8210.pdf

Media

extracted text
■

>'

"W
cC*
O?[kcy
partners m
I, *me^Xnr>
.
- " !'STUDIES TRUST L
■:' INSTITUTE OF-SOCIAE
)
'anti-AlDS drive J | gTm | AUMA RESO URGE CENTRE,' BANGALORE [

1

NEWDEMll. MoyBtrri)''" '”'

'

W

In view of reports of dlscrlmlnn tl|feSi£llxi&aK

OF

te^©fieaakK;clffldrai fflridia .Hifecteffiwith'SliVM

V
■V,'

fi«ofWinv,h0- hl8hCSl 1HCVU- ■ i^7t;^X,ut5.nh,,.,b?AW[,S

il"™of’nlv',l° l'l“l,csl •S"*'* ,

..... :' ic'KdtaiXil

«,,..... j...

among women,

To reduce the number-Qf

LVL'.,.‘" ‘ '-......

AIDS'campaign not to be J 7studer^te£^: q
yo
49.&dS4LpFntric:Sushma'v. HIVpositiV'
inMacjtual £3 ,S
Exphcss News Seav.ce ^

j ]' p

tc woman Jh a vijiior' - A me'1
-1— I ^44^-;!"aVIIIg , 40 OS '.'.Ar’cSSSiS

}Q

~~DH Nows Sorvlco
(pD^nnat
'

■;
\^di. ■ ' u

wm

Madurai, JanjT' < (JQ
•’

shocking

“.'

injCffir-’ o /__

■■ • !?- ,i-

';

tennmaliy ill

h'7

3:“ X

• ■ Exphess Naw Bcnvit

correct mess­
age," Sushma
said while talk■dal1''4, ‘ 7°w?-rl •

... "-r4

|/■^/..Our
BZF,r.SpccM.Correspondc.u
-S',CFlSorr^°'’dc%'. hj 2.40
MO lakh"
Inkh"children
children’ :living
|ivlnR; ;|JC fr ’

'

i°-s^vS l’ovcv.tv.k J,nil.,7. icfi.■ .C'A".''vill> die disease. follnwZi hS

<2

£2- <
Q

?'

iis=ts

'

ft' “s ;

» nnF,0"^0’P:90 ,nkl'1,1

(g|=fr (jggBMiafsr I WlSMlDSiOn
M1 ne ■ - •■r|TrialkA'inik
AI■ 'fc™
XO1’

A

■ "’■4' .■■. -. . ' 4, •

'

£ ®5|rWDS-population' Ii “■
■■ :..o '.prA'
p" -0 ■ ■ •■'■'!
| §S 1nf.*
IsFibKamatakaii

~

1

A-

J

i

fe

B.

•;
i

■

• -1 r

:

-

ty, ...

j■

A*.mli >,
it'^
J32£S2*I3TirSCTKjt/CCTClZZ!Z23n!TSCZ£XIl&«^Xl£^X

trsj) a

,

'

•■;.•■;.■

\ N
ft

L CD
(/)

Krsj

,

•

■

’

,

B '«UW |
trzrj
KTl'i

! 3

gfeV: ¥

■ ■

Q

hr a. x
H^rru

i_^
Baaa n

- hf- i
.,hvv~2''
■
-A?' -IfeA
fijtesi'. Isaf
S, a ■■• ■•

Secretariat on rebrutiry
Chief Minister A !r ’
Icrvencd'nnd Issip
Hie same day for ii|
be admitted In (hh

KMtl ■

BLIUXU
-<w.

, ft) c
hi ^1itsUasa^’iSM^’^--: diQi^aii^yaDmu>jL^
oil CfQ 33
on'injected Aids yir(
^e' 3" s

.

C

kjJ

C/) ’C
O Q

DTOI |
Kuril

J kollam, Feb 17 (uni)
since they were rejected by
‘■^|*Scvon-year-ol<l Bency and five- Uibir fourth school, St George
v?’} '■■'• •'. ’ yeai''0'd Denson are now in ' English Medium School nt
- AbA'f' AS their fifth school in two years in Achallur, on October 20-Inst
....'.•.». rk.-. il ll)C highly litcralo state.-of year. Johny had almost lost

•

:

(g ' i

x.
Jfl
.-what is practical and al fordable.
t B
I toil) tuill you ensure access to the uocc/.u

-Dv • /A- A .. ...
; 5|

'

'. 2.'m

r-4’'

g.
o'4i f
■ s !r

BTctn

. 'b^liushmd?„dies;■< i s|. co GO
' fDJ’

sa

DH Nows fs

ASteps. to! promoteAP’

Court Chief J H
paller. Ttcalinjl ifi
L Chicr Jusliec 'hl
b'nynn dlrccled ’
p Inquire Inlo. i*

'v;|-i'f>L?4?' AI D,S; awa re n ess'"1 ‘ - ’ - -- ---- 1
wgV!he. Orissa JtlB .>7'
w cUi't ‘ni xi

if

■

"■ lift. •.:.-... .■J

-two HIV chikh’cn

.

u-n.-■.!-_■■■ ,

fffig > TV • A j

Ia
3!

'■ ,

fected siblings, ai s
V’ home in govt school :ir
] &?■ ?'t < - .;

I qH
■■'iV

. J

rm-n*PH,77T.
imernalional AIDS Vaccine hiitiaiivc
(/AVI), tells Lalita Panicker about his'''‘

-i

J -

.

■ Q, =; ”

put across the

:

J
J

N"11"""!' aids ’ tfonlrol

BkSn
“1Kl
&S„ SGra'4F
IM Kun„n„ka:pTST^n

'llOdnl;iri'OdSelnFc'p^va:

'

■'■

■

N",101inl • AiUS '■(iontn/

,l,ri

lX'fr.']*'",,l7.r»“

pj.i'o if « .-

• •

| I

’»

•' 1

roi- i"i
i-i.,1
Uy Our
Our .Spccinl
Spccinl Correspondent
Corrcspniukn^ j,
',,
* i > r-oi'
hi By

.1

K

Sas

r? - M i'
w P '|^
h “O'
)■«

H

__
as
51 p-*')- j
Expermiental Malawi Minister! ; K h
^^^■p^O'chMren/of
3 K??a.5
stJ
f^szi
1] P33
j ^Ik'i-M^D?!
sifp-; n-v-pusmve
patic.,.
<tl 1,10
UIU Govei
ev
05!^0 pnt
,icnt at
crn I
i K&^3
AIDS vaccine says he lost dl
a ranj Flil A!Osplta., 01 Tlioraclc Medicine, 7 ™m°nt|''y?qj)S yictiins'Ii
, Tambaram,
i &/)■
'
Q f 1s
ag, ^p‘faStpheir''7'jsa.fc for babies: children to■ AIDS'■'i n K
C/)
O
Making nn linptisslonci
r wav to school
US study
J
e
pica for his counlry to |p|
V@ Of
'• J'.l.,.,. B ...................
tough on die AIDS pall O K
WASHINGTON. r-.i.
Feb 13 (Hrutri s)
a
E^XJ

^ipiTgromiuxct'^

'

'

J'3 '

u

1.41*
.. i
C/3

•/ / -rxi

X "5 Ms5 N.(v^ SenvicF,M

- ji4
53^
“Fr.-j,

—4\

Q

aCF5
x c

V rp
VVV

'iSA ■ Centre would’ boar

’

and 50 per cent of
wu'dlnii cliarnes of
'Lents. II would also
W-’ rer-ponslblllly

A’n b rnra '

■

'

• DdT«x

M 4'A^'

kr'7?Z7’7;5.».,,
‘Kg4

n

csxn

fn

'

C-if

o

' ' ri.Oua£dMUUU’n<4n

»4

!

AtOs
JllV-positlve woiiiitn
winniiii Jnlinnbl
Jnlinnb) pr the w(
HlV-ixislthc
■ GdswiuhI looks Uiroii|;li a win,'
lluw In Gliwnli.UI on l-'rhhiy.
'<>1
Gouvniiii Is Jentllnii n coni0 Imvc
luive pi
prc
iiinrliiil AIDS
AIDS •' A ■' r"
l>al|:n to
c iiiiirliul

^w.

°"’ many /i 21 (,iHnsi

f

- nu'v works
Kt.-i »4'
J|
\VIM'I(< ns
UK 11
ti cninisi'lliir
r* 1111 tivii 11 ■ 1 ■• i2<*l
M'lili (he AIDS Ciinli ol Soclct
III Assiuii.

' C.,

4'4''''

lii
l>S
■.-- ■_

•■■.mystery solved ,; Dfe1
.......... : Uy IL I’rnxnd '■ '

1 "

"

,

’ IV'IllI

3| chcnnai. may 1. Si lcnlUts h.-ive (innlly ,i)lvr<l n l(>ii|;-.lan<llii|{ Arlen- K
.
dJcilCKN.
1 ||rm iilj
-.t- ry —
,J,
gillie
iny-t'-ry
- lnnv HuHUOi liniiiiinoilclicli'iicy Vlrilt (I IIV) vp'ii- I,
■—i.i„i.. ...id. ni....I,|,lil t,,,,) rvcnlunllv suliveit the F*"1'-

I

mO

■J

p,p- q

O

’ll 2^1
A ih Of

iSiA HIV- iiifection '■•. /\':•„^*|l co

uulu iiKiiHlulnry, Sho wixPC A .•,|,;ll'SIS llltl
y, Illl'Vltll’ul
ll with 1 Im vlfiij Uy liri'fi*-1 !|! •■■'il1
id uho
illcd In Hi'Jil, iiii<w)i'' 'h
hiinliiinil
......... .............................................
.| ’ _.

; /Guidelines,for NGOs |
J working in AIDS;carej

il

WWUM ■ U

0
Sflndiainay have 25 iwyl'g
: £3
9
I4h4hig|';
|
'AJPS
cases
by
2010
It; cr li O J
17-,
)c»ti •

r'

-sX-W
rcrn ■

xnu/l

LILONGWE (MALAWI), FEB. if

z*\ / / -^

A I P^1

Bxxm ■ 1 (

h«

irt

■ r'H o
°
s?? CD

'H'^.
-.

h4

'■{W

.<
'o1

■'S

Newspaper Clippings on
HIV/AIDS

January 2003 - December 2003
JS

o

Compiled by: Grace Fernandez
Assistance: Krishna Karanth

■

3

c»
•>

Institute of Social Studies Trust
Bangalore

January 2004

f

-1- -n-^iryr

4

■'>

>'

>

This book is a compilation of select press clippings of
leading Bangalore edition English dailies namely
Deccan Herald, The Hindu, The New Indian Express
and The Times of India.
An attempt has been made here to touch upon
chronologically all themes related to HIV/AIDS.
•XW

■3

It is hoped that this compilation will serve as a
useful resource and reference material for activists,
researchers and trainers working for HIV/AIDS.

x?

3

vr

’•jr

’O

yi5
08 21(1

pull

nocu*6*,?’*

/

......................................................... -

.....................................................................

-■

•<...

/;/-

(AIDS campaign not to be (I 7 students test
HIVpositive
condom-centric:Sushma
in Madurai
"

BECCAN HERAL;

1
1

r>
tv

•"1

rQ

1
1

1

f

f CD

•5
■
KT*

?
1

J ': J

3
J
I
.1

Express News Service

t New Delhi, Jan 31: Newly app2 ointed Health Minister Sushma
Swaraj has said that media cam­
paign against AIDS cannot be
45 condom-centric since the dise­
ase does not spread only
through unsafe sex.
Sushma, who in her earlier
job as Infonnation Minister had
objected to the National Aids
Control Organisation’s (NACO)
awareness campaign against
AIDS, stuck to her argument
while taking over as Health Min­
ister on Friday.
“Giving a message that a person suffering from AIDS must
have had unsafe sex does not
give a correct picture. There are
other factors that are res'ponsij ble for the spread of this disease
I and such a campaign does not

put across the
correct mess­
age,” Sushma
said while talk­
ing to ' report­
ers.
However,
she
clarified
that
fighting
AIDS was the
responsibility of all Governmen­
tal departments and there
would be no clash between the
Information
Ministry
and
Health Ministry on it.
Sushma also took the opportu­
nity to defend her predecessor
Shatrughan Sinha, who was
charged of playing truant while
the Parliament was in session.
“These are baseless allegations
against him. Once in a while it’s
all right for anyone to be away,” I
she said.

Express News Service

Madurai, Jan 31: In a *
shocking incident, a
medical camp conduc- |
ted in a school has rev: |
ealed that seven stude- |
nts, all in the age group |
of 14 to 18, have tested 1
HIV positive. •
|
According to sources |
in the medical fraterm
ity, the report has cre­
ated a panic in the aca­
demic community and
discreet inquiries have
begun.
|
The conduct of these
children is being monit­
ored. r [
The information has t
not been disclosed eit- !
her to the victims or to
their parents.
\
-iTtU-HAW mu 11 I _ . .
. . - .
-7-_‘ - ------- '.I’l
~
However, the school
management has been
briefed.
Sources said that in a
college near Madurai,
if ByV.K.L. Gayatri
..
more suicides in the
at least 16 students •
more suicides in the same
There were two other?: tested HIV positive.
period but officials would AIDS suicides, both in Jan-^
“Many students are
5; Visakhapatnam, Feb 2: _
________
not
confirm whether the uary, in Pendurthy and Bhi-I
indulging
in pre-marihousewife till, HTV virus was the villain.
mli, according to official re-1
tal sex. Sex education
t recently, Lakshmi,(34 yrs)
In the other cases, a lec­ cords.
j
should be a part of the
v saw her future slipping turer 8.Srinivasa Rao (35)
The number of HTV posit-J
curriculum ”, says a
[: away from her when she re- and his wife Saritha Devi
ive cases in the district is/
gynaecologist.
? ceived a. medical report (28) had committed suicide
on the rise. Officials say:’
; from a private hospital.
on Dec 2. Srinivasa Rao had that with many cases going ?
r
She had been rjl_____
unreported, the act-'
tested positive for I
Q
ual number could.^
the dreaded ' HIV |
be 10 times it
more ?
J virus. Lakshmi, who came been diagnosed
HIV pos- than the official figures.
| to the city from Kolkata itive. They left as
behind two
Fear of social boycott, -i
with
her uusuana
husband 'last
' last young kids. G Nageswara
r,^t xxci
Concern
that other memb- J
J week, could not digest the ■ Rao (50) of Payakaraopet a
f fact and committed suicide worker, was another who ers of the family will be infected and the fact thatF
! by setting herself ablaze.
killed himself the same there is no cure must be?
<
1 Her case is the sixth in a month. His wife Parvathi
o
driving the victims to suic- f
spate of suicides by HTVaff-' was
__ iXX¥
votive
tested HTV positive.
ected victuns in the district Villagers boycotted his fani- ide, observes Veera Raghava Rao, a volunteer with f
over the last two months, il^
ily.. Vidyasagar, a 33-year- Jana Vigyana Bharathi, an b
Q
That is what the official fig- old
-11 taxi driver, was the NGO campaigning- against J
1 ures say. There were four third case in December.
AIDS-

| Yet another suici ein

s

-

21

J

* 3

I*
\-.j’

| 3

S3

‘0

J■3 ’
T,

;!■

t-

|

i

I

•V;-.-

1

I.

——------ --------

Doctor’s dilemma 'over AIDS control
. ,

From Abba Sharma
• -ducted by Dr S G Kabra of the ,,, Indian Penal Code arid a doctor
I
DH News Service
- Indian Institute of J Health, not disclosing it to'an identified
JAIPUR. Feb's
~ ?
•Jvla^gementResearch (IIHMR) ^person at risk is guilty of abeta a,
,, ■ . ■?in
htv
m Jaipur. j
• z,
the crime. He also referred
A‘ 21-year-old
21-year-old manAestino
man testmg HIV
- *
. ‘He said despite a lot of hue ^to the relevance of Section 39 of
positive is advised by his doctor
and cry over the threat of AIDS ^Criminal Procedure Code where
to disclose the fact to his wife-to- and awareness campaigns an not informing the appropriate
be and the doctor offers him effective preventive mechanism . authority about a person going
counselling. But what worries
non-existent for. to commit a congnizable offence
him is the fact that his patient the deadly disease
is still not a
has contracted the disease by "notified disease" in the country.
- Referring to the case”study of’
visiting a “certain place” along
■According to law, a deadly
young
man,
Dr Kabra said in Ill
- dis- the------~
-******,
with his friends and he has no
Q o 11 L’ o A TTY Q c*
oil
—.. _
_
•i
, •
.« .
■
AID? should be a "noti- such a situation as this, ’■ the
mechanism to let his patient’s liable disease" requiring servic­
question
arises
if
the
doctor is
friends submit to the ELISA test es of a designated nodal agency
or locate the source of infection ' which can be informed about ethically, morally, legally and
and confirm it. This is tlie doo each new sero positive HIV case socially responsible to ensure
tor’s dilemma, posing legal and enabling it to take measures to that his patient does not trans­
mit the disease to innocent perethical questions.
•
. prevent further spread of tiie sons. But his problem is he has
In the absence of guidelines’.’ disease. •
?
' no mechanism or authority' to
after the identification of a sero­
In the absence of any such
positive case, a medical man is mechanism, doctors identifying ensure that the identified per­
left with the only option of coun­ HIV positive patients have no sons at prime risk are alerted
and other suspected patients
selling the carrier, hoping*that control over the situation,
subjected to ELISA test. .
good sense will prevail on the according to the study carried
Since AIDS is not a notified
carrier. But in doing so, doctors out at the IIHMR.
• disease, hospitals havei no offi­
face a dilemma since if they do
He said that in 1998 the cial liability to inform
it to the
not disclose the fact to an identi­ Supreme Court declared that
AIDS cell. And what is normally
fied person at risk, they make transmission by a sero-positive . supplied by hospitals is mere stathemselves guilty of "abetting a
pother was^an offence tistics, where no further "action \
^crtme ’, according to a study con- _____
under —
Sections
269 and 270-of
the can be taken.
--------------------a. —ij
..
]
32

^4 JAN zoog
DECCAN HERALD

inPrisoner dies of AIDS in AP

|

0 A 24-year-old convict, who was undergoing sentence in the
Central Prison in Rajahmundry since one-and-a-half months, g
; i died of AIDS in hospital, UNI reports quoting jail authorities -• fl
; on Saturday. Yaho Shuou, who died on Friday of AIDS and . |
l" tuberculosis, was sentenced to five years of imprisonment.. |

DECCAN HERALD
J

I

.Three, states Jsget $38.8
to combat
.jaids/tb;'

J

NEW DELHI. Feb 2’(UNI) ’'

The three-newly created states of’
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and'^A.
Uttaranchal have become the_
largest beneficiaries’ of theC2 *■
Global Fund (GF) to treat tuber- '
culosis and HTV-AIDS, mopping. . j
up nearly US $40 mn of the total’- ^,’’
grant of US $130 mn for the coun||

f

fry-

The three states received US^'-A
$38.8 mn — the largest -single
;
country grant’ within Asia from1 . j
the GF — for giving a major fillip
to their programmes on HIV|
AIDS prevention and care fori' j
pregnant women and children'
among others.
Under this proposal, sevenmillion pregnant women in these"?
states will be offered HIV testing
and counselling, besides ove* *
350,000 provided with anti-retro-"r^*A
viral prophylaxis to help preven
transmission of the virus t<L' [■
their babies. ... '
l -V
»
The Tuberculosis component
|.
would address the reality that 5b-' •
to 60 per cent of .’people living 1
h
with AIDS in India also have Tb"
The grant is part of the 866" ■ L
million dollars package awarded ‘
by the GF to fight HTV-AIDS,.TI* E
and Malaria in 60 countries. : . "f - ►
The GF has also committed
another US $1.5 bn assistance foL.
—*
2003 and 2004. Based on perform-1
Ji
ance, recipients would be eligible
for another 2.2 billion dollar*?,after 2004, according to a report. !
GF
Executive
Director
Richard Feachem said: “Theu
GF’s latest grants are quickly
taking public-private partnerJ
ship to scale, to make a broad
global impact against AIDS, TB ‘
and Malaria. Not only is the G£j
.. encouraging effective players to .
fl work together to get the job done '
fon the frontlines of the epidemiC..
|lit is also helping donors coordi- ;
Innate efforts.”
■.

