Decoding AIDS messages in Lucknow

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Decoding AIDS messages, The Times of India-18 May 2001, New Delhi

LUCKNOW: Even as the state government swears by the massive public

awareness drive it has launched to combat AIDS in UP, aided by the

millions pouring in from NACO and WHO, the sarkari attempts amuse more

than they educate. The reference here is top the messages for AIDS

prevention on the back of city buses. The move, which initially raised

the hackled of puritans in the BJP as they felt the messages would

corrupt the minds of common people, is now being hailed as the right

approach. The mega-sized messages painted bright on buses cannot

be missed by pedestrians. However, there is a major snag-they

require a battery of interpreters.

One message exhorts masses to use Visankramit needles, while another

suggests using only HIV mukta rakta. Nice words, but hardly understood

by the target segment who comprise rickshaw-pullers, street vendors,

truck drivers and the common man in a hurry. At a random check, this

correspondent found that half-a-dozen well-educated men did not know

the meaning of the terms. Perhaps, the government believes in fighting

illiteracy along with AIDS. (TOINS)

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