Bihar politicians join hands for AIDS awareness drive

May 18, 2006

Thursday May 18 2006 00:00 IST

IANS

PATNA: Bihar's politicians have joined hands to fight HIV/AIDS and

are set to launch an awareness drive, as the disease poses an

increasing threat to millions across the state.

Alarmed by the rising numbers of HIV/AIDS cases in the state,

politicians, cutting across party line, have decided to join in the

campaign.

Uday Narayan Choudhary, the state assembly speaker said: " It was a

matter of serious concern for us that graphs of HIV/AIDS cases are

rising like never before. " He said that members of the state

legislative assembly and state legislative council would meet on May

24 to discuss and debate on ways to check its spread.

The meet will also be attended by a representative of the UN, apart

from Fernandes, convenor of the AIDS control committee of

parliament.

Choudhary said that awareness is the key weapon to fight AIDS as it

will not only check its spread but also counter the social stigma

attached to the disease in India.

The presence of hundreds of migrant workers and an open border with

Nepal are some of the factors that contribute to the rising cases of

HIV/AIDS in Bihar, said an official.

" There are 8,128 identified cases of HIV and 1,070 known cases of

AIDS till March this year and 70 persons, including 13 children,

have died of AIDS in the state, " said an official with the Bihar

State Aids Control Society (BSACS).

However, unconfirmed sources say that HIV positive cases are not

fewer than 40,000 in the state and over 100 people have died from

AIDS.

Experts warned that the disease would spread like an epidemic if not

checked in time. According to official figures, there were just 192

cases in 2001 but the number jumped to over 2,000 by the end of 2002

and to 2,500 by the end of May 2003. In the next two years it

crossed the 10,000 mark.

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