‘One lakh children in India infected with BOh]
__ _____________________
PH News Service

.is . x.-__ x--xt._x______ i

Kinkact ni-ava.

Hron
Whilp
thp the
number
waswasthe
dren.
While
number

the Child estimates that around states with the highest preva­
t 1.6 lakh children are living with lence of HTV
The data from ante-natal clin|j new DELHI. Jan 6
- . HTV/AIDS. Stating that the data | More than one lakh children in from sentinel surveillance have . ics indicated a rise in the preva­
|j India are living with HTV/AIDS, pointed to a rapid evolution of lence of HTV among women,
I a recent report prepared by the the epidemic in the southern and which in turn, contributed to an
c
of the countryj the increase in HIV infection among
| Department of Women and Child western parts
. report said Andhra Pradesh and . children. According to the report
I Development has revealed. .
The first periodic report on Karnataka have overtaken Tamil there has been a continuous rise
the Convention of the Rights of ' Nadu to join Maharashtra as in the number of infected chil­
L

—1 - r :

S7 JAN 2003

National

AIDb

'w

1,34.067 in 1997 it rose to 1,45,205 Programme in five stateskx
in 1998, 1,55,609 in 1999 and ing Karnataka. AsQ »
programme special courS
1,65,295 in 2000.
reduce the number of cum-education .progrtm®
cases of mother-tochild trans- . been launched f<€ ■»'
cent®
mission, the Centre has initiated mothers in 11 ■ cert®
Maharashtra,
Ta^?•n g
anai di u u. a,
Tarp
a feasibility study for prevention ivi
through an anti-retroviral drug Karnataka, AndhraW
called AZT prophylaxis under Manipur

2

J

I

c

t

; Z

w

111

' fa

’

*•

ja^yyaffw

I -

....._____ . •/,

-a yi o

2a

AIDS activist J
..gang-raped, killed 1 hnonk says he is HIV

One lakh kids ■
involved in flesh1
trade: study

DURBAN, dec. 20. A South African [positive
;
if
AIDS activist was gang-raped ’
I
A
33-yeaf-old
monk
has
been
and later beaten and killed after ■
identified
aS
the
first
monh
in
she told the rapists that she was
Cambodia to be diagnosed as
HIV positive, police said today.
The incident took place out- ; HIV positive, DPA reports from
side' a tavern in Khayelitsha ■ Phnom Penh quoting local me-.
township in Cape Tovyn where : dia. Buddhist monk Morm Sothearak recently told a Khmerthe victim, Lorna Mlosana (21),
Mumbai, uni: More than 1,00,000 rape cases. Twenty-seven women i1
language magazine, Popular, \ I children are involved in prostitu- and girls are trafficked from
was sitting with a friend. The
friend was also beaten up when ' that he was infected in 2001 dur- | tion in six metropolitan cities in neighbouring Nepal to India
she tried to save Mlosana. — PTI ■ i ing a routine haircut.
■ -5 India, while 20 per cent of women every day while 13 women and
4 While studying in Thailand, i in the flesh trade business in girls
are
brought
from
I Sothearak had his head shaved ] commercial capital Mumbai are Bangladesh to the country every h
I with the same blade used to
THE HINDS"
j under 18 years of age, according day, the report claimed.
I shave the head of a Thai monk. | to a study.
Various programmes towards
J During the shaving, each monk i
Almost 15 per cent of prosti-’ anti-trafficking of children, of ■i
had his SCalp nicked.
I 8j uulco
ueiuie women and its linkage to
tutes chici
enter uic
the pxuicsaiun
profession before
When the Thai monk later re
age oj-15 whj]e 25 per cent get HTV/AIDS are being organised
vealed his HIV positive status,
into it between 15-18 years of age. by WISE. The non-profit organi­
Sothearak was unconcerned • j
The last three years have seen sation also provides skills to
“I did not believe I got HIV : a 20 per cent increase in the num­
women in the rural and urban ar­
from that man because my
( ber of child prostitutes in the eas of South-East Asian coun­
health was good,” he told Popu-j1 country, revealed the study con­ tries.
lar. Although Sothearak was | ducted by the Women’s Institute
As part of its awareness pro­
surprised by his test result he j of Social Education (WISE), a gramme, a musical concert with
I was not saddened. 1 view my J non-governmental organisation
Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh, ti­
engaged in combating sexual ex­ tled ‘The spirit of womanhood’
ploitation and the trafficking of was organised in Mumbai last
women and children. The report week. The concerts will be also
was confirmed by UNICEF, the held in New Delhi, Jaipur,
DECCAN HERALD organisation claimed. ■ ■
Kolkata, Bangalore and AhmedIn the last ten years, rape of abad. Proceeds from the concerts
children below the age of 16 has will go towards WISE’s projects
Recounted for 25 per cent o£ the

•3

la

,1

I

1

' •»-

*2 1 DEC M3

-rx

.2

1

J

Ldi^a^-jiEe^me|

1'
J ’

1 v?
C5

____ _______ _

a 3 DEC

K7-IK-H

Cardiac disease on rise in India: WHO
What was once seen as a "rich
country" disease, one out of
two deaths in India are report­
ed to be due to cardiovascular
diseases, says a WHO report.
From D Ravi Kanth

Geneva, dhns: India is getting
increasingly mired in so-called
‘‘western diseases” such as car­
diovascular problems like heart
, M^isease and stroke, along with

the known killers such as tuber­
culosis, malaria, HTV/AIDS, ac­
cording to the World Health Re­
port 2003 released on Thursday.
“One in two of the CVD (cardiovascularj-related deaths in
India occur below the age of 70
years, compared with one in five
in economically well-developed
countries,” the report noted.
The CVD-related deaths are
part of what are called non-com-

municrble diseases (NCD) that
include blood pressure, tobacco
use, alcohol consumption, cho­
lesterol, and obesity or over­
weight
Traditionally, these were the
problems of the affluent sec­
tions of the society and in India,
they are a on a sharp rise.
World over some 32 million
people died out of non-commu­
nicable diseases out of a total of

DECCAN HERALD

S'

57 million deaths last year from
all diseases. Over 16 million peo­
ple died from heart disease and
stroke and a high percentage of
them are from India.
India was the first to raise the
threat of non-communicable
diseases and cardiovascular dis­
eases way back in 1954 World
Health Assembly but is now be­
coming the epi-centre for this
problem along with HIV/AIDS.

> ZD
r1

9
i

•j»

V*
■<y

1 /•

i
C

i
>
5
c

j
i
-f

A

-. ]

d
d!
d] £
’■

a
a
un
I

Q
■3

a

3!
3 J?
J

3

Q
.1"
d

.BreaklheSsfence '

J ; relief plan d ' "^d°n*™' 0™,y dW
wyvulci
'• : ' for Africa “ f-.;'d\^''>ddd
d^®J?W
her. i d d '.
' >ith UNICEF and the
' | WASHINGTON, JAN. 29. The
n
| U.S. President, George W. {.State Government-is’
Bush, on Tuesday pro­
posed a $15 billion plan [.;<■ set to train 4000 d.O

Q

BI­

a
1

| S

i°

ddd'-d';-ri::;c^^
^'KH- fun

d ,.dd-d

jH /
/ fey

d &h

for emergency AIDS relief,
facilitators who will
a “work of mercy” that he
said would save millions
students on
, in Africa and the Carib- | '• ••educate
:- -v ^v-e-il'r d-v p-d-c i., .. d | bean from falling victim to
• d; < '
| the deadly virus.
> ■ jI c :HIV/AIDS and sex
J Mr. Bush asked the U.S. |
related issues.
| Congress to devote $15
| billions over the next five I
1 years to programmes that | ’ ' /y n a . .sprawling school ZdK|^
S would provide anti-retro- r ” ■d | premises tucked away in
J viral drugs to two million
| Africans, prevent seven 1 .A Narsapur village of Meg million new AIDS infec- I dak district, 50 kilometres :■
2 tions and provide care for I
those suffering with AIDS J away from the state capital, V ;fe
jj and for children orphaned 8 Venkata Krishnayya talks . i;tv
@ by it . ..
i
?i
g - “This nation can lead I i ‘.about (ssues adolescents face
________ _____ __ _____ •.•■--.•_,r. .
the world in sparing inno-1 ffiSi^^k^r^ismitted In- '^fcO
| cent people from a plague | fections ’and .HIV/AIDS, be- ' Reachl”8 °“t '
J'"'
ig of nature,” Mr. Bush said. |
(d man'
man '
| He noted that nearly 30 | - fore an audience -of boys' d of talking aboutt sex? ^ d d; d form a team of two (a
' the 'd land a woman) and reach out '
a million Africans were in-j drawn from Standards K and | What broughPabout
ought/about
the
;y
.'and
a
woman)
and
reach
out <
g fected with the HIV virus, | X Tins session is part of the ^ change wasS aa fnnr-d.'iv'
four-ddy frninl
traim. |- - +/-.
to oil
all'the)
high school stu♦'£.». iG'Zu - __u ' i ' . ’ '
| three million of them |
ing programme
in Hyder
a- . /’ dents’ in■' the■ state.' ’ ■ : ' ' .
| younger than 15, yet. only I practical component of his
programme in
Hydera& about 50,000 peopleware E training. As the session pro- bad meant for core trainers
' While the DRG would re-'
meant for core trainers
| getting the medicine they |
grosses,,M.
Manjusha,
an
Enwho
would
train
a
State
Re
:
| need.
. g -■».
i "
. - J
. r . ............... £ ■—; ach
du) out to 10,324 schools, ,
r
I He recounted the words I’ glish
ghsh m lecturer
ecturer y
from :■ source Group who in turn k thre
three non-governmentorga-''' - Q
| of a doctor in South Africa, | Hyderabad, joins him to talk
would train District Resource ? nisations would tap the rest ' •
j who told how many hospi- £
.to
students
about
how
it
is
J
Group (DAG:. Fath 'core p-Theseare the Catholic Health'J
u tals tell AIDS patients to "
I "go home and die” be­ | natural for youngsters to trainer is in charge of a dis- ^ . Association'/of Indih-(810
cause ' doctors couldn't gfeel attracted to the oppo- trict and Manjusha who has ' • I schools) the Deepak EducS- J
help them.
site sex. As the class breaks r been allotted Medak district ' tion'Society for Health'(330
In an age of miracu­
lous medicines, no person ■ .. mto a nervous giggle, Man- is coordinating a programme I convent schools in Hydera- should have to hear those
jusha immediately adds in a
here.that is attempting to
foad) arid the Family Planning' I
words,” Mr. Bush said.
The African crisis is of “se­ V; serious vein about, the need /train facilitators /who/will Z Association of India (120 Urvere and urgent” propor­ gfc responsible sexua/beha- . conduct two-day workshops
medium'schools)?The eZ :
tions, Mr. Bush said;
vtour”, This is an all-impor- ; for students of Std. IX and X .. mci:-.
■'titled ./ ZaidS '
,
.. He called his proposal
“a work of mercy beyond
tant need , against the on “Growing up in a world ..
Prevention Education' Pro- +
all international efforts to
Similar A ;:gramme",';is 'claimed to 'be '
help the people of Africa.” 1 - backdrop of growing MV in- with . HIV/AIDS”.
foction among .youngsters. - training is under way-in al!
-the fust of its kind in the
- The President’s plan
targets 14 African and Ca­ gfoeppm;; out oi the classthe 23 districts' 'across the'V country '/and 'g ha.sbe.-ti /
ribbean countries: Bot­
asZZ1'.Ze<sayZ«£?Z5;‘lays . swte. On completion of this'm launched by thb Ahdlfra Pra'-f
swana,
Ivory Coast,
Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti,
-t-ago I would not have dreamt
training these facilitators'wiU/ Z " A "c^nriniiai on
;i
3
Kenya, Mozambique, Na­
mibia, Nigeria, Rwanda,
South Africa, Tanzania,
Uganda, and Zambia. —
AP
DECCAN HERALD ,
W' ‘
’-. I' J

f«■ . ZZ:,. ..A
----------------I

3
■ i

'I

n.$i5 b aids f i^dd-'d r^“ dRi

DECCAN HERALD

u

.

yT JAN 4-!W

3 0 JAN

r
i

\jr

i5

i-

■

e

J

ii

. total population of a billion — live in abject
poverty, AIDS drugs are but a dream for
■ most. How many even among thq 350 to
.. 400 million people in the middle classes
can afford to spend nearly Rs. 2,000 on
medicine alone every month? i : ■ ' •
, , Ranbaxy Laboratories, ? .for instance,
whose products are among the cheapest in
■> the world, has said that it will be able to cut
• the prices of AIDS medication further, pro-,
vided the demand for it rises. - ’
Quiet Storm tries to enable the destigmatisation of
Most companies agree that cost can be• come affordable if there is additional deHIV/AIDS and protect the rights of those'affected,
■ mand. And, if the-Government were to
divert to treatment some of the funds now
: . ■ writes MURALI N. KRISHNASWAMY^
available for AIDS, and pay equal attention
• to care and prevention, the infection need
not sound the death-knell. The multi-drug
HE frightening scourge of the 1980s has come around again ..’
prescription can certainly prolong life, and
. ’ AIDS is back in the news, talked about "everywhere with even ■.
* ‘
even improve its quality.
y-:':
"v. \
> * d * i *. i 4
.the celebrities — athletes, politicians, rock and movie -stars, [
H JhA A 4 V-M
.An effort to focus on both treatment and
,- billionaire corporate types — making the rounds and telling us :
precaution will lead to hot only a greater
about how the situation is j'ust getting worse. In the process,!
awareness of the disease itself and the way
O ’
•
ineyre letting
they're
letung us know
Know that
mat we’re not doing enough.
j
it spreads, but also a sense of openness.
Compounding this is one piece of the picture that shows that the
, Today, we are still guessing that the num­
.spread of AIDS
in sub-Saharan
------ 1 •■u r’Africa
“l------ is
'f—becoming
‘’------->
Asia and
a global
eco-!
ber of Indians harbouring the HIV is four nomic problem. And1 on the other side, is the faint glimmer of hope that the ■
r
...
million.
It
can
be
more.
We
are
still
not
sure
medical world creates
es from time to time
time....
... 1,' j,.,...’
|
&
if the 2010 figure will be 25’million,'which
the experience of infected people during the last two ■
. Western analysts and administrations are decades has shown, while
. xn. being HIV positive •;
is not the “end of the world" •
projecting. India's-estimate is around nine t and that there is quality life for several more years, stigma, silence.' discrimi-'
million.
-i/..
nation
and denial as well
as the lack. of- confidentiality in this‘ part of the
The focus of AIDS awareness;
-1_ ___ __ ! .
■
But, what is more important than bicker- globe
undermine prevention, care and treatment efforts and increase the
.- ing over numbers or conducting discus- impact of the epidemic on individuals, families, communities and countries.
. 'campaigns is more
. sions and seminars in the plush confines of ... The way out. as Dr. Peter Piot, executive director. UNAIDS, once said in a
on prevention and cure.
star hotels is a resolve by the Government world conference ... "Responding to AIDS with blame, or abuse towards
but
true,------most people with
and AIDS,----------India sulks
time
- ------------- ----------the every
United
to step into “care’’, and to ensure that it people living with AIDS, simply forces the epidemic underground, creating
S5 are left to die without any . Nations or Bill Gates presents numbers.
But what about those
reaches the poorest of the poor. This can the ideal conditions for HIV to spread. The only way of making progress
progre;
tment.
u-' ”
u“* India --.....— The
Tl.w disease
JI-.—- has
I.— al-1- T
The
U.N. "'7"
says •that
can have 25 milr
r
«A
only happen if AIDS funds are distributed nOPirKf
against thp
the PniHpmir
epidemic ic
is to ranlorn
replace chnmn
shame t.rJrk
with solidarity,
and
fear with
already infected? Who will
iy killed 25 million people in lion affected people by 2010. This figure is
between treatment and prevention. Let us hope."
.
-..r.
quarter century that we have hotly disputed by New Delhi,
not forget that effective remedy is an im­
Coinciding with the World AIDS Day (December 1), the UNDP Regional
take care of them, ’ - ’
d with it, and can infect 100
What is-------now••---------imperative is to get one’s
portant form of prevention and education. HIV and Development Programme for South and North East Asia has pub­
>y 2010. Yet, the world’s focus priorities right. Clearly, they are not de­
This, nonetheless, is not even to suggest lished a pictorial monograph on the lives of People Living with HIV/AIDS
asks GAUTAMAN BHASKARAN. that AIDS precaution be pushed aside. If (PLWHA) in South and North East Asia ... a slick 60-page book, writh a
on, and not on care. This, de- bates and arguments. They are not even
; drugs that can rum a death just education and prevention. Rather, they . . ----------------- —b--------------------distribution of inexpensive condoms must glossary, titled Quiet Storm, that looks at a different world. .one of life, and. even stop the ought to include treatment for the four mil- . country, as some African nations have be wider,....
people,, especially
,
, teenagers,
u
Here Ls a broad cross-section of people with HIV speaking to us and
ing a new victim in the moth- lion victims of this scourge.
.
proved. . - .*
should be taught the significance of safe providing a compassionate portrait of their losses, strengths, and attitudes,
Prevention and education alone do not
Of course, one can argue that Brazil is sex. Today, nobody will listen to sermons emu
and uucu
their duuiiy
ability iu
to imumg
finding nieaiuiig
meaning m
in me.
life. •7
; .. ..,z
?.
jig countries, six million peo- work. After all, who is going to be tested relatively better off than India. But the and morals: what they may be willing to •, ..Whether it is the nanative
narrative on page 19 of Thomas'
Thomas’ (of Guang Dong in
viih the virus are getting little unless he knows that he is not going to die? World Health Organisation has established look at is the enormous benefit of using a China) perseverance of searching on the net for Indian Anti Retroviral TreatTreat­
ition. and-it is predicted that Arid if he is cared for, he will live longer and that AIDS can be satisfactorily treated even condom, and the way it cuts down the risk ment (ART) drugs and doctors (he finds one in Ganga Ram Hospital in New
ina n
rpv tn
T4i oky
OpIhH nrrko imn ir-il etrmr
r
M • •!__ :•
will become 36 million in the lead a healthier life. He will be productive, in “poor resource settings'. Haiti is a good nf
of fnll
falling
prey
to fhn
the doaAlw
deadly T-TTV
HIV. .High
Delhi) or the ironical story of Sri Lanka’s Dr. Kamalika (p.43), at the end of it.
wpII ^pfvp ac an pvnmnlp nf hnno
pvnmnln nf rhic
rr-kr\I<•
«-.-JU: 1:w.
;s.
The reasons for what some and
and mav
may
hope
.
z well serve as an example of
—------j- •*
example of this.
. .
schools
and nMlln^nr
colleges k^.rz«
have a responsibility
the reader realises that the strength to live "comes from an indomitablt.
nost brutal of terms, "blood- . and caution. The governments will .lose
What may sound shocking, even scanda- . here, and they can shy away from it only at
.
....
;
•>
/ell known. There is no proper less, and the economy will do better,
lous, is that India has virtually no public the peril of causing terrible harm to society,
Produced in partnership with INP+ (Indian Network for People Livinr.
e to look after the sick. The
Actually, States such as Brazil have health sen-ice in place to look after those In the final analysis, with large funds flow- with HIV/AIDS), APN+
. (Asia Pacific Network, of People
,w Living with. HIV'
re expensive
and beyond
the ..proved that adequate
and effective care
of with AIDS. This is the case 16 years after the -ing into India for tackling AIDS — including ’ AIDS) and PLWHA groups in the region, (the addresses have been listed’
.
-------na_- -.those
-1 those ailing actuallyhelps
actually helps save money. Ob- ’ first case of HIV was reported. .7
st sufferers. Worse, some na.'.Bill Gates’, pledge of $ 100 million — the Quiet Storm tries to enable the destigmatisation of HIV/AIDS and the protec
heir own ineptitude in foolish viously. A person, disabled by lack of treat- . .One who can afford the three-drug cock-,/-, Government must ensure that adequate tion of the rights of PLWHA. All this while articulating the e'motional evoluof denial. While'South Africa, . ment,.
cannot /- ..be ; v economically : tail therapy at roughly Rs. 1,800 a month money is also spent on those ill with AIDS, . tion undergone in an attempt to reach a plateau of peace. •
>•
he-highest number of cases, _constructive.;And
-Constructive. And greater the number of ■■ can get care in any number of private hos-_ Every life is precious. Save it, if you can_But .
Quiet Storm, Celebrating the Triumph of Human Spirit over HIV/AIDS,'UNDP
inpd rhp linV Hptwppn rhp HTAZ
)ned
the link between the HIV Clirh
such nonnlp
people, rho
the (rrmtor
greater tka
the burden on the vYpitals. But, i<~
”9 n>A'oco'npr^'2002-.?-60.: y:
r i;

■ I

Comp assionate; I
portraits

A'X 1

'■

••

■■

reiponnb'lea.nd' ,

IF

1

■■

I

I

.——~5»—

o
■>;

•

■

J

|

5

s

I
.

