody was willing to touch
his body even. It came to my mind as to ask why? What is this
disease that people who get it are so badly shunned? People are
not even willing to touch that person," Debnath said minutes
after his interactive session at an engineering college.

His education kit comprises of a few pamphlets, samples of condoms
and a song or two to make the moment lighter. Debnath says, it
is the touching renditions of personal encounters with HIV/AIDS
patients, their plight and the crying need to help them, that
actually helps break the ice.

Debnath's disgust is not unfounded. More than 80 percent of the
five million people living with HIV/AIDS face similar or even
a worse fate. Thousands of case, analysts fear, is not even
being reported due to intense stigma and in a country, where
discussing sex has traditionally been taboo, the HIV problem
is nothing less than disastrous.

Despite health programs to halt its spread, the virus has moved
beyond traditionally considered high-risk groups such as prostitutes,
drug users and homosexuals. It has now moved into families,
infecting mothers and children.

Activists warn that due to unawareness about the illness, many
do not even know when they are infected. It felt evident when
the 18-year-old Subashree, whose session with Debnath was her
first ever encounter with HIV, cannot but thank the young man
for speaking to her.

The young girl, who dare not even mention a condom in her home,
has for the first time been able to freely clear her fears and
doubts.

"He is taking so much trouble to come to us and tell us about
AIDS. What it is AIDS? How dangerous it is and how it affects
our lives...the trouble he is taking to teach us, we are strangers,
it touched our hearts," she said.

In a recent report the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said
if the misinformation and stigma about the disease continues
at the scale it is now, the number of Indians with HIV could
quadruple by 2010.

==============================================================

10. AIDS ambush threat to army in North-East
The Times of India, September 25 2005.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1241313.cms

SHILLONG: Insurgent groups in the North-East are now threatening
to use a new weapon against the security forces.

The Assam Rifles has received threats from militant organisations
of this region that they would let loose HIV infected women to
spread the disease among jawans posted in Meghalaya, Manipur,
Nagaland and Tripura.

National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) officials also said
that defence minister Pranab Mukherjee had once raised the issue
of such a threat in one of the plenary meetings between NACO
and armed forces' officials.

However, the threats don't seem to be bothering senior officers
of Assam Rifles. Speaking to TOI, Assam Rifles director-general
Lt Gen Bhoopinder Singh said: "We have received threats from
local insurgent groups who claim they will unleash women infected
with HIV to spread the disease among our jawans to neutralise
the forces. This is how sick some people can be. Criminal groups
are also trying to infect gullible young girls of this region
with the virus to leave a trail of HIV in the regions guarded
by us. However we are not bothered by such threats. We treat
it like a joke."

NACO additional project director N S Dharmshaktu added: "Insurgent
groups are now trying new, less expensive ways to attack our
forces. Biological warfare has become a reality. AIDS can be
quite a deadly weapon. It does not need money, sophisticated
weapons or manpower. All they have to do is infect young hapless
girls of the region with AIDS and let them infect our security
forces with the disease.''

AIDS has already claimed over 40 Assam Rifles jawans while 139
others are lying infected. Assam Rifles is spending over
Rs 2 crore annually on the care-taking programme of these
infected jawans. Keeping the risk factor in mind, Assam Rifles
has now launched a massive campaign to sensitise its jawans and
their families against the threat of AIDS.

It has established a three-tier HIV/AIDS control facility in
the region. An immuno deficiency centre at CPAR Hospital at
Sukhoi is also being set up. Over 40 treatment detection centres
have also been established. It is also upgrading 30-bed existing
unit hospitals to 50-bed nodal centres in Shillong, Lokhua and
Silchar. Over 275 testing and reporting centres have also been
built at all company posts.

==============================================================

11. Govt bullish on HIV/AIDS vaccine
NDTV.com, September 27 2005.
http://www.ndtv.com/template/template.asp?template=Aids&slug=Govt+bullish+on+HIV\
%2FAIDS+vaccine&id=79267&callid=1&category=National

President APJ Abdul Kalam has said that clinical trials are
underway for an anti-HIV/AIDS vaccine.

