Petrol with Condoms !

[Guest guest]

Corporates step into anti-AIDS campaign

The Pioneer 20 September 2001, New Delhi - Yoga Rangatia

TRUCK TYRES being sold with a booklet on HIV/AIDS prevention, manual of a jeep

coming with information on HIV/AIDS and even petrol pumps offering condomvending

machines. Indian corporates have taken the plunge in the anti-HIV/AIDS campaign.

Indian industries will now look at how their marketing channel, which in many

cases network remote areas of the country, can be used for spreading information

on HIV/AIDS and supply of condoms.

To start with, Indian business houses have come together to set up a trust to

fight HIV/AIDS. A Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)-led delegation called

on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Tuesday to extend support and draw out

modalities of industry support to the cause. The Prime Minister formally

launched the Indian Business Trust (IBT) to Fight HIV/AIDS.

The CII has taken the lead among industry associations and set up an AIDS trust

for the campaign. The main focus will be prevention of the HIV infection and

making an active public-private partnership in the area.

Among the prominent industrialists who have supported the initiative are Mr.

Ratan Tata, Mr. Sanjiv Goenka, Mr. Rahul Bajaj, Mr. Jamshed Godrej, Mr. K K

Birla, Mr. Narayan Murthy, Mr. Anu Agha among others.

" We are initially focussing on home-based care for persons with HIV/AIDS. We

will also initiate a micro-credit society exclusively for HIV positive people

since they face difficulties in availing loan from banks, " elaborates Sandhya

Bhalla of CII.

The business delegation is understood to have assured the Prime Minister that

funding will not be a constraint for the task they have taken up. They have

adopted the motto: Prevention and Care, making it our business in the interest

of our society and the next generation.

On the occasion, Union Health Minister C P Thakur stressed on the need for

intensive monitoring of the Aids control programme and setting up screening and

counselling centres at district-level. The Union Health Minister informed the

Prime Minister that National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) is launching an

intensive monitoring of AIDS control programme. Officers of NACO will fang out

to various districts, especially the ones worst-hit by the HIV/AIDS, and get

first hand information on the implementation of the programme.

Surveillance of actual HIV cases has proved to be a problem due to lack of

infrastructure. Whatever numbers the Government is handing out is based on a

sentinel survey from a few surveillance centres across the country.

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Dr. Jagdish Harsh

François-Xavier Bagnoud (INDIA)

E-mail: jamworld@...

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