■

I

1
/

£

r

h I •i
■ I

1

r4' ■:.

[

I

Trauma of a
terminally ill
destitute woman
PH News Service

:•
i

:

... „ .

■morajsecood ■:amopg wtaJr
;xK.CGhavmg 7®S)cases

th
■u

(j

By Our Special Correspondent had 2.46 lakh children living lie
DEHRA DUN, Jan 21 - ----Be of Congo,’ 8.901.; Ui in Ke. / I
M HERAL >Yh0 5375 poverty is no sin? If ! GULBARGA,
-........
- Il- The United' . E^Jopt0
111
JAN.
R nn
Uganda, 8.10 lajdt~g
u.
it were not for hope, the
Chil; Democratic Renutfc nf r
' m
Unit^JTRepubli.
r Nations..- International
___
' . ’-Jc of T
I
heart would break. This is I
V
_
-Fund
(UNICEF)
ha^
and
the•
United
LiLw™
80
,
7
-80
lakh
1 dren’s '■Fund
1, 7.80 lakh in
in Zi
Zimbab.,,I exactly the sad story of |
India
second
amnno
the
^
e
P
u
bl
lc
of
and
6.60
lakh
in
Snnrt
ranked India second among the
6-60 ,akh in South Africa.Rj|
Tanzania 1.70 lakh. -. ■
. .
| Suman, who is now awaiting
The “unlinked anonym
Ml
countries having high preva­ - Although India had’ been
J her death slowly at a governlence of HIV and AIDS in 2001.
sentinel surveillance” at seltvi
placed second among th<
the
coun
­
| ment hospital here after she
^wKumcrdiencPnf ed anti-natal clinics in majo7j
According to the latest details tries having
high prevalence of
| was confirmed HIV positive
HIV
tL =7
u
^ban 31635 sealed that d
I
pubb’shed .in The
77.. Stare - of* 11
Fl T and
— _ J AIDS
r-^
.
.
U..
,
H
1V
and
^DS,
- -, the
-ic adult preva- ing 2001 in Botswana 27 1. J
0 The only solace for Suman is
World’s Children 2003 by UNI­
lenbe
rate
in
the
a
o
_
age
group
of
thousand
pregnant
women^g
0 that she is mentally so shatCEF, quoting the figures providGEF>
provid­
H tered that she would never I ed by the Joint United Nations 15-49 of the total population me age group of 15-19 tes
I
was low at 0.8 per cent.
U?dAe^land what 1116 Phobia
Programme on HIV and AIDS
HIV positive, and 34.9 testeo;
The report pointed out that
I of AIDS is all about.
P (UNAIDS), the adult prevalence
the adult prevalence rate of the positive in the age group of 20- g
j
The case of Suman is very I rate (0-49 years) in India ----- tnfal
____ - . . .
^^--nducteddur
complicated too. Even doc­
2000
Amca s 50 milhon affected, fr'/. sand .foUowpd hv
7 ; 7
^vuu in
U1 Swaziland 42.2 - per M
tors are nonplussed about
ronz^w- stated
j .l that
.1 the es­,
’
eo by 33.7 in Zim- thousand
? Th
Thea report
_.—pregnant women
R
Mcasehistorj-.^tbeag^f
babwe, 33.4 in Swaziland, 31 in
the age group of 20-24 and 2^"
30 she looks like a teenaged I timated number of children in
thousand in rh«= oca ■^oup &
girl, rendered as a vegetable ■ the^age group of 0-14 living with
HIV and AIDS was 1.70 lakh in
And when you talk to her, she
tests
India against 2.50 lakh in South
gives reply as if she had lost
Africa.. Ho we ver, Kenya, which
her mental balance.
had 35 million people in th~ L
■ x Suman, a destitute, is
group of 0-49 living with HF/
today virtually lying in pain
I and AIDS, topped the list with
I and mental trauma in a
2.70 lakh children in the age
dilapidated ward of the Doon
group of 0-14 Living with the
Government Hospital here
dreaded disease. Zimbabwe lakh in the Democratic Repuhsince Jan 17.
available.
Two medical tests have,
already confirmed that she is
an HIV positive, says Dr H G
O Population Education Resource Centre (PERC), Bangalore
S Manral, Medical SuperinUniversity supported by United Nations Population Fund
tendentof the Doon Hospital.
(UNFPA) is running a telephone helpline service exclusively for BbANGALORE, JAN. 28. A convict |i
Police have failed to make^
___ 1
HTV/ AIDS related information and adolescent problems. The
gserving imprisonment fofseven
any headway in the case as ‘ service is available on all working days of the University :
1 [years for dowry death died of
doctors suspect that «’
she ^between 10 am and 4 pm. The Telephone number of this service [AIDS on Sunday in Madiwala
might have contracted HIV
IPolice Station limits. •
through sexual contacts.
J Police said Suresh (40) was
Maybe she was raped, a doc­
|referred from the Gulbarga Centor said.
[tral Prison to the Parappana
There is still no informa­
jAgrahara Central Prison on JaPARIS, Jan 24 (Pn)
|
tion about Suman’s family
Snuary 21 for medical assistance.
In a humanitarian gesture, i
members. Only thing doctors
| He died in a hospital here.
knew was that perhaps she
New Delhi has decided to n
I Another ' convict; refened
release a French national |
Ifrom the Shimoga Jail, died of '
was a married woman. How
serving a prison term in |
long she would be allowed to
Sliver damage and respiratory
India, as he has been suffer- fi
remain in the hospital?
■ problems on Tuesday after- I
I noon. Iqbal (40), abas Iqbal I
ing from AIDS.
?
This has become a subject
of nddle for doctors, who are
Visiting Deputy Prime g
JBaig, was,convicted for sandal­
Minister L K Advani told B
keepmg their fingers crossed.
wood'smuggling.
(
The Madiwala Police have |
newsmen here that the deci- 8
Lets see what happens.
sion has been taken on |
registered two cases.
..
.
There may be more medical
Dies of bums: Narasamma (40), I
humanitarian grounds.
h
tests on Suman,” says Dr
who suffered bums on January l|
Manral.
19 at her residence in Kamak“She has identified herself j
shipalya Police Station Umits, |
as Suman. Actually, this case
DECCAN EERAil
died on Tuesday in Victoria I
has been referred to us from
Hospital. According to police, S
Hardwar
narawar district
district ’hospital ;
n r
Narasamma, a cleaner with the |
where she was brought by the I
9 5 JMN
Bangalore
Mahanagara Palike i
nnh/'n ”
—
”
^_y
_—
Police," says w
Dr »ManraJ.
on contract basis, sustained |
bums while cooking dinner at |
her house in Agrahara Dasara- 1

2 2 J/XN

av

r"™”.”''

ta...

>
i

.. BSFH

? ' Convict dies
|
of AIDS

_r
1 '

India to release
AIDS victim I

I
I
L
L

L
k

■

DECCAN HERALD
1

t

1

I
I ■

5

r-_

J

.1
6
."t

W—T----- Church mulls
mandatory
p re-nuptial
blood test

u:'.

. J

. I

i

7

J

^Indian medicine
has cure for Aids9

Where opportunity' exists, the’
developed world is quick top
F BANGALORE, Jan 1-1
exploit it, Dr Deivanayagam'
• *
«•■»-»•
•
«
• * •’*
’Ii -Thecentral thought at theo said.
“First,
protect
hills andb
Global
Holistic
Health
Summit
forests, only then will traditional k
THRISSUR, Jan 14 (PTI)
1 The Catholic diocese here is
held in the City was that cure knowledge be shared. Secondly,^
1 actively considering a proposal
'was available for Aids/HIV in encourage research and develop- $
1 to make blood tests mandatory
'Indian systems of medicine. The ment of promising therapies and $
| for aspirant couples. before
readiness of the West to accept third, study the role of herbal in
nrnfh'nac
U’CC
’O^’Or
y solemnisation of marriages to QI’ such
medicines in controlling dis A
was nnn.
however
----------xpractices
.
3 check “innocent youth falling
under question, the summit con- eases," he added.
@
prey to AIDS”, according to the :: eluded.
The summit pointed out that irf
'
■ ■ E
■
Church sources here.
Dr
CN
Deivanayagam,- Siddha treatment for the HIV- $
The proposal came up for “seSiddha ' • practitioner
at infected in India began with the |p '
i rious discussion” at a recent con­
Tambaram, Tamil Nadu, said spread of HIV in Tamil Nadu in t1 .
ference of priests under the
there have been impressive the 1980s, which forced people to
i Thrissur Archdiocese where
results in treatment of Aids with seek remedies in traditional
I Archbishop
MaY
Jacob
herbal formulations. “We have medicines. After several trials,
j Thoomkuzhy promised a serious
enough evidence that herbal three preparations - rasagandhi
look into the matter.
medicines can become anti­ mezhagu, ammukkara churna
A medical check-up and blood
retroviral drugs, but they need and nallikai (amla) lehya test is compulsory for Catholic . to be typified,” he said. He cau­ brought down viral loads in
marriages in the US, according
tioned against packaging the patients. These are now pre­
1 to Fr Francis Karippery, General
preparations and. said they scribed as staple drugs for all
] Secretary of the Nazrani
| should be prescribed like tradi- HIV cases that 'doctors at
Catholic Priests Conference.
Tambaram attend to. r
“The matter has been dis­ t tional medicine practitioners do.
DH News Service

J"•

h-v

T

'■

o 1 _ t_ _

T T -<«1 >L*

O « « W-,

I

•K

I

I

cussed by the priests’ conference
and it is expected to be placed in
' the next meeting of the synod,”
J Fr Karippery said.
..
i
“It often happens here that
young people employed outside
: the state come home on short
, leave and get married without
■ giving the girls’ parents time to
, make sufficient inquiries about
’ the background of the grooms.
5 This exposed innocent girls to
the ucuigei
danger of HTV infection. If k
me
■j
tests are made compulsory £
1 blood
they could be saved.”
£
Marriage
being , a |
•.u “sacrament”,
the
Catholic <•
|| unuren
Church here
already uuuvj
insists that
§
■ps
neie ontauj
aspirant couples undergo an
■ a “marriage preparation course" ?
I to help them get to know each *
E other better and so increase
uiLiease the |
chances of them going on to lead |
an ideal family life.
|

eL

DECCAN HERALD

Ci

cl
c-

ci

c

. j 5 JAN ZUUd
C

■

!

I

1• Is1

I
I

£:bccaiz

ald

c
c
c
c.

£

e
c

EESlESZi

‘READY TO WAIVE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT"’"----- “1
!

India, France sign extradition treaty
J,:
j
J

a

By Anjali Mody
country, there were provisions
- Paris, JAN. 24. The Deputy Prime in French laws to prosecute him
5 Minister, Lal Krishna Advani, in France.
f concluded his official visit to
Later’ at a Press conference,
j France today with the signing of Mr-Advani said that if America
*a bilateral extradition treaty.
could make Pakistan a democj Speaking to the media soon Facy’w°uld make it a lot easier for India
• after signing it, Mr. Advani and ler
Ind,a to
rn deal
'i*3*1 with
W1tb
j the French Justice Minister, Do- Pakistan. He wras responding to
Iminique Perben, said the treaty a question on the attitude of
1 was a reflection of the strength- countries such as France and
Jjened legal and judicial under- the U.S., which saw the Pakistan
p standing and the relationship of President, Pervez Musharraf, as .
a trust between the two coun- an important part of any solu­
tion to the problems in the re­
)< tries.
5 Mr. Perben was asked what gion. He said that contrary to
h his country’s position was on the view abroad India did not
extradition of persons w'ho see Gen. Musharraf as the prob­
f; might face the death penalty, lem. It was Pakistan’s "anti-In‘fj He said this was an issue that dian mindset" that was the
France had dealt with earlier in reason for the problems.
Mr. Advani was asked about
relation to extraditions to countries including the United the divergence and conver­
II
,? States. France would not, he gence of views between India
said, extradite a person to a and France. He said there was
b country where he wfas likely to no divergence. There was a con­
{»face the capital punishment un- vergence of views on terrorism,
The French Justice Minister, Dominique Perben (right), with
2 less the Government of that financing of terrorism and the
the Deputy Prime Minister, L. K. Advani, after signing an
rr country
a “formal
with those sup■ . gave
„
-------- : under- 2^^ ♦
extradition agreement in Paris on Friday. — AP
n taking" that this would not hap- porting terrorism. France as
chair
of
G-8
countries
had
ij pen.
. . , .
killings and violence in Gujarat, which returned the Modi Gov-F
Mr. Advani clarified, that In- raise<^ theissue ofdealing with Mr. Advani said that since inde- emment to -power,
--------------were ai—
back- ’
the
financing
of
terrorism.
c
.
pendence "periodically some- lash against this campaign.
j dia too had dealt with this dij. I
Asked what had led to the thing or other took place
To a question on India’s deal [}
J vergence in law, most recently
—----------------- leading to
j in the case of Portugal. India, he
_ if riots and communal to buy nuclear weapons techi
violence”. In February last year, nology from Russia even while
•i said, would give France the
there wasa ghastly tragedy
same undertaking not to award
„ j at- supporting the elimination of
Godhra, Gujarat,
a
•’I capital punishment when seek"'J
• when
’ i a train weapons of mass destruction in
was attacked and innocent
J ing the extradition of an ac- citi­ Iraq, Mr. Advani said the Gov-^
zens were 1killed. This
‘ triggered emment in 1998 had decided*
,‘i cused, just as it had to Portugal,
.
i _-_x_
a phase . ofp communal
riots in t|iat jncjja must jiave a huhj.
(j France does not extradite
b French nationals. Mr. Perben PARIS, JAN. 24. In a humanitar­ that State. While it took some mum nuclear deterrent. By and®
was asked how the extradition ian gesture, New Delhi had de­ time for the Government to large, the world accepted that
h treaty with India impacted on cided to release a French control riots, it had taken stern India's stance was justified,
k this. He said it did not as this national serving a prison term action, including shooting to Asked about India’s views oni
J was "almost a constitutional in India, as he has been suffer­ death of some 200 people. Yet, North Korea’s acquisition of nu’
'
J, provision". But, he clarified, in ing from AIDS. The Deputy “a campaign of calumny" was clear
technology/
he said Indiag
£ case a French national was Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, unleashed against the Govern­ was also concerned that NorthS b
| wanted in connection with told newsmen here that the de­ ment there, particularly against Korea was taking steps which,
__ _not help the cause of world!
g crimes committed in another cision has been taken on hu­ the leader there, “which I be-did
manitarian grounds. — PTI
lieve is unfair”. The elections, ■ peace.

?!

if
i

I

J

I] ,;ui

it:

j’

a
j
j
j

'<-r

’■'.V

'-7.'

'.jv

0

I
I

SB?

1
BBll

Gesture to
AIDS patient

5 ;

"3

1

I -

j

Ic

4

1

4

X

e

X

i

i
li

p
li

•'A

‘X

<

4

V;

JU

U

U

LW

kJ

o
O

<>'

IJ
U

<>

O
<U

u

■Jj
-jj

IS

Wii

-J

J

Ekajj LLxLJ

C1

x./

O
v

<>

i

Orange Street battles against AipSSittepan<jggk 11
DECCAN HERALD :

BANGALORE. Nov 29

3 0 NOV ZOOZ JI
is!

iti
j

iI

■
!

(
‘
|{I
|;
!

The Bangalore-based NGO
PronHnm
Freedom FA.m^tinn
Foundation, pnanaoH
engaged
in the care and support of
HIV/AIDS infected persons,
along with Levi Strauss _Foundation is spearheading a campaign to fight AIDS by launching
a music video called Candywalk,
an original composition of
Indian rock band Orange Street,
exclusively for the purpose of
spreading the message of battle
against aids.through television.
Making originality their
mantra, Delhi’s Orange Street is
riding the crest of a huge wave at
the moment. Grabbing the top
spot at Great Indian Rock 2002,
the band earned themselves a
ticket to the US where they will
play a string of concerts early
next year. The Orange Street has
Anirban on vocals, Gautam on
pnitar
Achwin nn
guitar, Ashwin
on hn««
bass nnd
and
Ashwini on drums.
.
CelqteUf'tf ’’-'''hiding Bipasha

Euphoria), Pooja Bedi, Devang

the spirit of the concert, there is

Patel, Farah Khan, Video jOCkeyS

-------no entry fee for the show.

from Channel [V] and B4U Music
Bangalore-based
Freedom
will feature in the music video of Foundation was established in
Candywalk. .
-- . 1993 to provide treatment pro- .
The music video is co-ordinat­ gramme for alcoholics and drug
ed by Amit Saigal, Editor of addicts. In 1996 it extended its
Rock Street Journal. The video activity to the care and support
is produced and directed by of HIV/AIDS infected, persons.
Indrajit Nattoji and Bindiya Freedom Foundations's AIDS
Murgai of Blink Pictures. Palash Centre at Bangalore, the first in
Sen of the popular band India and now the largest is
Euphoria has written the lyrics recognised by the Union Minis­
for the track.
try of Health. The Minist-ry now
The Levis Strauss Foundation plans to replicate the Centre’s
and Freedom Foundation have low-cost, community based mo­
also organised a national concert del all over the country. The serv­
at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi on ices provided free of cost are
December 1, World Aids Day. food, shelter, medicines, medical
Mumbai rock band Pentagram ’ support and counselling,
will perform at the show. The
Freedom Foundation has
Battle Against AIDS Concert units at Hyderabad, Bellary,
will enthral its youthful audi- Siruguppa and Udupi and has
ence with live performances by . plans to open two more AIDS
leading rock bands from across \ Care Centres at Chennai and
India - JThem
Them Clones, Envl
Envison
__ —Man palate
. ■ ■

BA

■

i
Rock band Orange Street, creators of the songs Candywalk g <

^jpnanghai hospitals• 1 These yfHiths 16blEib|fflfO i BA
reject HIV patients
DECCAN HERALD
. . ,

T | Lu

_

I

Shanghai: In China’s modern
. city. of Shanghai
________
_ will
riches
H buy most things: a foreignicar
P or penthouse apartment r

SSBg

friends, - For™ for many of the

influence, UUl
but ][it
fj even
* —• politicaluiuucme,

city s 500 to 600 haemophiliacs
h won’t buy surgery
locals file news that he was HIV pos----- O— J for ivxxuS
ij infected with HIV So discov- itive came as a complete
.
fj c
ered’ 48-year-old
Yin, a local
3 Shanghai
artist
and shock. That he was then treated as a pariah by the medical
haemophiliac who was schedcommunity was more devas-

9

. —.—.
care of his
ife, hoping that the governwcidd have restored die useOof
action tEEwW
nOt °Ty /of06,016 Shanghai
intoi-Ml Ma«j- '
Diuduub insmute,
of seU
sell-’
I caused by haemophtiia. With sft*
-~
•abused
■
01
mg
him
HIV
tainted blood
’■ artificial hip in place he
clotting factors, to compenh would have been able to rep^- SS ttXne
i turn to v""
’ ” when
;
£j surgery blood tests revealed
blood tests revpoiozi treatment He is likely to wait
y he was HIV positive, Yin, who a very long time.
| asked only his last name be
ou<
In
Shanghai,
China’s
f
was told t0 pack his bags wealthiest richest and
ar­
I and go home. “I had surgery guably most well educated
on both my knees, why would
metropolis
there
is
no
statute
.they not do it on my hip?” he that guarantees the sick equal
! 183-d’
5° 9?%contract rights under'thelaw
"

■Ml

- <_j--

Certificates, not horoscopes: r1

that outlined the broken
agreement. “They (the doc- |

u •

. i .*——

•.

k-*—

From Rajesh Deol
lage panchayat Twelve deaths g, disease.
'DH News Service
- ‘ - due to AIDS in the past five “ In Manuike;however; there' is
rHAXTr.TnADti’r <».
-' years
village having a pop- now an openness about the way
" Nation of more than 10,000 AIDS is discussed: even children
|
mPer se^d as a grim warning to the- ’and women aren’t shy any
|
horoscopes no longer mat- ' residents.
residents. All
All the
the victims
victims were ’ longer.
longer. The
The residents
residents say
say, thev
they
r ter to the boys and girls of truck
drivers. ■
. carry disposable syringes when_ uck drivers.
. .. ■
f th^^i^rSn H
vnia
g
e
Sarpanch
G
S
Sandhu
.
ever
they
visit
a
doctor
in
the
: Village Sarpanch G S Sandhu .. . ..
L. 2. nl!
LrK- TV
says:
““The
P^ayat
has
taken
- lage
dispensary
'
: •
says:
The
panchayat
has
taken
/
lage
:
dispensary
R w2h certificate from their this decision to raise
The sarpanch claims it was
rsise awareness
pw^*’^**'^**
Cn fnr tTTS, nf \ ’ f ’
about
-The The
whole
vil’ vil-due to ^creased awareness that
about disease
the disease.
whole
HIV
lage 15 concerned about the the village panchayat ’could
:^?eaths ta:‘he.P-t
' decide to fight AIDS head^n. Nir ,
: married has only been a desir- years.” ■
■
f.
------------------------- - _--Sandhu
himself--carries
a small !
‘ able ideal. But Manuke’ has
.. .The panchayat has clearly placardonhispocketproclaim-■ taken the-lead in putting it to decided that none of the boys or i— “T — ------" J
ing: I am aware of .AIDS.".
practice. What is laudable is that girls .from the village would . .When asked about her reaction. :
_ -------- — -..WIXJU. ..nucuaancuauuumei ieciuuunr’. -i
, it has been pioneered in a' rural marry
■ry without getting his or her a 10th Standard girl said: “Ourpur- |
4 area where awareness about the would-be
„w^u-ut
HIV-tested.
Mr ' family has uwau
decided
*
----- >.u that
uiac whenevmicucv- ’z S
deadly AIDS is presumed to be Sandhu' spouse
.
- .
.
Sandhu claimed-iheti
‘ for
' a match for me,; j
claimed that .while .’ er they look
10WD^aJ!„1?1UrbfJ?1areaS-’
. AiDS-related deaths
:
d__'™ had been
’we -would
insist onan HIV test” : <
Remarkably
still,
screening
„
-x.
...
occurring
in
almost
all
villages
■
^ives^tsestsnot,^ .
' [
prospective spouses is not a per- ■
XTfr™ tiLTm few.bofys and .villages
vlUa8es continued
continued to
to ignore
ignore or and tattoo-makers about the pre-- |
fSou^decfi^^^
Silent When 11 fcautions they should take to’cur-i
scious decislon^^by016’
came to disgssmgthe deadly -taU the spread of the virus.|

I

...

