US trying to control AIDS in India: Official

February 20, 2005

Press Trust of India: Washington, February 20,2005

Ambassador Randall Tobias, US Coordinator of the American

government's anti-AIDS programme, has said the United States Agency

for International Development (USAID), through the President's

Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, is working closely with public and

private partners to control the epidemic in India.

In a speech in Switzerland released in Washington on Saturday, he

said in 2004 alone, the US Government provided 20.5 million dollars

to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the Indian Government

to support HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care programmes.

He said, there is very little public awareness in India of how HIV

is spread.

" Part of our struggle is to get the face of AIDS out there and make

people respond to it, " he pointed out, quoting Clay, director

of health programs for USAID India.

One such project, said Tobias, is the YWCA community centre in

Delhi, which empowers girls by giving them realistic alternatives to

being on the street or marrying at very young ages.

Girls take life skills classes that teach them how to take care of

themselves and protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases.

AIDS is discussed openly and peer leaders perform street plays in

their communities to spread the message, he said.

Recommended Posts