"I'm sure that this vaccine will be available in the market
and can be administered within three years," Kalam said at a
recent high-level meeting in Shillong.

The meeting discussed ways to tackle HIV/AIDS in the armed forces.

Vaccine trials in India began only in April this year. Given
the uncertainty of trial results, many feel that setting a date
for the availability of the vaccine may not be a good idea.

The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) also feels that
it is too early for such a deadline.

India has the second largest population affected by HIV/AIDS.

==============================================================

12. Medicines Sans Frontier to treat AIDS patients in state
Kanglaonline.com, September 27 2005.
http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=26395&typeid=1

IMPHAL: The Nobel Prize-winning international aid agency,
Medicines Sans Frontier (MSF), known in English as Doctors
Without Borders will provide AIDS treatment as a part of its
routine health care activities in Manipur as the northeast
region is plagued by armed conflict and high rate of HIV and AIDS.

According to a source, the Dutch section of the organisation
has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Manipur AIDS
Control Society and obtained approval from the state government
authorities to include HIV-AIDS treatment and prevention in
its existing primary health care programmes.

The aid organisation will open a treatment centre at Churachandpur
where cases of HIV/AIDS are said to be higher than other district
headquarters.

Following its principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence,
the clinic of MSF/Doctors Without Border will offer services,
prevention counselling, care and anti-retroviral treatment.

"It is our intention to support the existing HIV-AIDS activities
in Churachandpur district" said Ria Temmerman, project coordinator
of MSF/Doctors Without Borders. "With the support of the State
AIDS Control Society, an active local society and People Living
with HIV/AIDS networks much is being done in the areas of
prevention and education. However, treatment and testing
facilities are still insufficient and Medicines San Frontiers
would like to cover part of that gap," Temmerman said.

On the other hand figures from the Manipur ADIS Control Society
indicate that thousands of patients are in need of immediate
treatment, which is minimally available in a conflict-plagued
state like Manipur.

The source also said, the MSF/Doctors Without Border will continue
to provide basic health services, including to mothers and
children by opening four clinics in the state which aims to
expand its activities to other rural areas in Manipur state.

In the meantime, due to the law and order situation many rural
health care facilities are in a vulnerable state, Temmermen
added. But MSF/Doctors Without Border has visited some parts
of the most vulnerable areas and supported the populations
living there. But much more medical support is needed.

The memorandum of Understanding with the state AIDS Control
Society also incorporates MSF/Doctors Without Borders to support
the district health care facilities and local civil society groups.

It may be mentioned that, in India MSF/Doctors Without Borders
sections from the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain run medicine
programs in Assam, Kashmir, Bihar, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu
apart from promoting its access campaign for essential medicines,
an initiative that advocates the right of each individual to
have access to affordable, essential medicines.

In India advocacy activities are increasingly important, now
that India has revised its intellectual property legislation,
potentially raising drug prices.

Around the world, MSF/Doctors Without Borders have been caring
for people living with HIV/AIDS since the mid 1990s. In 2001
the organisation started offering treatment to patients in
Cameroon, Thailand and South-Africa. In 2000 MSF provides ARV
treatment to more than 14,000 people in 27 countries, the
source added.

========================================================

13. HIV/AIDS sensitization among SHGs mooted
Kanglaonline.com, September 27 2005.
http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=headline&newsid=26399&typeid=1

IMPHAL: A one day block level seminar on HIV/AIDS to sensitize
members of Primary Education Cooperative Societies (PACS) and
self help groups was held today at Luwangsangbam Mamang Leikai,
at the residence of MLA N Biren Singh. Organised by National
Cooperative Union of India (NCUI), Women Cooperative Education
Project, Institute of Cooperative Management and sponsored by
NCUI, New Delhi, this is the last of the 6 such block level
awareness campaigns organised under the aegis of NCUI.

Kh Borkeshor Singh, chairman, ICM; L Sorojini Devi, pradhan,
Nilakuthi Gram Panchayat; SC Borah, principal, ICM; and W Boramani
Devi, president, Women Front Heingang Kendra were the chief guest,
president and guests of honour respectively.