------- --- -------------------------- --------- ..................................................................... .i.

____ -_J

rw
g

I
■

fe '■
K

I

&
r •

110.. pc of India’s''' ■ irp'^'!^WDS7on-'Trials^W
AIDS population
lis in Karnataka;
£

Times News Network

•

S’

He has met with many accidents in pursuit of ' Personally, Relieve hii a comprehensive
vv
„.se of
\ his hobbles —rock climbing, sailing, riding,
course
c. treatment The
— problem really Is
much to do — do you provide condoms,
I Jiving, biking, running and squash. Lint ills . how
1
sex education, basic treatment of oppor­
Ills determination not to give up that has
tunistic
infections,
Do
made him such an effective spokesman
■
- ------- ■ lifetime education?
wrpp
I for the cause of HIV/AIDS eradication.
- you provide for the famdy If t he wage
1 8 Seth Berkeley, president and founder of ' '• earner dies? Each country has to decide
practical and affordable.-•
yr
- ■ '■ ’ £
.0 ite
How will you ensure access to
the vaccine
for all who need it? •, ■ ■
i
•
|
'
-^one"^
I^OCOUNTDO
WNWII
One cannot use stared
standard toun^tion
immunisation
I HIV prevalence at ante-natal
techniques here.'A different system must
clinic oiioc*
sites in
In 2001
be created. Also, even if the vaccine is0.3 Davanagere 1.2 I# Why has IAVI chosen India as a venue for , manufactured at much cheaper rates in
Bellary
I We are working in 22 countries. India has India, it’s still going to be too costly lor the

.{ Bangalore: Karnataka con11 stitutes just 5 per cent of the
i; country's population, but has
•I 10 per cent of India’s AIDS Bidar '
0.4 Bangalore 2.0
j|- population. And contrary to Udupi
0.8 Chamarajnagar2.3
serious AIDS problem across different poor. We must put in place mechanisms foi
« common ' perception, HIV
— chances
■
2.7
1.0 Belgaum
groups. The
are the epidemicfinancing
might the poor.
? cases in South India exceed Hubli
and cousins go Hand In.
1.2 Bijapur____ 3_2
i}’ figures recorded in the north- Hassan
in conducting clinical . hand with the trials?
HIV Prevalence by gander.
hiring
and
experience
----i?, ern states.
’•
We need a number of things in place,
STD sample
trials. Given its enormous political• stature, it
H' At a workshop held on
blood screening, testing centres etc.
Area
Male Female
is an ideal candidate for the trials.
1- HIV/AIDS on Friday, G.V. KrUrban 18.0 13.7
What are the main problems you are facing Clearly, you will require counselling during
ishna Rau, project director,
the trials and you will need counselling
Rural 20.8 14,4
in India?
Karnataka State AIDS PreThe main challenge will be to build after the trials.
Dr Stephen
Y vention Society, said Kar—t----- Moses, direcand involve NGOs. No one At what stages will you review the trials?
F’ nataka was placed after Ma- tor, India-Canada collabora-l ■ political support
nai U.«
vavuuc Data has to be reviewed constantly subject
can
disagree
that
the vaccine
is important,
i\ harashtra, Tamil Nadu and tive HIV/AIDS project, said ;
concerns about2"?
exploitation, to approval by fe local community, by
it! Andhra Pradesh in the inci- the higher incidence of in- but there are
" " the government, by UNAIDS, Woi Id Health
fi deuce of HIV cases in the fected victims in the South We have to try and win the trust of all Organisation, etc.
, '
Si country- There have been 143 could be because of higher j concerned, be totally transparent. We Would it be fair to say that the trial
engaging people at all levels and
AIDS deaths, 1,354 AIDS cas- level of migration and quick t1 are
will inva
invariably be from the
answering all queries.
. candidates wilt
> es, 10,833 diagnosed cases at pace of development. At a re- 1 What do you think about India repeatedly marginalised sections.
ante-natal clinics and 4 lakh cent study conducted by the
' Well, in Kenya, we
J. undiagnosed cases in the National AIDS Control Or- refuting the figures
had medical stu­
|
on
HIV
infections?
•i* state. The first case of AIDS ganisation, 7 per cent of I
dents volunteering..
■ was detected in Karnataka in those interviewed in Kar-j| It's necessary to
.■...L'' The critical issuei
have
accurate
figI!:' 1988 and in 2001, there were natakaagreedtohavingmulis protection and if.
| ures in healthcare.
J
It's necessary to have ■ ’ the candidate can-'
.J! an estimated 4 lakh infected ti-partner sex.
accurate figures in , • ■ <' ■
d adults in Karnataka. While
Nirupama Sanna, commu- |5 We need this to ,
not understand It for ';
healthcare... The
?! the number of HIV victims nications specialist, ICHAP, tI know the volume of
: whatever reason, he
. problem is not confined ■ should not be in;
d has doubled in the last four said the use of condoms var- ]| drugs required, the
, to a small community. .,
>i years, presently 1.35 per cent- ied from 22.2 among ruial ;I number of beds
• the trials. Literacy
It is everywhere. The
51 of the general population is men to 58.8 in the urban male, | needed etc. More’ :; alone is not the key?
5
over,
the
problem
is
infection
rate
is
going
d the average figure of pres- “Though awareness among
to awareness. ■ ;
i up, AIDS is not
!• ence of AIDS in Karnataka, the high risk group is higher, | not confined to a
, K. I understand your'- A
under
control.
f- The figures for 2002 are it is accompanied with mis- £ small community. It 3///
~
meeting with presi-'.
U awaited.
' conceptions,” saidNirupama. I is everywhere. The
’ dent, Kalam . went
5-1
The state has 31 voluntary There are certain villages in I infection rate is
off
very
well.
SI counselling and testing cen- Karnataka where eating ba- I going up, AIDS is not under control.
He is a scientist who is very engaged with>
trcs and the current figures nana and administering polio I How will you ensure that the trials don 7 the issue. He had read up before meeting us,i
w do not include projections drops to children is wrongly V violate ethical norms?
j The critical issue is that Indian partners had gone to Pune to study more about our.
d from private clinics.
believed to spread AIDS;c
L will decide the standards to be followed. initiative. He questioned us on a number
■ ■'’.■ .I . -.‘rii'—- T»I
~
II We will not tell you what to do. We need to of issues like parallel trials. The prime.
ieu vuv.vc
r discuss what informed
choice means ...
in minister too has been very supportive and so
example, can has been the health minister. The challenge
| the Indian context -— for -------. is to -turn this political will into action
| adolescents be included? — and* so on.
will ,you
compensation from with no compromise on safety
■
'
j How i...
- separate
.
long
for me
the
.,
.
•
>
----?
How Ions
think it will.^9take Jor
L ...auceifieilljui
inducement for me
the u
trial
iui candidates?
b do you
z
iccine
to
be
100
per
cent
effective?
>
•
In
most
places,
people
aren't
paid.
But
vaccine
effective.
S L. ---- r—. . «---/
.
___ T1-.A ncriwnntinn
ic rliorisinP
V3 the vaccine will
The assumption
that
f if they take time off from work and
travel 'to the trial site, a small stipend not be 100 per cent effective. Indian
which does not constitute conditions will determine how long it,
can be
t_ given
O1
will take for the vaccine trials to be*
unreasonable inducement.
Are there any complications associated with complete. India has a unique role ,ini
leadership
and manufacture.
We have to
the vaccine?
_•, , ■• , }jansparem
----- ,1 about it. -We<
So far all vaccines have been completely be absolutely
are Sv*
struggling to
get
it —
right.
We welcome
*— ©
—- -vsafe. The bigger issue is: We don’t know are
what wih work. There could be possible constructive criticism. But we are aware ,
j
been
that
there
are
about
50
million
people
: side-effects, but so far there's 1
'• - ■ • ■ - y. 2y
By the tirr.?
time we have the
I nothing serious.
. 'infected today.wiYf
have 100 million., The
I Do‘ you feel that the exclusion of anti- vaccine, we will have 100 million., inc
retroviral drugs from the Indian govern-i- world desperately needs a vaccine, we need ’
all the help we can get..
; meat 'smrosramme ip justified?

r
A~

fl

Q'A

10

l/J

DSvaccuie in o yrs: expert {

Bangalore. First stage of the for International Develop:
ment is assisting the Internal
trials will begin in October.
^Bangalore: An indigenous
lllc
------- --- and tional AIDS Vaccine Initia-i
The puuxiv.j
publicly-funded
$DNA AIDS vaccine is expect- inexpensive vaccine has been tive (IAVI) in establishing
Ped to hit
five developed
Na- seven
lUi the
me market
mumvi in uevciupcu
uy mv by the ICMR,
SCVCn
--------- ‘vaccine
.
. development
gyears, said Dr N.K. Ganguly, tional AIDS Control Organi- partnership’ sites m India,
ijDirector General of Indian sation and the Union Min- China. South Africa, Kenya
^Council of Medical Research, istry of Health. It will have and Uganda.
Uganda AIDS
AIDS hotspots
hotspots
Ion the sidelines of the 90th In- six Iridian genetic sub-types. - of the world, he said earlie
«'clian Science
- The
united
States
Agency
in
his
presentation.
Congress in
—r-:-:
r-; ■■^x^y.TyganacMgB.
S

3

i

Times News Network

A

A

c.-

*'

e

a

A
>

07

05
0?

X

|

..

LJr'

-r-

Drugs to plug-mother-child HIV transfer

r
a
’’t)

• By Seothalakshmi S. 1 ' nataka for implementing theJ of India at the 14th All-India •> And the drugs have come chosen as the Centre for Ex-?
Times News Network
Prevention of r*-*
1 - ■
Mother-to.Congress of Obstetricians
.ans ' as a boon to the HIV-affected cellence to provide training
women. The rates of PMCT for 17 medical colleges In the
With'a view to preventing Child Transmission (PMCT). ■ and Gynaecologists.
Karnataka
is
one
of
the
’
..A
feasibility
.study
.
was
have fallen markedly in de- state. "After this, personnel
the mother-to-child transmis­
sion of the deadly AIDS virus high-risk states and the proj- conducted by the team to :veloped countries in recent Including doctors and lab
i ot
..
x..! ..iihosph
of VOOt'C
years. In Europe alone,’the techniciansTn
district
in pregnant women, the Unit- ^LiSKnein5 ^Pteroen/ed evaluate the prevention HF
D the !^arneata-k? S«?.,e HI\. transmissiontransmission% .- from
fr°m PMCT rates have fallen from tals will be trained. We hope
WTAITU P
EZHh!>01;SOC1?t W9,.(, mother to foetus and all the 15.9 per cent in 1994 to 5.4 per to complete the district hos-H
Ini re
. administer the drugs Zidovu- ante-natal
cases
were cent in 1998/99.
.. ........................
j
o „by the
staff
training
dine or Nevirapine to the screened
-------- - rfor
— TTI,r
r‘----pre- •’ • success of pital
HIV -after
Buoyed• •by the
year end,” Rajamma said,
.V t
!
* _ , •» t ■
drug, TTXTT/^Pt?
UNICEF ».whichsup’ £<_
• ■ pregnant women from the test counselling and written thenrlviirv
Mother-to-child transmis-1
36th week till she goes into consent. "The incidence of
cf plies the
’ drug, has decided to sion
HIV .sa
is a major prob-,'
---- --of ....
.j expand the project and pro- lem worldwide. An estimated
ed Nations Children’s Fund labour. Once the woman is in HIV detected in ante-natal
labour,
she
is
given
the
drug
cases
in
approximately
1.1
to
-------- -rx-~ —j *.* *0 vide training to lab teclml- seven lakh newborn infants
(UNICEF), in collaboration
with the National AIDS Con­ every third hour, consultant > 2.5 per cent of HIV positive clans.
acquired HIV from their.
As a first step, Vani Vilas- mothers in the year 2000 i
trol Society, has chosen Kar- for UNICEF-PMCT project mothers were treated with
y■k
K.T. Rajamma told The Times ' _the drugs," she said.
j^aLBangalo^eJiasJieeii^Que, _ .

SCIENCE

g
’l.-v)

2 '3

■2

•2

a

fconcemed
citizens/'-'
- Factsto AIDSg
Wsmcemed
citiseos andpreventlon
myths pertaining
• •
_
HIV are also dealt S
ia©r AIOS awareness
__
( . , rphe other aspect of this |.
Willi.

|.

0

Part of the campaign is prevention
campaign®
the distribution of aa mul- involved installing con-B
./.l.-o
1
'—
3
on
'
dom
vending
machines
to |
5 RICHARD Gere may not be tilingual brochure
around to promote this .AIDS awareness. Written .•• encourage people to prac- g
AIDS awareness cam- /in
Urdu,
English, :tise
i'"' safe'sex. "We will
paign, but that doesn’t • Kannada and Hindi, the ; monitor their use and
ji, dampen the enthusiasm of pamphlet outlines how install more machines as
y| these Lions. Members of AIDS is transmitted and this is an ongoing cam­
nj the Zone 3 Lions Club stresses on methods of paign," says Reddy.
k came together in their 1
■
hundreds on Sunday to
W organise an. AIDS aware- |
‘J ness rally in the DJ Halli
$ area.
“Given that certain
yj cures are still a long way
t; away, we felt the need to |
W focus on awareness andii
prevention," explains zone j
pl chairman VV, Krishna
.T Reddy. "We chose this par- - j
iu ticular area because its ! i
L'i population
comprises *|
Hl groups most vulnerable to H
K AIDS, a large number of|!
@ them being uneducated zl
fiL labourers."
w
si Times News Network
Jj

i

.

U.CUUU.MUUVU VX

i'

J
.]

J
I

' V

■2
’V

V

3'

i

1'
r

r
i '■

11

SUCHITRA BEHAL ;
^/With/a spectre that threatens to envelop’'i
■I •OVI
er.four
■'.'er
four million

people in the country,
country, sex

education and AIDS awareness should be

rw

handled in schools as part of the curricula.

]..... ••:••••••.......
“ T t was ’considered- the ulti­
mate bogeyman. Today the
JL horrendous implications of

that works, jn this sector, "The
close relationship that HIV/
AIDS has is with sex and our not
,;i a spectre that threatens to en- talking about it has been one of
velop over four million people the biggest stumbling blocks.
in the country, are slowly sink­ Four years ago many NGOs
ing in as government and would throw' their hands up
agencies concerned grapple and say.teachers'don't allow it,
with the problem of HIV/AIDS. • managements are against it. j
?
' NGOs working in this sector But today, tilings are different.”. I ■■i-X’■ have stressed the need to edu- Stressing the need for an early
1
----------- ■ cate people on AIDS as well as and cohesive sex education
'■ sex education, since the two are package, in schools, Sharma
• interrelated. In the past few said that, "Schools would defiJ years many of these agencies nitely
■ ■ •' •
: have realised and repeatedly in- need to c-,, ....
; sisted on tlie need for sthools to get their
.
>
- assimilate sex education as part act to­
a
A*'* I
i of their curriculum. An alarm- gether.
; ing 30 per cent of the reported They
. AIDS cases are youngsters in cannot
i the age group of 15 to 24 years, hide be­
'■ It is at this age, that sex be- hind syl­
i comes an overwhelming need labus
, and sexual encounters are most and cur^Creating an awareness.
i fraught with danger because of ricula.
p related discussions.
and
government
follow, ■
ignorance.-The biggest stum-~ Curricula
The terrain as many schools often do not introduce-4
■; bling block has been the reluc- does not l-S?
’>• experts testify, is not sex education till Std. VIII or IX. 1
:■ tance of schools and the take care
easy, considering the fact that By then many young people ■!
■' government to' accept that of day-to-day issues of grow­ most of these are a one off ses­ would already have begun ex- J
! more than 80 per cent of the ing up, feelings, confusion and sion with few follow-ups.
ploring, and gathering loads of j
•I reported cases are sex-related.
lack of information." Schools
misinformation. According toil
Another stumbling 1block
‘
•|( According to Gunjan Sharma usually relied on experts to deal that facilitators face is the pol- Venu Arora, a film maker who
i’ of the Naz Foundation, an NGO with questions arising from sex
Continued on page 4
i<______ ___
raising self-esteem and skills ofall teachers as their enthusi-jlT
O' '

i

<

’ <• • •;

B£CCAN J2C5ALD

-r

Esiswio

Ci^ S

H

asm is infectious and carries to
all subjects.
• ;;
As Dr. Colin emphasises, this
curriculum is imperative to the.
health, well-being and develop­
ment of the children and youth.
That children are the future of,
our world may be a truism but’
it is a reality nonetheless. And
it is up to us adults to give
them a good future. One way,’
is to improve their health edu-- cation, living skills and quality
of life.
-s

ii Continued from page 1

1 JAN

!

• Health" and “Responsibility that can be used to involve the
and Health" are meant to help children in participating direct­
students make personal choic- ly in the teaching-learning
• es on aspects of their own and process. More important, the
their community's health is- students are encouraged to un­
. sues. It is the lessons on Safety, dertake’projects at home and
Environmental Health, Nutri­ community as part of their ac­
tion, Substance Abuse and tion oriented work. These in­
Consumer Health that are im­ clude cartoons, charts, making
portant. Since the programme scrapbooks, different theatre
being implemented in forms, puppets and action pro­
is first
f
government schools, this is jects. Emphasis is placed on
what has attracted teachers and
’’r^fr-T^TTT
students alike. Dr. Kanakaraj
-1
• recounts the story of a student,
Xq
' who after the lesson on sub­
stance abuse ensured her fa• ther quit smoking. Lessons like
,1 coping with medical emergen'C\ cies and the role of the envi­
ronment in health are today
essential for all children, irre­
spective of their backgrounds.
While • the topics . are the
same, the content differs as the
student progresses from one:
'-~z..-X^W48 ' .t V
. class to another. While all thi?.,.
may sound dull on paper, the
L'*'/'','/-!'/
Teacher's Manual lists a series <
'^\f the methods and strategies Looking towards a healthier tomorroiu.

'

■w

Hi®

ssi

$
C

c
c

C

c

c

c
^^sjy.
.112

MJsLcSHtis

c
€
6

f
,y

^7'

.....

'J -

p- ^*7 1 r ‘

....

'*

~R”' •’*w*fc* ,g,Wl|l.lS,y

Kanakaraj points out that the
curriculum was developed by
people Who have to use it, in
the culture of that community
AZ:
■ R. KRITHIKA ;;
• .... ,
and in their language. The aim
■'
■ •• •.
-A •
, •
;
is to empower children on
their health and that of their
family and community. Chil­
dren not only learn about rele­
Program", seems
vant issues but are 'also
encouraged to spread what
like the
they learn. Thus is the quality of
p,
living improved and ignorance
of health issues eliminated.
lining, as it takes
Such a programme cannot
health education.'
'
function by itself. It has to have
- < - ,x.>,
. the support of die school ad:
to the schools in'
ministration and the teachers.
- Tamil Nadu and
To enthuse them, workshops
■ . hopes to r ,
z A1-z
and refresher courses are held
regularly. A “Teacher’s Manual”
.- implement it in
....... .r.Xl'
has been compiled by teachers,
other states too.
T.he future of the nation...Z
headmasters, teacher educa­
tors, health workers and med­
ical personnel and edited by
uch is being said them on total health issues is Pondicherry, while a begin- 1 Manamedu Gurunathan to
about the need to tell put on the backburner. That is ning has been made in Rajas- make the lessons child-friendly.
v JL children of the hor- why the programme by the than and negotiations are on
According to the prorors of war, of deforestation, of Heal th Education and Promo- with
with Delhi
Delhi and
and Madhya
Madhya PraPra­ gramme, there are five dimenglobal warming and other such tion International Inc. seems desh.
desh. The
The success
success depends
depends on
on sions to health: Intellectual,
issues. Yet, there is one crucial like the proverbial silver lining, the cooperation from govern- social, spiritual, emotional and
aspect to life that is pretty much Called “Schools Total Health ment
ment officials
officials and,
and, contrary
contrary to
to physical.
physical. Health is defined as
Program””, , the
the core
core group,
group,who
who the
ignored. What about health Program
the general
general image
image of
of an
an apaapa­ "optimal personal fitness for
education? Today, we are look­ are active in ensuring the suc­ thetic bureaucracy, Dr. Yarham full creative living". And Health
ing at a global epidemic, HIV/ cess of this programme, are Dr. says, “We have received much Education is "the application of
AIDS. The media regularly go to Colin Yarham, an international support from the Directorate of a wide range of learning experi­
town on the various diseases authority on health promotion Education and Secretary of ences to facilitate voluntary ad­
that seem to spread more especially for children and Health. Workshops have been aptation of lifestyle to the
alarmingly every year — den- youth, Dr. D. Kanakaraj, whose conducted for government offi- practices of good health". The
gue fever, malaria, cholera, ty- doctorate is in agriculture and cials, teachers, and health programme not only aims to in­
phoid and more — there are community development, Ma- workers in all districts. They see crease awareness ofj health is­
other problems like malnutri­ namedu Gurunathan, a poet it as real education to meet the sues but also tries to improve
tion, violence, substance abuse, and former headmaster, Anuja needs of today”.
the children’s life skills like
yet little is done to meet these Kak, who has vast experience in
What is this programme all communicating, decision-makvery real problems of great con­ community work, and Dr. Juliet about? The key to the whole ing, problem solving, analysing,
cern to all young people.
Willets (environmental engi- thing is that it is relevant edu- coping with stress and emo­
All will agree that children neering and health).
cation on health, life skills and tions and others.
■
are f
ln
r>
no
the hope of the future and__ The programme has been imsocial _ develonmont in
nnn
<;nrh as "Social
yet the net •.lys;--'
,
agencies to talk with their se- Continued on page 4
students, it has now felt the
ia e n
■•••• nior
niorstudents,
■' need to initiate the discussions
'
. •» at an earlier stage and may do
,
DECCAN HERALI aContinued from page 1
so from Std. VI or VII. A lot de■ i’< L’ pends on the readiness of the
; 3 students and our capsules adjust accordingly."
But again the interpretation
of this information is the prob­
lem. It is here that the teachers'
role becomes crucial. Said Ar,
'V ora, "In a 45-minute session
r. AA ■ what can you tell them? This is
’ just a tool in the school which
i :/s then has to be taken up by the

insuring school health

1

■■■

V’r0 ’

1
1

J
1

i

j

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ ■

■] ;

-J :

3 ;
1 ■
i ‘
j •
i

<'

M

—4 ■ Confrgn'ting

1 JAN

]

‘

RWWW]’

'■ 3- teachers."
<
Sharma says the“ideal would
, ,• be a situation where you could
3 Dispelling myths about AIDS. : ;>
have an expert talk to students
|
.. .! ' ■ - a .
. u
. .it ' and teachers and train a core I
I has made a documentary ously rest with the facilitators. group. If the parent associ­
"Growing Up" for BBC World, 1
Some of the more innovative ations step in, that would be
"Because of AIDS, sex educa- ■ schools like Shri Ram have great." And though there is an
tion has been in focus. But I feel, managed to equip their teach- optimistic note being struck by
that it should begin at an earlier . ing staff with basic pre requi- the NGOs who feel that today
age."Arora who has worked sites that they are able to deal schools have opened their
with various schools in Delhi, with sex related topics that crop doors a bit more, there is still'
Vasant Valley, Delhi Public up in school.
much work to be done. Institu-)
According to Leena Aparjita, tions have to realise that this is
; School, Shri Ram — to name a
. few, said the ideal would be to head of the senior school, “We not the time to sweep sex re-!
’ start discussing ideas before is- have had an adolescent educa- lated issues under the carpet,;
■<ues. Decisions on how much •• tion programme since 1993.” but grapplile
with them'
' tell and at what age obvi- While the school invites outside directly.

1 3

HIV-infected sibling^ at
home in govt school

SI

’ I-

DECCAN HERALD

tt e ( LB 2003

K()l.l,AM.Eebl7(UNI)
since they were rejected by Secretarial on February 13,
Seven-year-old Bency and five- their fourth school. St George Chief Minister A K Antony in­
year-old Benson are now in English Medium School at tervened and issued a directive
their fifth school in two years in Achallur, on October 20 -last the same day for the children to
the highly literate state, of year. Johny had almost lost be admitted in the nearest govKerala. They have also had' no hope for his grandchildren, eminent school. Acting quickly
school to go to in the past five who carry not only the stigma on
— the chief minister's di­
months and for no fault of of being the children of AIDS rective, Kollam District Colvictims but also the dreaded lector Rajan Khobragade. the
theirs.
Infected with HIV from virus itself, till the Kollam- Education Department and the -'
birth, and having been ejected based AIDS Aid Centre led by AIDS Control Society secured
mercilessly from four schools Fl- Thottam came to his help.
admission for the children at
Notwithstanding the fact Kaithakuzy.
mainly because of objections
from parents of schoolmates, ■ that the children had at last
“There is absolutely no
the two finally entered the found a school that accepted problem for headmistress
classrooms of the Kaithakuzhy them, Johny seemed less than Jameela Beevi and the teachers
government lower primary happy. After seeing off Bency in admitting the children to the
school on Monday, thanks to the and Benson to their classrooms, school. As you know, there may
intervention of the gov­ he said: "I cannot say if things not be any resistance from the
will be smooth here. I heard fellow students." said M N Guernment.'
After remaining at home for murmurs outside the school navardhanan, senior. IAS of­
nearly five months, the two sib­ campus this morning also. I ficerand Project Director of the
lings were admitted to the cannot say anything now. Let us State AIDS Control Society.
Kaithakuzhy school near tlieir wait for a few more days."
But the task ahead is formi­
Orphaned by the deaths of dable, he admits, and says an in­
home on February 14, Bency to
class' two and her younger their father K C Chandy in 1997 tensive awareness drive among
and mother Mary in 2000, the parents would help to remove
brother Benson to class one.
The school, with a strength children were looked after by the social stigma attached to
qf 160 children, had an anxious Johny with his meagre pension the innocent victims. Further
huge crowd waiting outside from the defence department intervention programmes are
when the kids came in carrying with which he worked for being worked out to prevent
their dusted bags and accom­ nearly 25 years. "The war that I
panied by their grandfather had to wage for their admission any discrimination against the
Geevarghese Johny and social was at least ten times more children in the school. "We
activist Fr Johny Thottam at., strenuous than the one 1 fought don't think our job has ended,
in tKn*1Q71
the ftm ” We will have to continue our acin the KargiTsector 5n
9.30 in the morning.
tivity there,” he added. The
With tears rolling down his Indo-Pak war." Johny" said.
Following an indefinite fast children would not pose any
cheeks, 62-year-old Johny said
t- -_____ 1.1____ 4
’
’
j
and
his
granddanger
to their schoolmates, he
he could not secure admission by Johny t
- „
••

it

.1 *’ t ....

...

iLIvnil *«%

•1

Woman iiijecled^nFvirus”’1
by husband, dies
dECCAN HERALD H

9 Ftb 2003

14

years back Venkat had thrown High Court Chief Justice about
DH Nows Servlca
his wife out of his house but the matter. Treating the letter as
IlJHUBANESWAR. Ecb 18
taken her back following inter­
P1L. Chief Justice P K BalasubThe Orissa High Court has vention by the women's cell of aramanyan
directed the Rayagara
directed the superintendent of the Rayagara district adminis­ SP to inquire
into, the incident
police of Rayagara district to tration.
and submit a report to the court
conduct a thorogh inquiry into a
In early 2001, Venkat was al­ as early as possible.
reported Aids-related case in leged to have forcibly given his
When the incident came to
which a man is alleged to have wife an injection witJi the help of light. Chief Minister Naveen
injected the virus of the dreaded two others and hadyhrown her Patnaik sanctioned Rs 20,000
disease into his wife's body.
out of his house again.
from the Chief Minister s Relief
The woman died in her
She was reportedly blind­ Fund for her treatment.
brother’s place in Nowrangpur folded when the injection was However, she succumbed before
town in Nowrangpur district last given to her.
the government help could reach
Sunday
A few days after the incident, her.
The local police in Rayagara Rajani who had by now shifted to
She has left behind an eight­
I district have already filed an FIR her brother's place in neigh­ year-old-son. The government
against the husband on the basis bouring Nowrangpur district, has announced that it would take
[Of a complaint filed by the had fallen ill.
When her brother t<x>k her for care of his studies.
woman's brother. The man, a
The Rayagara district admin­
teacher at a local school, is ab­ treatment to a hospital in Vizag istration remained tightlipped
in
neighbouring
Andhra
sconding.
about
the case. However, a senior
(Rayagara
and
According to the FIR, one Pradesh
district official who did not want
Venkat Raman of Hatmuniguda Nowrangpur districts of Orissa to be quoted said prima facie evi­
Andhra Pradesh),
villagd'1 in tribal-dominated neighbours
tested HIV positive. Another dence of "cruelty'' had been
southern Orissa Rayagara dis­ she
blood test in a different hospital found against the husband.
trict had married Rajani Kumari had also reportedly shown the
The blood sample of Rajani
of the same district in 1991.
same results.
has been sent to National Aids
After marriage, Rajani was alThe Orissa High Cou.i
Court Control Organisation for further
legedly tortured by her husband steppeci in after one Prabir examination. Efforts are on to
repeatedly for dowry. Three .Kumar_Das2vrote_a Jetter to the__nab thejjian,.221*

A

c.‘

cI
1

•

c

'

I b Two children of Bxpenmenta '9 Malawi Minister
; T AIDS victims ; AIDS vaccine says he lost 3
safe for babies: children to AIDS I
‘fast’ their
ULONGWE (MALAWI), FEB. 19. I
Making an impassioned h
way to school .
US study
plea for his country to get |

8

2^

-Mi

T3

O

"3

1

^4
1

KOLLAM,- Feb 14 (PTI)
I WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters)
tough on the AIDS pan-1
At an age when they should be An experimental AIDS vaccine demic, a Government c
frolicking around, two orphaned seems to be safe for babies born Minister disclosed on I
siblings have had to brave odds’ to women infected with HIV and Tuesday that three of his |
to get themselves admitted to a early signs suggest it may help children had died of AIDS. |
school -- not for monetary fea--protect them from infection, US
The Lands and Physical £
Planning Minister, Then- I
sons but because both their.par-; researchers have said,
The vaccine, made by Aventis i 2° M^oya,
ents died of the dreaded;
. made
2 rare the
|
to »
|
Acquired Immuno DeficiencyfPasteur, is one of dozens being „ emotional disclosure
___ —
Syndrome, called AIDS.
'tested although few experts be- I fnembers of his staff dur-1
Seven year old Bency and fiveTieve any of them could actually Ilng . a.n AIDS awareness £
year old Benson^whS^are also prevent HIV infection in a global | workshop. He said that he
| had lost two sons and one
infected with HIV will attend population.
school from Monday, after a gov- |■ Instead, doctors are hoping to daughter to the disease in
the last 10 years,
ernment school in Kollam dis- use different vaccines on dif“It is very painful,” said
trict admitted them following.ferent
following ferent groups in the hope of preMr. Maloya. “They would
gthe Chief Minister’s interven- venting some infections^
have taken care of me and
u-u , - ,
One of these areas is in
buried me but instead I
h
The children were denied mother-to-child fransmission of have buried them at such
their basic right to education as
AIDS virus. About a quarter I an early age.” As in many
school after school refused them of children born to HIV-infected other African countries, j
admission as word about their mothers catch the virus either | an intense stigma sur-I
HIV cpndition and parents past durilIg birth or
h breast rounds the disease in Ma­
spread faster than they took tomilk Givi
the mother
lawi, where
reach the institutions said baby d
reduce
14 per cent of the 11
Lal an C Jacob, Project Officer of v.,
u
r
[million people here are
a National AIDS Control
“J8?1 be safer'
I HIV positive. People are
Organisation (NACO) aided- a
IsaHcheaperreluctant to get tested for
NGO at Punaloor under the - A network
rietwork of doctors across the HIV virus or go public
the United States, led by Dr Eliz­ with their status. The Minri. ,j
Kerala State AIDS Control.
of the Uni- istersaidit was time Mala___ __ abeth MacFarland
r
,
g versity of Colorado Health Sci-1wians realised the extent ‘
ences Center, tested Aventis I of the AIDS pandemic in
Pasteur’s experimental ALVAC-1 their country.The disease ■
HIV vCP205. They tested 23 j^as cut life expectancy in I
Nabarangpur (Orissa): Rajbabies with four doses of the
country to 36 years, |
vaccine.
I according to U.N. figures. |
ani Kumari, who had made a
/
A
Mr-Maloya said his Minis- |
startling allegation about her
HERALD 1try alone had lost close to r
husband injecting her with
. . j 100 key members to AIDS f
the HIV virus, died here on
| in the past six years. “This t
Sunday night.
Z r £ Li 700 J
is a very serious issue, let’s [
The ailing housewife had
Sb •* F £ U L'JU J
agree that AIDS is killing |
charged that her husband
people,” he said. — AP
|
had been torturing her for
more dowry and had given
her an injection after which
she fell sick.Chief Minister
Naveen Patnaik had sanctio­
9
ned Rs 20,000 from his relief
fund for her treatment and
education of her eight-year- WASHINGTON, Feb 12 tPTI)
get as many as eight million, up I
India is fast approaching danger­ from two million today due to the g
old son only two days ago.
ous levels of HIV infection with
rampant use of infected drug nee- »
4ip to 25 million HIV-positive
dies, the US National Intelligence g
cases — more than any other
Council report on the global AIDS |
country in the world — projected
threat said.
B
for the year 2010, CIA has said.
President George W Bush has 9
More dhan,40 million people asked Congress to sanction US I
J
worldwide are infected with the
$15 billion over the next five years g.
virus that causes AIDS, most of to fight the menace worldwide!
them in southern Africa, US
another US $16 billion tog
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - and
tackle the virus in the US alone. I
director George Tenet told the
Warning that the epidemic cans
Senate Intelligence Committee
undermine the stability and I
here yesterday
economy of many countries, he|
India and China are expected
to see a vast increase in their HIV­ said it can “undermine economics
growth, exacerbate social ten-H
positive population, Mr Tenet
sions, diminish military pre-B
said, adding, India alone could
have up to 25 million cases by the
paredness, create huge social wel-H
‘ end of the decade. China can have fare costs and ______
further weakens •
about 15 million cases by the end already beleaguered states,”
^of the decade while Russia may ..r Tenet added.

I

3 .

2 5
.1
3 5

1 0

1

J
.1

3

5

1 =
J t

I '0■

I•
3

I2
J

Woman Injected
| with HIV' dies

6India^iiay)liave 25 mil 1
AIDS cases by 2010

d3

alb

15

2
2

e

bi y wmi 03 preva^erice1n I
times national averago

!

El

n

By Our Special
Correspondent

Another team from the foun­ which would force. i’r .r, , ...
dation was expected to arrive date their skillin the State next month to fi­ abreast of recent adwmu
n
GULBARGA, FEB. 21. The Health nalise the proposals.
.the field, the tin: w .s net 1-j,-)e
and Family Welfare Minister,
Mr. Thimmappa, said the for introducing the sys: h \n
Kagodu Thimmappa, today ad­ Government would propose to the countiy.
mitted that HIV/AIDS was in­ the foundation to take up area
Mr. Thimmappa said
he
creasing at an alarming rate in specific programmes in the dis­ would be deputing a tea
3f
E the State. Compared to the na- tricts where the disease was officials and doctors m - the
•tional average of one HIV/AIDS fast spreading, to improve in­ districts to inspect whethci the
case per 1,000 population, the frastructure and launch an in­ infrastructure provided in .ie
? State’s average was 3:1000.
tensive campaign against the district- and taluk-level hospi­
fi
Mr. Thimmappa told press- disease.
tals was being utilised '■ a
Apart from this, he said the proper manner.
£ persons here that the Govern- •
L ment had identified Bellary, Government had established
"Our intention is to ensure
|
Gulbarga, Bijapur, Bagalkot, full-fledged blood banks with that all the equipment :
d3
Dharwad, Uttara
Uttara Kannada, testing facilities in all the dis- ed to the hospitals is put io use.
k
DakshinaKannada, and Udupi trict headquarters. Counselling A. permanent monitoring set« as high prevalence districts oand
mA
3 nOdll Officei W
centres for UnZ/AIHC
HIV/AIDS patients yp
id
comprehensive measures were had been established in 34 cen­ be established in all the dis­
being taken to create aware­ tres, including five taluks in the tricts to ensure the proper use
S'
11VOO
U»k- people uu
ness UlllVJllg
among the
about State.
of medical equipment ir he.
the dangers of the disease.
There was a proposal before government hospitals." he said.
Apart from the assistance the Government to establish
In the next Budget, provi­
provided by Canada to combat counselling centres in all taluk sions would be made for
toree ir^
the disease, the Bill Gates headquarters. All government ing preliminary diagnostic and
i------ .-.-i- would
----- u--------_ few
r_... treatment facilities in ',-?asr
reserve a
k Foundation had also come for- hospitals
beds for the treatment of AIDS such as oncology, neurc .gym­
l ward to provide assistance. Altwo
rounds
of
cardiology, and nephrology in
g ready
cf patients.
discussions had been held in
To a question, Mr. Thim- all government general b oi>
Bangalore with a team from the mappa said there was no pro­ tals in the district headquar­
Bill Gates Foundation. The posal before the Government ters. He had convened a
Government had submitted to seek changes in the existing meeting of senior ofneit
j.*—1..„? the Jayadeva Institute of uarbo.th area specific and project Central legislation to .-introduce
specific proposals and would a clause providing for tire
the re- diology, NIMHX.XS, and the
extend cooperation to~ the newal of registration of medical Kidwai Memorial Institu
ot
| j foundation for any of the pro- practitioners once in five years. Oncology to work out the clcjects taken up.
Although it was a good idea tails, he added.