Giving the inaugural speech, Borekeshor, said that many of the
women who were present at the seminar were completely unaware
of HIV/AIDS in women. They still think that it is a "men`s disease".
In the face of such colossal ignorance, Borekeshore said that
the women of self help group should play an important role in
spreading awareness of HIV/AIDS.

In the technical session, Dr Nabachandra presented a paper on
transmission of HIV from parent to children. The technical
session was chaired by Dr Kh Somorendro Singh, faculty member,
ICM.

==============================================================

14. International support for Manipur's AIDS patients
Newkerala.com, September 28 2005.
http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=26871

Churachandpur (Manipur): Hundreds of people living with HIV/AIDS
in Manipur have hope at hand with an international aid agency
deciding to set up specialised clinics for their care and treatment.

The Nobel prize-winning Medicines Sans Frontieres (MSF) or
Doctors Without Borders has signed a memorandum of understanding
with the Manipur government to provide healthcare services,
particularly to those living with HIV/AIDS.

The Dutch chapter of the MSF would be involved in the proposed
healthcare project in Manipur's southern district of Churachandpur,
about 65 km from state capital Imphal.

"It is our intention to support the existing (anti-HIV/AIDS
activities in Churachandpur district," Ria Temmerman, project
coordinator of MSF in Manipur, said in a statement.

"Due to the law and order situation, many rural health facilities
are in a vulnerable state."

The northeast has been declared one of India's high-risk zones
with close to 100,000 people infected with HIV. The number of
HIV/AIDS patients in India is believed to be over 5.1 million.

Manipur alone accounts for about 20,000 HIV-positives although
unofficial estimates put the figure in the state at closer to
35,000. The district of Churachandpur is the worst hit by HIV/AIDS
in Manipur.

The aid organisation would open a treatment facility for general
diseases, including sexual transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS
in Churachandpur, besides offering testing services, prevention,
counselling, care and anti-retroviral treatment.

"We would also be providing basic health services, including
to mothers and children, in four clinics," the statement said.

"Treatment and testing facilities are still insufficient and
we would like to cover part of that gap as thousands of patients
are in need of immediate treatment, which is minimally available
here."

Healthcare facilities in Manipur are far from satisfactory with
doctors and paramedics scared to venture to remote areas as
the state is plagued by insurgency and ethnic conflict.

The authorities fear that HIV/AIDS may further spread because
of the northeastern region's acute drug problem.

India's northeast lies on the edge of the heroin-producing
"Golden Triangle" of Laos, Myanmar and Thailand and independent
estimates have put the number of regular intravenous drug users
in the region at up to 300,000 -- a key cause of HIV infection
here.

"More than promiscuity it is the sharing of needles among
intravenous drug users in the northeast that is responsible for
spreading HIV/AIDS at an alarming rate," said S.I. Ahmed,
a frontline anti-AIDS campaigner in the region.

==============================================================

15. Shilpa does her bit for AIDS Awareness
Indiafm.com, October 1 2005
http://www.indiafm.com/news/2005/09/30/5941/

Shilpa Shetty recently made someone's dream come true.
The actress is a part of India's biggest HIV/AIDS awareness
mass media campaign. As part of this campaign, there will be
a weekly show called Haath Se Haath Milaa which will identify
a 'Yuva Star'. The show will make this Yuva star meet their
favorite Bollywood star. The Yuva star could be a person who
has AIDS or someone working with people who have AIDS.

Shilpa Shetty recently met Shanthi Norohna, 30-year-old HIV
patient-turned-AIDS awareness activist from Padubelle in Udupi
district. Shanti along with her favorite actress Shilpa will
spread awareness about the disease. This episode will be shot
in Mumbai and Udupi. There will also be an inter-collegiate
dance competition judged by Shilpa, a discussion on how to prevent
AIDS as well as the screening of the film Phir Milenge, starring
Shilpa Shetty, Salman Khan and Abhishek Bachchan. Vivek Oberoi,
along with other stars are also a part of this show. Bollywood
does have a heart after all!

==============================================================

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in the above articles
are those of the respective newspapers, not those of
SAATHII.