I

I

DECCAN

HERALD

(f

Z003

•Z I t

i

HiMwu

ew body to fight AIDS in AfriCct

j

!
1’6

LECC/H; 7K-EPALD'

I

PARIS, Feb 21 (Reuters)
UN Secretary-General Kofi
Annan said he was setting up a
high-level commission on AIDS
and good governance in Africa to
help stem the spread of the disease across the worst-affected
continent.
He
yesterday
appealed for hard-cash commitments from leaders of the
world’s richest nations when
they meet at a summit in France
in June, adding to the US S15 billion US President George W
Bush has already earmarked to
be spent over the next five years.
Mr Annan said, AIDS in
Africa was killing the most productive members of society -from teachers and doctors to
businessmen and the armed
forces - and ushering in “a governance and development crisis
of catastrophic dimensions”.
Speaking at a Franco-African
I summit in Paris, Mr Annan
g announced the new commission
| would help African policymaki ers deal with the impact the pan- .
I demic is having on their ability
| to foster development. “We will
E need to rebuild the capacity of
the state to provide essential

3
I
|
|
|
|
|
g
|
g
g
|
|
|
g
fl
|
|
|
|
§
|
|
I

MMJ

•

French President Jacques Chirac (L) talks with UN SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan in Paris during the third working session f
the 22nd Franco-African Summit on Friday.

public services,” he said, adding
more details on the commission
would be announced shortly. Mr
Annan said despite progress
made by many African leaders to
improve public awareness and
prevention of AIDS and fight the
itrrV■ PS. V

stigma attached to the dist O C-|
much more was needed.
“I urge you to continue speak1
ing about the disease, an
c
stress the need for safe seXj
including the use of conuc'’'-''-.
he said.

......

u-?<- .
:xa2ysjszz:7»

■1 ~ ~

"

.... ... .
......... ..... . __ . . ......
-

F- zzzr
1:

1'

J •’

] '•

r
T';

—vr

’X _________________________________ ____ _ _ _ ______ ______________

..

___

........

wtwwsw;

I Trials on :new AID S drug progressing
(RTIs) and for prevention of transmission of vention of STDs, he added. Available in the
HIV and HPV" at the national conference on form of a cream, pessary and tablet is for­
JAIPUR, Feb 6
' j..
•
■ .
Recent Advances in Reproductive" Health, mulated from purified Neem, Reetha, Mentha
Praneem, the new drug that promises to organised by the Department of Zoology, Citrata oil. Changes have also been made fol­
inhibit the growth of AIDS and also holds the University of Rajasthan here today.
lowing suggestions of users during trials to
■
distinction of being India's first attempt at a
Dr Talwar said the drug’s efficacy in treat- make it purified, odourless and colourless.'
scientific drug for the deadly disease, is ing reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and
Praneem tablets have been improved by
undergoing trials at the National AIDS sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) has introducing small size, properties for ready
Research Institute, Pune.
already been proved in phase I safety clinical dispersion, no foaming and better spread­
Dr Gursaran Pran Taiwan, founder direc­
trials at the Post Graduate Institute of ing. Dr Talwar hopes Praneem would be
tor of tire National Institute of Immunology
Education and Research, Chandigarh, "highly effective" in inhibiting the transmisin Delhi and the brain behind Praneem today
Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi and Kamla sion of HIV.
said that the drug was being tested at NARI,
Apart from the Phase II clinical trails on jj
Pune under a grant sanctioned by the Nehru Hospital .Allahabad. Phase n efficacy
trials
in
women
with
RTIs
have
also
indicated
Praneem
at the National AIDS Research i
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO)
to the Talwar Research Foundation, Delhi. positive results with Praneem Polyherbal Institute, Pune where trials will be per-®
formed both on monogamous women and
He said the trials have indicated an inhibito­ ■ tablet, he added. .
. Being cytotoxic to virus infected cells and high risk sex workers, multi-centre efficien­
ry effect on the replication of HIV (human
immuno-deficiency virus), the virus respon­ having the potential to inhibit further trans­ cy trials on Praneem tablets were also on at
mission of the virus, it's now being tested for ix prestigious institutes in the country, he
sible for AIDS.
Winner of many prestigious awards like AIDS, Dr Talwar said while delivering his remarked. These trials are being conducted
the Padmabhushan and Officier de la Legion keynote address at the inaugural day of the at the PGIMER, Chandigarh and Kolkata J'
d' honneur Professor G P Talwar, director of three-day national conference on recent . AIIMS, Delhi, KEM, Mumbai and Pune and^
Talwar Research Foundation was delivering advances in reproductive health. Praneem IRR, Mumbai. Besides, a pilot study is to bef
a keynote
’
address on."current.and approved -Polyherbal has dual properties, that of undertaken at the Institute of Cytology and r
envisaged trials on Praneem vaginal tablets killing sperm, contraception, killing of geni- Preventive Oncology (ICPO), Delhi on HPVj
Fij for cure of reproductive tract infections tai pathogens as well as cure of RTIs and preDH News Service

■

I

' F

J

J
J

HERALD

AIDS ‘cure’
f I drug firm raided 1 i

s 7 I to 2803

!| i THIRUVANANTHAPUR.AM. Feb 7
Ul (DHNS) -

g i Drugs Control officials yester£ j day raided a firm in Kochi
£
f?! ■ which was manufacturing and
.J3.S7 million infected '
;; I selling drugs claiming to cure
■ftwith HIV in the country
' ; AJDS and other diseases in. viofl @ An estimated 3.97 million people in India are
ii " lation of a high court order bar.4 ring the firm from selling such
infected with HIV, the largest number after
i? drugs without valid licence.
V^T'^^^GTON: The first AIDS vaccine to’ j South Africa, Minister of State for Health and
Reports reaching here said
Family Welfare A Raja said here today
H
’ be tested in people does not offer much pro-'
d the officials recovered docu■ - the
■ Raj ya Sabha- A
He told
in a written reply
g tection to the general population but may protect
’< : ments and ayurvedic preparathat of the total disease burden,
•^blacks and Asians, reports Reuters quoting"
j: tions from the premises of Fair
every year about 10 per cent in­
§ vaccine-maker VaxGen Inc.
rj . Pharma. “The firm is selling the
fected persons
pcicuno progress to
N Long-awaited results from the VaxGen’s trial' i asfentd'*fecieu
i banned Immuno-QR in another
Rof AIDS VAX show the vaccine only reduced the BigteSW AIDS. He said the State AIDS
,< ■ brand name — CFS-QR at exorControl Society in Orissa had |
grate of HIV infection by 3.8 per cent in 5,400 . •
jp bitant prices...
said a
gmen
1 |L Notebook completed a survey in 11 out of |
len and women considered at high risk, .
30 districts in the state on vul-1
: spokesman for the Drugs
axGen company said in a statement.
____________________________________ • nerable
populations. An amount of Rs 4.48 crore I
H; Controller.
had been sanctioned by the Centre to the state |
for AIDS control programmes during the first
two months of this year as against 5.65 crore in

I

I First MS uaccme
|mayurotectblac!<s

i

___

^5 FEB 2007

;g

—

^"ATDS vaccine ' shows some promise
•_
—t
planned to continue develop- VAX vaccine even if it was t
was reduced
by ”
78” per cent
- ing the vaccine and will exonly 30 per cent effective —t
ly anticipated experimental
-alfinding the researchers
’ The rate
'
amine more closely why it “
reflecting the urgency of x |
said was unexpected.
AIDS vaccine failed to pro­
worked better in blacks and ’ finding weapons against the ;
was reduced by 67 per cent
tect most people from the
for all non-white volunteers . Asians than it did in whites ;; AIDS epidemic. Most apdisease in its first major
proved vaccines are more
and Hispanics.
other than Hispanics.
.
.
s
trial, although it did show
“This is the first time we
Experts believe a vaccine is • than 80 per cent effective.
'"
promise in protecting blacks
r
oway to
The experiment, which in
r
have specific numbers to sug- ' the most promising
and Asians, its developer
stop
the worldwide AIDS
said. The overall expected
gest that a vaccine has pre■
*tt>c epi- , volyed 5,400 people at high
___ not re- , .vented
vented HIV
demlc, which has already ' ■7/risk had been criticised by
rate of infection was
HIV infection
infection in
in
duced
J humans,” VaxGen vice- presi- ' killed 20 million people and . / some activists who say it
pie who volunteered to take dent, Phillip Berman, said.
infected 40 million more.
could encourage risky behathe vaccine,
VaxGen Inc. . :I ’“We’re not sure yet why cer- ;. Several
other
vaccines are in
yiour. Even if. the vaccine
----.
: proved effective on some
said on Sunday. However,
tain groups have a better im- development.
,;
17
Food and
and Drug
Drug AdminAdmin- level
level, there
there might be
' no way
the expected Infection rate
mune response.”
- J*. , • Pie Food
The Brisbane, California-..
California- >'’4 ; ‘Istration
if It
it has worked on a
for the 314 black volunteers -...The
Istration. told VaxGen It would to tell If
who reived ^e ^c^ . jt3y_based
.based <x)mpanystdd it//.^^./^t^l^;eppro^g Ito An^^-'parB^ar lndlyM^I^^AP 3 ^
SAN FRANCISCO, FEB. 24. A high­

v
h J

' " “ 'turiV " m tai.u'*’’ V.'-.v*'

"ua ’ \.m"

Vz

zu

.

iessonsf
tion compared to whites? “We jirt way resistance v;v?. .
The VaxGen’s vaccine did not meet
don’t know. We are yet to see the dt- groups. Extrapolating
.'ich$
, its prime objective. Though the number
tailed results of the trial to know frr differences in effica. . h • ■
thir
sure about differences in antibody the Indian popular ■ . : ' h, can- a.
of volunteers was small, Asians have
formation. More importantly it is net .not draw a firm conclusion 1.
i°n ir
right to say that Indians may be more the
*’■"small
---- ”-----1----- 1 N1’ •.erthcicss it; is
numbers.
0 :bee;i found to have better resistance post
infection resistant post vaccination a quite possible to see : ;.h di;' .Tenet
| vaccination. Does it mean Indians are at an there were so few people of Asian de- in India, he predict s.
in the trial," Mr. Chataway clatThat brings us to h
■i ■ ssue of ”
advantage? Only clinical, not lab or animal - scent
ified
...
how IAVI is going
■. rhe tria
The absence of large number cf phase..According to
Chataway,
<
. trials, can confirm it.

i

the trial does throw some light in tla

inical trials M
spread across diffcrc n; regions of the
country to a: it ri.st get a clue a,,
.
if this efficacy variation,3
within the ; ' ;'?-tion is in' ’

fj W 'X IFTEEN YEARS from design to..The LWT has seriously takH
: completion ^of ®(first •»{|art) jen the President’s suggestion
J cT
n N J ’ phase III clinical’ trials, mil- to investigate several of the
»j
lions of dollars ’ and many .most promising approaches
Kj n]an-hours were spent. Net resedt - j'.to get a working and effica(d not very encouraging results to''say ■ cious vaccine. Accordingly, it
tlrte least. The AIDSVAX vaccine has is discussing three or four
i < failed in its primary goal of demon- other approaches with 1CMR
'4
[ipstrating its efficacy to prevent HIV in- 'and NACO to get the best
y
®.
h fection. Period. But is this the end of possible vaccines. These yW ."2
...
[ the road to developing
to) candidate vaccines would be
, ®, a vaccine
’
..
f: fight AIDS? It is only the end of the- -over and above the already |4 •
beginning.
'•
accepted MVA route. “ICMR
The AIDSVAX, the first of AIDS vac- experts will evaluate the pos- tj
cines to ever be fully tested on hu- ,'sibilities with
mans has thrown up more questions hope to freeze on some addi- ft
than it has answered. But scientifical- -tional approaches in the Fi
|,:J
ly speaking it is progress sensu strictu. coming months," said Mark g
11
<•] And for India that is gearing up to Chataway, Team Leader, IAfH1 start its own AIDS vaccine phase I trial VI, India. “But working on
H by the end of the year, results from these additional candidate
in AIDSVAX have unportant implica- vaccines will not slow down
H tions. There are many lessons to be our progress with MVA.”
h learnt, some slight modifications in , ,r Statistically
higher ’
the - approach warranted and many (though actual numbers are
•'*
apprehensions to be set aside a£ we very' few) antibodies seen in
prepare ourselves for the trial. Some . blacks and other ethnic popM mid course correction not connected ulations and hence their betli to AIDSVAX results has already I'gip-'. ter ability'to remain infection
M pened.
. free with a vaccine comH 'Tor a start, International AIDS Vac-" pared to Caucasians (Whites
Hispanics) was one of .
'
cine Initiative (IAVI) is going ahead
>.• -L
'
with its plan of using modified vac­ the main highlights of the :
Three or four other approaches to get the best
cine Ankara (MVA), a pox virus. But trail. Is this in any way relemultiple
muitipie and innovative approaches vant to India? Can we assume possible vaccines are looked at. These would be
‘ j that vaccinated Indians may over and above the already accepted Modified
& have been talked about in conducting
- have better resistance to infec- Vaccine Ankara (MVA) route.
'■ > the trial in India.
.

deed true.

.. v

utcu iui£.

® i ■ 7 i is . .......

81

I

I

'

multicentric clinical trials
becomes all the more compelling if LAVI intends to test
more than one candidate Eq­
vaccine.
The trials at additiona
sites in other regions (for .
other vaccines) will be in'ft*
addition to those that LAV1
is planning for MVA. “Trial
at additional sites for other
candidate vaccines should 9
in no way slow the MV ;
trial,” he assured. The phasej*I trail of MVA is likely to$
start by the end of this year
The results of AIDSVAX^.
have only gone to strength-gi
en LAWs r-solve to begin*'*
clinical tri:A at the earliest.
"AIDSVAX trial has rein-g'1
forced the message that on "
ly clinical trials can give uc
answers. No lab results or;J
animal trials provide an ac-^
ceptable substitute, ” ht
emphasised. Above all, it^'!>'
has prepared LAVI to expectg
unforeseen results and fol
k.
low up on them.
.
H
© R. Prasad^
■ in Chenna

-----------

THE HIBD'S'

'2-7 FEB 2093

;f®vVas it a Toregone -concnusion?

£

clinical trials.
change the trend of the epidemic.
AIDSVAX, failed m meeting its
Is the real efficacy measured by F
Will a booster dose given at a later
prime objective. But Jean-Louis
stage
not
prolong
the
protection
ca
­
its
ability' to prevent infection im- 1
Excler, Director, Medical Affairs,
material of the viral load and -he K
pability of AIDSVAX vaccine?
IAVI, India, told R. Prasad that
_____________ I M4
J V*. y.^?
■<
In the VaxGen trial, volunteers number of exposures?
the vaccine to go on trial in India
The VaxGen trial primary endwere given several booster injections.
uses multiple HIV genes to
Despite these injections, the vaccine point was infection versus non-in- 21
broaden the immune response
fection. The secondary endpoint is
and induce a different immune
did not protect.
Did the trial show that ethnic dif­ viral load, but VaxGen didn’t com- j1.
weapon. The strategy is to pre­
actual
municate any results on that. We asference
matters
though
the
t
vent the progression of infection
•—*?
sume that the risk to exposure is the
numbers are nearly insignificant?
to disease stage unlike AIDSVAX
The numbers are very' small and I same in all individuals. I don’t think. V
that was touted as a preventive
would not speculate about some pos- that the number of times the individ- r
vaccine.
ual is exposed is taken into account, p
UESTION: THE overall reduc- sible conclusions.
VJ tion in infection has been reBut the trial was not designed to It is extremely difficult to have reliable
data on that
ported as 3.8 per cent. Has it detect difference in subgroups. I
How is it that surface protein
would say first that it needs a more
achieved its end purpose?'
Answer I guess it was designed to detailed sophisticated and inde- (gp 120) used in AIDSVAX produces P
detect a 30% difference between the pendent statistical analysis of such preventive capability while the '
placebo group. So yes, findings. .
...
, :
same used by you in India is de- M
vaccine and
i
i..u_ that .u:if tftg resu]ts are confirmed then it signed for therapeutic purpose?
J
one can -----conclude
this -----vaccine
may
indicate
something
researchers
The vaccine to be tested in India J
does not protect.
,
have
to
look
at
more
carefully.
But
works
on
a
different
concept.
It uses' j
Is preventing HIV infection by usj__
.-----------------------------ing -----vaccine
containing neutralising only another trial in such popula- alive vector expressing multiple HIV'j
tinnc wouldtions
nrnvpwould
rnnrlncivp
genes (including
envelope;
prove conclusive.
. genes the
(including
the to
envelope-; to
antibodies nnccikia?
possible?
- Will the vaccine developed for In­ broaden the immune response and - •
It has been claimed for years that
dus kind of vaccine induces neutra- dia be effective for people living in induce a different immune weapon, j
lising antibodies only against HIV neighbouring countries?
What lessons have you learnt :;18
--------.—
-—1;
id guess
would
guess highly
highly likely,
Likely, since
since from this trial?
strain grown
in laboratory
condi­ - iI wou
tions. Such strains differ from wild populations and viruses found are ■ VaxGen vaccine unfortunate?. <
circulating strains in the population, very'similar.
;
: • does not work but as such this is a •
strains that are transmitted. This vacDoes the AIDSVAX result say that result we can build upon and orir it. ;
vaccine
Is further research and vaccine tesn;:.: ■
:Scine was known to be unable to in- developing a protective
p—----:
nduce neutralising antibodies against more daunting than developing a in humans. It just reinforces th: •;
need to test several vaccine ro
•Rthese wild circulating strains also therapeutic vaccine?
V called primary isolates. Research
I would r.say so. 1 think both art’ preaches as quickly as possible.
-• i
lii- J ••• ■ ■
,1
lvi(l.
us h. the ■- :
.’.r.'suit
re •.•.or1-•!.n
tng’1:'or:<1 deigning

|

-------- --------------A-i

z___ _____

a’-’" ZZTZ

®|®bJ

j

I Chima okays use of new AIDS drug t I
BEIJING: China has approved

T;

cellular phone towers and tele-g
| nation-wide clinical use of a
J vision transmission towers, re- S
f new anti-AIDS drug based on
vi'<t;<'-3 .^-a: Ports PTL.
ii traditional Chinese medicine,
;1 believed to be the most efj
i ■' fective ever used in the AIDS patients ’ in central
; country, reports PTI.
China’s Henan province after
‘Immunicin’ tonic, success­ seeking the approval of the
fully tested on 350 patients, de­ Ministry of Health. Test re­
veloped by Cao Heyang, a re­ sults showed the success rate
search professor at the Chinese was 80 per cent The drug has
. Academy of Sciences, has been been tested .on 350 patients so
| : registered and obtained the ap- ’ far.
J proval of the state drug adminZhao Wenli, a renowned
| istration of China, media re- expert
with the AIDS pre­
| ports said on Wednesday
vention
treatment centre
|.
“Different from other AIDS under theand
Ministry of Health,
| drugs, Immunicin tonic is’-de- said
‘Immunicin’ tonic had
s signed to prevent HIV virus
to be the most effective
from entering the body cells proved
with the least toxic effects after
while increasing the quantity! tests.
This was because deand quality of white blood cells' structiou
) of the immune i
and stimulating the immune vfrI .system
as a result of HIV was L
system. Then it restrains viral ]1 the crux of the virus infection.
activity by bringing the
immune system ,back to ?
Sensitising doctors
normal”, Cao said.
t
Cao conducted tests on an­
-a; .
imals at a local laboratory and to AIDS
after making sure the drug did
In
view
of
the
indifferent
attitude
of. some
not produce toxic side-effects, hospitals towards AIDS patients, the governI
increased the dosage on desig­
ho?
tlated
11116115176
advocacy
sensitisa
­
nated animals by 600 times and tion and training programmes for the medical
again found no such side-ef­ and
paramedical staff, the Lok Sabha was
fects. Then he tested it on 31 informed on Wednesday
According to the Indian Medical Council
'kS?^3?.0?5’110 Physician should arbitrarily
..
~
.talent to a patient.
T.he counc^ could impose
punishment on medical profesSlona15 who violate these regurepot quoted
Health Minister Sushma
£jSwaraj as saying in her written
flEpf
reply. She said the government
was aware that HIV positive
patients were being discriminated against in
s°me hospitals. The training programmes
would help see to it that such people are not dis­
criminated upon, stigmatised or denied servic­
es The number of HIV infections in Delhi was
estimated to be 29,002 in the year 2001, she said
To another question, the health minister
said about 1.5 to two per cent of the population
m various zones in the country acquires new
tuberculosis infection every year. This was
. ^n^od by a.nation-wide survey conducted in f

ience a- .•:
rMWlk!
:W

1 ;

IJAS

I

i

I

I

J'
3 ;
it
.A

H_
tea

j

I

;i

Llimi_LLUJl

1 -I. „IL

____

-J-I

_____________

/ 7

1 9

'.J

•>
Li

f

with mV face social ban in &
From R Gopakumar
PH News Service

c

,

w

■ r

1
: .J

KOLLAM. Feb 27
"Uncle uncle., are you taking us
to a new school now,” 7year old
■ Bency asked Fr Johny Thottam,
j a social worker who was accom■ ’W
j panying her and her kid brother
h*
‘' *« « Z! ’’kM4 't ?
l Benson to the Government
f Secretariat
jn ^4 r ■
Thiruvananthapuram to launch
a fast unto-death two weeks ago.
Bency’s question was not out°of
place. Both she and her kid broth­
A; r.
er Benson, less than two years
her younger, had been askedI to
/ iV5?f. .iS
schools XIin1 LIthe
• leave four different
--- -vv»*wu
: last one year because of 'inherit*8
HIV infection.
infection.
------ c'
’ ed
ed’’ HIV
■cM
According to their maternal
’ T
nrlFof kies*___ t
grandfather
Geevarghese,
the
children and their mother Mary,
his only daughter, tested positive
soon after their father Chandy
f.'
.V./ >'
passed away in 1997 of AIDS,
... . - - .
.....
’ Chandy contracted die disease
1. mom Mumbai where he was
working in a reputed company
.............................
...
j Mary was only 25 when she died
M last year. Mr Geevarghese who
....
Bency and her brother Bei
j had gone though the horrifying
unmindful1 of their social boycott caught here in a pla td moo-i in
nson unmmdfu
• 1 last moments of his daughter is
their empty classroom on Thursday.
'
|1 doing everything possible to student of the LP School started- ’
„
g extend good medication and food boycotting, classes. The school’s the children or support them. But L
is a government.-. ol,” lie s lid. h to the children to keep them
it is the children s grandfather Most local people
Parent-Teacher
Association
. .
i •ting a see M
M healthy, as advised by doctors.
" of“ teachers
ana? ven healt. 1
(PTA) wants the two children who has ganged up with certain ’ tion
a
A retired army man, Mr either removed or transfer certifi­ vested interests who are bent workers whom Da.^n Herald *
upon educating the chUdren
children spoke to veered around to the ide 1
H Geevarghese is determined to cates issued to their wards.
here,” says Mr Jayson, who has
sj ensure that the kids are not denied
Though today , was the fifth two of his kids studying in the that the children should be accom J
their rights in a society which has day of U1
modated in a rehabilitation centre. L
the boycott, no senior
J‘We ^
have
Sho^V
3Ve sympathy
symPathy for
f°r
—
v ux
uieJJi uiu
'I '
a serious problem coming to grips Education Department official tschool
Many
of them
did not ouv
buy tn
th T
hveftf
theexperiment
children. ButwithFe
we are not
going advice
with the deadly disease. A day­ has visited the school yet. At the !o
ice of Health omcials
omoiak tliat
that"HR J
long fast by Geevarghese and the school today, Deccan Herald
spread only through sexual conkids in front of the Kerala’s found the two kids in a playful our children,” said Mrs Deepa tactand
cuiu through
uiiuugn blood.
uxtxxx
administrative headquarters saw mood unmindful of the raging Suresh, president of the PTA.
“This problem has bee. - hirust
Geevarghese on this school only bxau: ihis*is £ •'
y Chief Minister A K Antony issu- controversy outside and easily
H ing a special order admitting them mingling with the local people .counters this: “what do you do if a rural area and 1 <e chiidrei ‘A■
H
Kaithakuzhy Lower who are demanding thatthe^chib you are have a serious ailment. studying here com ■ from poor * .
[1 Primary School (LPS) near their dtonbr/ehabnifeta
.....................
’scmem.' Can the Government Medical families,” said Mr Soumyakumar,
College deny you treatment an anxious parent. ?.If anv .;ile. the
& house in Kollam a week ago.
cue homes.
because you are HIV-infected. Let xPTA has said u^i
that ? V:wr .;id not
g
However, a day after the
“Several organisations have the Government address this ques- allow
the school u r- . ’’rom M
J ac^^S-jfof?’
the remaining 115
Qfkring
adopt
<rnto
l^
rinhiiTffTSi'r?}iSi iSiS)iiBm sch001:_This. ' 'TnorrQW■

.yz^

I

:J

w
»l»il
y
gi? r'iaaisj IfesfeflirlfO
Sj

IKIH

life f <'j;A

■ A-?

' A

■ ’ ■■

r'3

Sli

Fi

SBS'iA--

■ J

fey fefe, M

Jj

■

■

I

V.^

■ 0

I
L.

J

L

L

,E
I

J O (j O O o O (J o V O (J O
o

o o
O O
o

JL.UL
O
iJ 4J iJ
o i)

iJ

.L jL.jLJL. IL JL
I) O
Ij
o i)
U O

k
k i
€> O O u J i
■ s K-

1
\ J- ONEUNESS IS perhaps
| the most serious disabilJ—4ity of our times. More so,
in the case of people with dis­
abilities. And when the disabil­
ity js autism, the sense of
isolation is complete. Most au­
tistic children appear normal,
but have destructive or disturb­
ing behaviour. They may stare
into space for hours, throw ter­
rible tantrums, show no inter­
est in people and surroundings,
and pursue pointless, repetitive
activities. Some individuals are
remarkably gifts in certain ar­
eas like music or mathematics.
"Autistic children have a
problem communicating and
are unable to express them­
selves, and thus shy away from
social contact," says Jaishree,
Director of Asha, a daycare
home for autistic children.
"They have a tendency to re­
main withdrawn."
Autistic children can only
concentrate on one thing at a
time, and this makes dynamic
interaction difficult for them.
They go into a shell and prefer
»to be alone. In an effort to make
■ these children open out, Asha
; has taken the unusual step of
j taking the help of dogs. The
| project is called Doctor Dog.
"Dogs are sensitive towards
[Children and help bring out a
| child’s emotion without any in­
hibition,” says Ms. Jaishree.
"Moreover, it is simple for au­
tistic children to interact with
dogs as this not involve any

’

'

—-v- . -

-

2

for children born with HIV, is a physical and a psychological!
k.i on the dog.” The|
also involved with this pro- evaluation
gramme. Madhuri, who is in dog has to be healthy and im-|
charge of children at the Foun- munised. It has to be friendlyl
dation says: "Interaction with and should not be overweight.g
dogs makes die child more nor should it be averse to meet-|
- Pets are known to have therapeutic value. A pilot project in
helpful." Her supervisor Nir- ing strangers and physical
the City has roped in dogs to interact with autistic
mala adds:. “These children handling by children. It should
have been abandoned, diey re­ have had some basic training
Q kki
and HIV Positive children.
quire some kind of emotional and must be easy to control.
bonding. Dogs encourage such
Dr. Lohit says: “There is no
language com­
project Doctor feelings.- Whenever the-.-dog specific breed that ^utomati-j
plexities.”
Dog, says: "I comes, usually on Mondays, cally qualifies for such a pro-!
She explains:
came in con­ the kids want to feed it and they ject, but Labradors and Goldens
“Initially, some p
tact with CUPA actually yeam for its attendon.” Retrievers have shown to be
children have a ’
and they in­ It also inculcates love for ani­ consistent with the temper­
fear for ani­
formed me that mals in the kids, she adds.
ament required for it.” Out of
mals.
But,
they
already
Hugo is the three-year-old the five dogs certified by CUPA,
these fears can
had the know­ Labrador paying his weekly vis­ two are Labradors and one is a
be overcome.
how to imple- it to Freedom Foundation. Golden Retriever. “However,"
The child starts
.jLx-LJ ment suchi a Nandini Kamath, Hugo’s own­ he adds, "the temperament of
accepting the
er, says: "Hugo is part of our the dogs depends mainly upon
presence of the
CUPA Vice- family. He is the'stress-buster the atmosphere in its house­
dog and gets
President Su- in our family. He radiates posi­ hold. Prince, for example, is an
rid of his fears.
parna explains: tive energy that can elevate Irish Setter awaiting his certifi­
He starts caring
"Such an enter­ anyone’s mood." It was by cation.” His owner is 14-yearfor the dog and
prise was first chance that she got to know old Nithanth, an avid animal
bonds with it."
started by Jill about Doctor Dog.-She had tak- lover who has 22 pets, ranging
Bruno is a
Robinson
in en Hugo for grooming at CUPA ' from rabbits to a horse,
Golden
Re­
Hong
Kong. when she found out about the
Mr. Devdutt feels that other
triever who vis­
She came over concept. “He’s so much fun to animals can be used to serve
its Asha every
to Bangalore in be with, I wanted to share him the purpose in addition to
Thursday' “He
A pet’s love is totally unconditional.
January
last with someone who could bene- - dogs. “Our effort is in its in-'
loves playing
year and gave fit from him,” she adds.
fancy, and dogs have been de-!
with children,
..tildren," says Prakash, this activity itself or animal us the inputs for the pro­
Mr. Devdutt explains the pendable over the years Dogs:
his owner. “He gets excited and handling in general can be a gramme.” This programme is procedure for a dog to become, play a central role, after all they
starts jumping in the car as we possible vocation for some."
voluntary and was launched a Doctor Dog: "We involve pet are man’s best friend.”
approach die place."
Mahadevaiah, neurologist here in August. "Currently two owners who wish to take part in
Anyone willing to volunteerj
Ms. Jaishree hopes to devel- and specialist in child develop­ organisations in Bangalore are such activides. The dog is then can contact Mr. Devdutt at
op this activity and tries to in­ ment, is a consultant at Asha. using Doctor Dog, and Crystal cerdfied by CUPA before we 3492540, CUPA at 3413427 or
tensify die experience for He says: "There is no harm in House is contemplating partic­ take it to meet children.”
e-mail cupablrt2ysnl.net. . <
children by making the visits trying such a novel idea.”
ipation," she adds.
Lohit, a veterinary doctor
more frequent.Jdn due/course,
Devdutt, Co-ordinator of the
Freedom Foundation, home , with CUPA, says: "We perform
HIRANYA BHARADWAJ
_5
—
'
J

13 MAli 2003 the nmw

HBa prkk -

k

....

S\ •

B
K.:-

p

I'
s

■■

F® <
8

i:

I
a
!

8

NJ

)

i
»■■

____ J._____

I Kerala
' sets
■ up school tor

;

!

two

y - \ ,j.pDH News Service---------Qn
orders of Chief Minister
g ITHIRUVANAOTHAPURAM, March 4
A K Antony. However, the 112 stuK The Kerala Government has dents of the school had been boyi
I given up its efforts to ensure a . cotting classes for the last one
p Inormal education for Bency and week at the instance of their par­
E'Benson, the orphaned children ents who expressed concern at
K jof HIV-infected parents who has their wards mixing with the two
.
H 5 been facing a mass boycott of children.
All
along,
Mr
Geevarghese,
R 5 students at the Kaithakuzhy
Primary School in Kollam the grandfather of the children,
DECCAN HERALD!T-T irLower
had been waging a lone battle to
^district for the past one week.
| tj The children who were eject- ensure a normal education for
| Jed out from three private schools • the children.
'• ■ v
| pearlier because of their HIV
a
spokesman for the
I infection were accommodated at Education Minister said tot a

1

,

imbroglio ended up agreeing to,
conduct a special school for the
children at their house in the,
wake of the stiff opposition from;
the PTA and local people to tlie
continuance of the children in
the school.
Teachers ‘‘who would be .
interested" to teach tlie children .
would be appointed for tlie pur­
pose, the spokesman said.
Following the decision, it has
been decided to reopen the
schooMomorrow.

fe
C'

. l;.s H r

t a.,

Law on premarital AIDS test likely
undergoing an HIV/AIDS test and

By Our Special Correspondent

.'iri

surveillance --------------and counselling centres, f IM _
However, he said there was no scope tor |;5
^^ac^ncy considering that the .

produce a certificate before the
HYDERABAD, march 28. The Andhra Pradesh marriage.
Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu,
and the Leader of the Opposition, Y. S.
Rajasekhara Reddy, shared a public dais
trJ
today to call for concerted drive for
creating awareness on the scourge of
HIV/AIDS which has afflicted over four
lakh people in the State.
By accounting for nearly 10 per cent
above j| i
of tlie 40- lakh HIV/AIDS patients in the ■ HIV from donating blood or any organ
. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu
country, the State has the dubious to a blood bank or hospital.
' one per cent against the national .
distinction of haring the second highest
The police have been given powers to
average of 0.7 per cent.
____
which had
incidence.
'
arrest persons trying to spread HIV or
lt was
ironical that States
But, the silver lining,
as
Mr.
Naidu
“•““s>
*rpvalance AIDS through injection or blood
•: developed information technology were
|
I
I
fl
1
|

|
1
|
B
|
3
|
|
3

Dr. Rajasekhara Reddy, describing the 8 *=>
2.44 per cent in 1999 to 1.62 per cent in
The Chief Minister, in his address, •
situation
situation in
in the
me State
oiatt as
uo unfortunate,
- --------------- 2002.
said creating awareness among the
. • said the Government should not hesitate
.
They were participating in a State­
youth and vulnerable sections in the 15- ?to pump in more funds to generate
level policy conference on HIV/AIDS,
49 year age group was the only solution
awareness about AIDS prevention and
.
which was informed by the Health
to combat AIDS because the disease was control among all groups, including
|J- ■
Minister, Kodela Siva Prasada Rao, that
transmitted through illicit sex in 90 per . children.
the Government had drafted a Bill for
cent of the cases.
The Speaker, K. Pratibha Bharathi,
likely introduction in the next Assembly
It was only in 10 per cent of cases that said the increase in AIDS cases was
session for the prevention and control of
AIDS was transmitted through blood ■ • alarming with 14,000 new cases being
HIV and AIDS. If enacted, it will be the
transfusion, recycling syringes or
reported everyday in the world with 50
only legislation of its kind in India.
multiple use of sharing razors.
per cent in the 15-25 year age group. By
Explaining the salient features of the .
' Mr. Naidu attributed the success
the end of 2002, over 4.2 crore people
proposed Bill, the Law Minister, P.
"achieved in rolling back AIDS between
were afflicted of whom 27.90 lakhs was
Chandrasekhar, said it was primarily '
1999 and 2002 to interventions such as
aimed at empowering either partner in a opening more blood banks, STD clinics,
died.
marriage to insist on the other
(■

5ECCAN HERALD

9 MArt ^IJd
2 2

I

■Xr

T
—

—1

s ’ g times for

;■

3
i

o i
!

n

I

.Ji

■ ]

■Q

I

a

1

3

ss&s s'Sefe
“Some schools we approac-

siss."

tion will "definitely create

Activists are banking on a
.pro-active sensitisation pro'____ -td. guarantpe^ that
1st of Medical Trust Hos‘‘Those people know AIDS gramme,
. will
not- be. transmitted by such children
pital, Emakulam.
— —
. are not stigmAccording to sources, the ■ sitting 'together in a class, atised again in the State. .

3 Teamed principals and teac- hed for admission said no, problems,” says Dr. C.J.
saida CPK+volunteer.
CPK+ has sent memorandums to the Governor, Chief

AP

&■ 7 MAft

i

ra BANGALORE, March 9 (DHNS)
H The Karnataka State AID^
y Prevention Society (KSAPS) anJ
d the India-Canada Collaborative
I HIV/AIDS Project (ICHAP) hav<
g invited applications for a ‘Presis
g Fellowship’ for excellence ii?
g reporting on the HIV/AIDS epi!
§ demic in the State. One Fello^
g each will be selected for Kan|
a nada. and English language^
reporting.
|
The Fellowship involves
working with KSAPS antf
ICHAP in publishing six in|'
depth stories on different aspects*
of the epidemic in Kar-natakaJ
This would include support foi*
:conference, a travel grant and aJ
| cash award. Interested appli-j
3 cants should submit an updated;
CV with names and contact j
b information of references, port-;
•« folio of his/her reports on =
& HTV/AIDS that have appeared in i
English or Kannada newspapers*:
« and a statement of purpose inf
y 700 to 1,000 words outlining why ,
y the candidate is interested in the J
g fellowship, what aspects oft
HIV/AIDS they would like to ’
g report on and how they qualify j
gfor the fellowship within March
Kio. Duly filled applications magrked as ‘Press Fell-owship’ on the
Scover should be sent to India-,
^Canada Collabor-ative HIV/- S
gAIDS PROJECT, Pisces Building, |
g4/13-l Crescent Road, ’ HighS
gGrounds, Bangalore-560001.

E

?

’ > * p5;

F/4

\

r

"

1 ■

I

A

’1

1o

0

0

0
3

J

|

:~.'.,.‘222 in
Li Kerala Minister and the Education Government . spentt more But they are very sensitive
ByT. S. Preetha
with HIV/AIDS
the issue,” says Dr. |
1.1, the
C.e organisation
Minister to fmd a viable sol- than Rs. 6 crore last year for about
(CPK+),
(
S.K. Harikumar, NGO advis-1
— AIDS awareness progra- .
1 persons affected with ution to the Kollam issue, as the
Kochi,’ March 6: Benson run by
.
|
. the\ children mmes with focus on the tra- ortoKSACS. ..
the only
and Benzy are not
1-------- . HIV/AIDS, is helping in the separating
But not many are ready to |
from
the
mainstream
school
nsmission
process
of
the
dis
­
victims of Kerala Governm­ education of 96 children in
accept the decision of the
ent’s multicrore AIDS aware­ the State, of whom 22 have will add to the stigma associ- . ’ease, clearly pointing out Education Minister Nalak- sj
ated with AIDS. Moreover, that it is transmitted only
ness flop show. At a time tested positive. And now studying at home without a through sex, blood transfus- ath Soopy as the ultimate so- 1
when a new generation is CPK+ is trying to get a chance for effective interact- ion and reused syringes, lution to the problem. “"EduEdu- |
muu two
lvyu
syringes.
fast inheriting HIV-stigma Kochi school to admit
Thrissur ion with peer groups and "Obviously, it has failed to cation is not only about tear- |'
from their xparents,, at least children from r_._
— overall
.
*11
____
•
others will affect the
’ create
a ripple
’ in the minds ning Knur
how to rooH
read onH
and U/ritp
write, S.
|
30 children "have been den- whose parents died of AIDS,
“The*”elder child was rem- development of the children, of the so-called literate it means much more. And J
ied admission in schools.
’1 people of the State.
.
this is*a violation of the rigOff the record, the num- oved from three schools so opine psychologists. \,
berlnay'be manifold as no far and the younger one has ' ■ ‘‘Now the children are too • Meanwhile, the Kerala . hts.of these children,” says
school can think of xxx
HTV-pos,
' to be admitted to the 1st sta- - innocent to understand the State AIDS Control Society Fr. Johney Thottam, direcitive children mingling with " ndard in June. Their grand- impact of this issue. But (KSACS) officials maintain tor of Legal AIDS Cell, who
others on the campus.- Tho- . parents do not want to send once they grow up, the a cool face saying that the supported the family of Be' them to a charitable home, stigma and lack of sociahsa- issue is more personal than nzy and Benson to fight for

|/ Fellowship for
.d
---------- Xi-g
f scribes reporting
on AIDS
>■5

Barents

so

At least 30 children were denied permission to study in schools in Kerala

to inculcate awareness fall
on deaf ears.
Council of People Living

'1

G

3
0

1 3
3

3

Ci 3

h 3

{

J-.

.... .

/ MAH Z!JUa ;
Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor stands in front of a picture of an
AIDS victim after a walkathon ‘Run Against AIDS’ in Bombay, on
Sunday. Actors, college students and activists participated.

.

0 VA

~

•_______ **=*”=*

r

! •

• ■.

. .7 • •

..

■■

nitin jugran bahuguna

■

•I

.

■ The theatre group 'Alarippu' has been conducting workshops for children across the

h

country... Theatre is a powerful medium’for promoting research and monitoring of issue.,
like HIV/AIDS and child labour... M
“;"t is a play with a difference. The
: two protagonists act as boys in
X. .
-Lthe throes of a dilemma and the 1
animated audience of school children
u - actively participate by volunteering r^\ l$
H solutions at every stage.
A
j'j The play starts with the narrator in’?
| teracting with the audience in his .
w search for his friend Gaurav. Soon,
5 Gaurav joins the group with a bat. .
H They start playing cricket and he calls
h his sister Gauri to join them. But she
a looks upset and refuses. Perplexed,
« Gaurav tries to cajole her. Then he
u realises that his sister is hurt because
p their father presented him with a bat
6 but refused to give Gauri a bicycle. /
d Immediately, he resolves to buy his
a sister a gift and what follows is an enp gaging exchange between the friends
| trying to figure out what Gauri would ;
| like best. Titled "The Gift", the play
| performed by the theatre group‘Ala| rippu’ during “Jashne Bachpan", the ^j-;
| recent national theatre festival for
| children, held in Delhi. According to
■

--

Z

V-

•

'-''rn workshops for children across the^
rl country under the aegis of Save l _
’ /■ ’, Chi^
1611’ U
-K-’ sa
Ys aapart
Part from em-|
Children,
U.K.,
says
—y'“Aj powering
powering children,
children, theatre
theatre isis aa pc
pc
erful medium for promoting research’d
znd monitoring of issues like HIV/.!

’

T'

Wffe An /

s

/•
. L ••

child labour and education,
our project, we got children to ana-1

i I'

_/ .

S~~
'T

fy’se their own problems and disca^
& them and accordingly make tlWrg
P^ay«” she observes. Interesting- $

Sharma discovered
girls L u §
Afferent views about gender discrim-1
ination, while boys spoke of ot^£ 1
^nds °f discrimination such as peer H
pressure and high expectations fr their families. A 12-year-old b^.'jj
when asked what his greatest fear
.a—t-----— ————3 own de3til
r*
cause, in that eventuality, he didn’t |;
___ Xi know who would arrange and be
X
sponsible for his sister’s marriage.
'
‘ ~ j A recent workshop conducted 1
‘Alarippu’ among the 12 to 16 <_<
1 group,, at a central Delhi public ||
- school, revealed that boys grow i
. * culture of violence and pass it on.
the play’s director - Tripurari SharThey try to embrace the ‘He-m
| ma - the concept behind this innova- To school ...and to work...
‘Alarippu’, establisKe'd'ifi”1983, has been “ image even though they kno’wit’is false; i
| tive genre evolved from the realisation that
| gender discrimination continues to prevail focusing on amateur , youth, women and they insist they cannot survive without K
| in most families.
SCdUOC MA
folk theatre. Since 1988, it has been working because
of pcci
peer picoouic.
pressure,
|
“At the same time, I wanted to ensure that with children in and out of schools. “I have
IEve teasing is an ugly manifestation
| the play would be fun and free from setting found that children respond very easily to • this competitiveness in which the girl c
. 2
| an accusatory tone and making boys defen- theatre as a means of expression,” says ■ not really exist but is only an extended sym- k
| sive about their higher status in the family Sharma. Consultant Shikha Ghildyal who bol of the boys’ assertion of individua1’**;
has conducted “Theatre for Development” Tripurari is
Continued on pa^ 4 |
| compared to girls,” she points out.
- .

wiapswa

■ - 11 i#!WvL>®^'vas’sa‘dhefe^

4

11

____________________ ______ ____________ —___________ __________ ___________________________ ~

:Z Re-thinking
DECCAN HERALD
gg MAK MJ

Continued fron. page 1

•

■.

__________________________________

"

______________

brother goes to the market and
looks at different toys and gifts
'in the hope of finding somesuitab]e for his sjstf,r He

of the view that it is necessary ‘ is fascinated by the musical
to start listening’to boys and sound of bangles and the col­
young men, especially to their ourful bindis displayed in a jew­
articulations about the experi­ ellery shop. “I wanted to show a
encing of power. The Alarippu boy enjoying beautiful things
theatre group has enacted their . and this does not make him ef- i|
play in 28 schools in Delhisince feminate.” In fact, during one of
April last year.
•
the workshops, 80 per cent of :
At the end of the play, a dis­ the boys confessed to wanting ’>
cussion is held with the stu­ to try on saris and make-up. . j
dents on gender roles and the
Sharma confesses that the
prevailing socio-cultural mind­ task ahead is a challenging one.
set. Stressing that the issues’ "We should continue with these
| which come up during the workshops because so much
9 workshops are all a gentle proc- needs to be done for boys in
* ess of knowing oneself. Sharma this age group.” "
• reverts to the play where the
Women's Fe.-.*._re Service

i
1

k

eC;
&
2

4

c♦t.

cc

,

' "",v •

~•

y kV’,'*

r.1?.'.-';-

f /:.?'v-j

HiBHKHHHHHRHllHlBHBHHfiRfiSfi

T

Clinics in taluks |
doctors shim''AIDS 'patients
;
l
, •
- ] to check spread |

Hi

By Feroze Ahmed

i

X?

CHENNAI, MARCH 7. Despite Tamil

Nadu’s claims to high AIDS
awareness, it is still one of the
most regressive States, with
more than 90 per cent doctors
refusing to treat people with
HIV/AIDS. A fact that forces
these patients to go to the high-ly-stigmatised sexually transmitN T •-1

.. j

^1

v>’

• • ’ «-•

a ■

!yedtigd™is:d

AT T~\ C*

ing in agony for the last six
months.
.
‘
In another instance, a patient
who rushed late night to a j
primary health care centre in Tambaram
with .
severe
stomach-ache, iinformed . the
nurse that she was
HIV-positive
at?J
V'P?si!-Ve
and asked her to wear protective
gear if necessary. “
The nurse
cursed her, abused her, and

or =

The report, released this week, ; OfAlds: Minister s
also defines a different kind of, .
I
fear: "This tendency of not treat- ! BANGALORE, March 16 (DUNS)
|
ing HIV/AIDS cases is due to the The Aids Prevention Society has
inherent fear that they will be decided to open clinics at taluk
blacklisted as AIDS doctors, headquarters to check the
thereby losing their regular prac- spread of sexually transmitted
JicTe?
.u
’ diseases, from next year.
' It adds that the doctors
dcztz.c in... !'
addition, the Society will!
eluded in L
______
________
the
surveyjtreated
at _
• aiso open counselling centres in!
i
cnr'K
r'ncac
Inet
nmor
J
,
,
,
a
w
e *
.
...
__
t
least 1,800 such cases last year, j

si

t decis‘o,kto’effe^

Government hospitals even for have no way of telling if a patient settings”. On-ground practice, | was
U 3q taken
a-pn at
a theo Society’s!
|
conimon colds. They would not is HIV-positive or not unless the however, exposes a severe i annual meeting held today
Health Minister Kagodu?
get treatment elsewhere. It is a patients inform the doctor, drought in awareness among
rule among doctors to direct HIV which they do to protect others ' doctors. After surgeries> on HIV/ Thimmappa, who is also the*
positive patients to STD cells for from risk.) A senior doctor in a AIDS patients in Government president of the Society, told re J
any ailment, for fear of contract- Government Hospital here ad- IHospitals,
’ t
. most of the equip- porters on Saturday that the!
ing the virus.
mitted that the pattern existed: ment used in the operations5 are budget of the Society for the lasts
In Tamil Nadu, the high level ““Snmp
Some rlnrtnrc
doctors rpfiicp
refuse trn^tmonf
treatment rloctrAva^,
destroyed. “That ie
is fnfolltr
totally un- year was Rs 10.19 crore and this J
of awareness has not translated because, though informed, they necessary," points out a TNSACS year, it would be Rs 31.68 crore. I
into action. When Rekha (name are still frightened for their official,
official.
The National Aids Preventions
changed) went to the General lives.”
"In a recent interactive televi­ Organsiation had agreed to!
Hospital in Chennai for what apThey are so terrified that, ac- sion programme, someone
peared to be a gynaecology cording to the ‘Behavioural Sur- asked a participating doctor why grant Rs 18 crore. For the rest,!
problem, she was sent to the veillance Survey - Rural Round-II they refused to treat HIV/AIDS the Society would have tot
STD department. After diagnos- - 2002’ conducted by TNSACS, patients ffor
''- ------------------ iepend on international organi-f
common-:1ailments.
is, they referred her to the gynae- 83 per cent doctors said they He replied, ‘Why should we? sations, he added.
There are about 128 private!
! cology ward, which turned her would direct HIV/AIDS cases to Even we have our families.’ And
out. She was turned out again at Government STD clinics and an- this was on air,” says an indig­ and government blood banks in!
the Government Hospital for other nine per cent declared that nant P. Kousalya, president of the State. But there are no blood |
Women in Egmore. She was fi- they would refuse to treat such the Positive Women Network of banks at taluk centres. It hasg
nally treated in the Government people. That leaves only eight South India, an HIV-positive pa- been decided to open blood banks t
i TB Sanatorium, Tambaram,
’
’but, per cent doctors to treat HIV/ •’tient herself. "When even doc- in taluk headquarters from next'
as she had not been seen by a ' AIDS patients in rural Tamil Na-, tors are so ignorant, how do we year. “We may have to get money
• gynaecologist she has been liv- du for any ailment
. expect awareness of others." >■■■
~kmder the MPs’fund or from zilla
I- pcuiv-xiajato
panchayats”,, lie
he added. The Min■v
ister said there were 16,000 HTV
Cny Aids
h i z-1 r. patients in the
™ and 11,671
■4
5 •' State and added that there was an
J urgent need to spread awareness

i

------- -T

-J

3

.j

J

"I

’I

-J

’ i

<5

i

r!

ionoexx__ .'2

would take in combination with
other drugs already used to
i fight HIV in children and
j! adults.
!
Fuzeon belongs to a new
, class of drugs known as "fusion
,■ inhibitors," which work by pre­
venting the AIDS virus from enI. tering cells. Existing drugs
i fight the virus after it has alg ready infected the immune
| system’s cells.
1
Doctors at the International
S’ AIDS conference in Madrid last ■J
j year rated the molecule con[New drug to
1bi Fuzeon as one of the
T' biggest innovations in the
fight HIV
; V- battle to treat HIV since the ,
WASHINGTON: US
L" drug au- emergence of anti-retrovirals
—
:
I tiiorities have approved the°first in
1990s. . •
;
in a new class of medications to
The molecule, a so-called
I fight HIV by preventing the fusion inhibitor named, enfuvirus from entering the virtide, enabled patients to reimmune. system's
-------- - cells.
.
cover from an immune system
The US Food and Drug Adhad been almost wrecked
ministration gave its approval by sky-high levels of the human
to the medicine, known as T20 deficiency virus (HIV) in their .
but to be marketed under the blood and a rock-bottom level of !
name Fuzeon, which patients CD4 immune cells, reports AFP. ;

S

'3
■

3
s

3

"1
...

-3

■<

i’
3

■

*1
■

*

2

5

i ■

'■"Z-----

j Call for ending persecution I
1

r§

K.

DH News Service

by the police. Said Shabnam

h

Sr

Projects (NSWP) says the plight ' g

Maharashtra, “the police of sex1 workers in developed E
IJii THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, March 4 from
never bother to record com­ countries is no different from ’ h
R A three-day National Conference plaints whenever we approach that in the developing countries. <3
Sex Workers in AIDS them with grievances. What sin
Speaking to Deccan Herald on, -3
I ofPrevention
rj
which concluded have we done. Aren’t we the sidelines of the meet, Ms' H

V.

here yesterday has called for indulging in a profession which Odezema who has co-authored a ' [J
ending harassment of male sex is in demand. We respect our book titled “Global Sex
workers apart from the rampant profession as much as any other Workers”
with
Komala 8
‘■‘human rights violation and professional looks upon his Kempadoo said that police $
state-sponsored persecution” of trade.”
harassment of sex workers who _ female workers.
Jameela Beevi, a Malayali sex worked in the street was more or
The conference which saw worker, said it was highly unjust less similar. She said that some
about 300 sex workers and NGOs of the authorities to use their states in Australia were close to
Working in the area of AIDS pre­ services in AIDS prevention pro­ recognising sex work as a profes- K
vention converge here adopted a grammes even while they were sion. ‘•Otherwise, American,
charter of demands put forward being kicked around by the •European and Asian sex work­
by male sex workers on the con­ police and middlemen in the ers face the same ordeal,” Mrs
! cluding day which wanted the street.
Odezema who is doing her PhD .
state to legislate to prevent the
Dasamma from Bangalore in “International protocol on
alleged atrocities unleashed on said that introducing licensing trafficking in persons” said.
them. Eunuchs who were well- system.for,sex workers would
The conference which was £
represented at the meet lament­ not be'a prudent step as'it would also attended by delegates from
ed that they were social outcasts worsen their plight. “Then we countries like Bangladesh and
in the eyes of not just the public will be able to pursue our work Britain expressed solidarity
but also their families.
only during the timings stipulat­ with the dispossessed tribals
Representatives of female sex ed by the government. We have who are waging a running battle
workers from states including families and children. That will with the Kerala Government for
Karnataka, Maharashtra, Bihar, not work.”
their alienated land. “The tribals S
Westt Bengal and Andhra ‘WEST NO DIFFERENT’ : Ms Jo are like the sex workers: living $
£ Pradesh'
......
who addressed
la news _______
_
________
__
_____
_____
_
__________
___ __ ___
Odezema, a former sex worker . alienated,
persecuted
and uncar- H
conference^ heic,iicuiateu
here,narrated their
ft-orn South Africa, who is nowr a ed for in the fringe of the socie- |
CuiucicilCe
uict*
woes which more'drTess focused board meihber off a_Z_12_
’..27CO
British
NGO . ty,” said Mi' Maithreya, social |

I

11

I

I
i-

soEsfia

Test for S<®g
taras
negative
h/

]No enffto woes of these f DECCAN HERA
HIV-infected children j ~ b NAri

I

I

Kollam, March 4:
'<■. There • face of local resistance agai­
Pneumonia Associated Co;ro- a seems to be no end to the nst the - siblings sharing
f BANGALORE, APRIL 24. The tWO na virus, the causative agent R. woes of two hapless HIV-inf­ class rooms with other pup-.
0 ected children, Bency and ils.
| persons who were admitted for SAKS. “The diagnostic test can H Benson, as most parents and
As a solution faded, Educah to the isolation unit of ManiEduca- :
Il pal Hospital here, after
locals are firm in their oppo- tion Secretary Mara Randy/
sition to the presence of the an, who attended the meet­
siblings in a lower primary ing, said he would report the
school near here where they outcome to the CM and Edu­
were re-admitted at the inte­ cation Minister. . ■ ■ \;
I RT-PCR test done on them
rvention of Kerala Chief
performing RT-PCR routinely
While representatives of,
3 were negative, hospital au­
for patient diagnosis. • • •
Minister A.K. Antony last some NGOs, including those'
thorities said on Thursday.
The protocol has been laid
.month.
■ ,
from the Belgian body One 1
s
Qne person had come to down
in accordance to the
A meeting of parents, Foundation, tried their best
d
k i Cjy from SlngaP°re, ’ WHO guidelines and the
. elected representatives from to explain to the agitated par­
g while the other had travelled
primers were synthesised.
f in Canada a few days ago.
• i the area and social workers ents that the two siblings’
The test
had yielded conP p ?e Reverse Transcription sistent
results
::; convened by the district ad- presence posed no threat to
-- -s in accordance
m Polymerase Chain Reaction
’ j ministration on Tuesday to ' others, most parents held
with
standards
prescribed,
« (KT-PCR) test was developed the release said.
‘ settle the vexed issue, faded that they Sympathised with
g by the Molecular Pathology
John Kenneth of the hospi- ! t0 reach a decision and get the poor siblings but they
| Department of Manipal Hosi’e
—!__„ ...
- . ; ij the school reopened after it feared the. dreaded
_
disease
$ pital and was carried out on tai’s Molecular Pathology De­
partment said, “The virus per
the blood and —.pj By Our Staff Reporter

i

I

piLsam-■ rturecan
tr—
techniques, but ic takes a
K t-.

!

r

,u‘cac pauents.

ture techninnpc hut;

The hospital claims it has
long time and pick up is low
the first such laboratory in as
the original sample should I
the State to develop a
uwuc test tor bARS
lag’ Ilf
cons.ic}erable number |
nostic test for SAKS. .
'’Our Molecular'pathology ;
PaftlCfleS iL •' ’ • '
laboratory worked to ka thl ' Th . PreferTed method |
RT PCR Vnolk ? \ U th
currently employed eniovs I

cdccan i-ierald

26

o=».s„ . « „

kT™ iS,S I
technique.”

S

&

I

______ _______ ...y............ -

■

LU-9
p7

"I <7

71 C
~1

____ .

7

j AlOb aeatas oh rise!

7 India ranks second
?, f
I
The total number of deaths due to AIDS in Karnataka has|
in ASDS cases
a
l- gone up to 37 in 2002 from 19 in 2000 and 27 in 2001, the Parliament $
fl was told today
i|
I ’
India ranks second to South Africa in the g
|
Replying to Mr H K Javare Gowda (JD-S), Health Minister
total number of people living 3
I Sushma Swaraj said the total number of AIDS death cases in the k
...
„
with
HIV/AIDS, she said
1
A country has gone up from 378 in 2000 to 765 in 2001 to 787 last year.
;:
adding that the overall preva- i
g The Centre provides anti-retroviral drugs for prevention of|
lence rate of HIV infection is P
parent to child transmission of HIV and this programme was
0.8■pe^cmtagegZpZjS 5 I
| currently being scaled up to all the district in the high prevalence S
years)
’as comPared to 20.1 per®
3 states (Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, !|
ft
CGrd m South Africa, according^
| Manipur and Nagaland). The minister told the member that ||
under the National AIDS control programme Phase II, the Centre
y released Rs 7 crore in 2002-03 and Rs 8.93 crore in 2001-02 to Kai’| Sabhe that ICMR in collaboratiuon with the
g nataka. The state had utilised Rs 7.83 crore in 2001-02 and Rs 4.89
h crore in 2002-03 (till December 31). Replying to another question,
I J
•10nal AIDS Vaccine Initiative is working
$ the minister said reported AIDS cases’in Karnataka has come
| with an institute based in Boston, Therion
0
J
| down from 541 in 2000 to 516 in 2001. It was 47 in 1999. ■
i
v
10
l°
gl
u
S
’
t0
,
deveIop
a
Modified
Vaccinia
Ankari
h PHARMACY: The state government has not asked for grant for its
|L Vector based Vaccine.
ud/uiKaig
a pharmacy, the minister told Mi* K B Krishnamurthy (Cong). She
d said following the state’s request, the Centre sanctioned Rs 55 |
d lakh for 2000-01 for purchase of equipment/machinery
DECCAN HERALD
gKOYNA WATER: The Centre has not received any request from
Karnataka for release of'two Tmc of water every month from
d February to May from Maharashtra, minister of state for water
g resources Bijoya Chakravarty told Mr G Puttaswamy Gowda
§(Cong>. She said Karnataka chief "minister had written, to his
3 Maharashtra counterpart on January 31 seeking release of water.
PiCAUVERY: The average inflow into Mettur reservoir has
^increased in the 1990s compared to 1980s. The minister said from J
in^1980
oon 100n
*__ _________
j to 261.9
n tmcnfrom stiS
1990, the inflow
was. nnri
229
----- to --------„
. tmc
- ft compared
______
_____
____ g
a 1992 to 2002. The Cauvery delta silt gets deposited especially durIng floods in rivers, drains and channels.,The expenditure
^incurred was Rs 2.64 crore in 2000-01 and Rs 60 lakh in 2001-02. S
ij
^POLLUTED
DELHI, March
March 66 (DHNS)
(DHNS)
.
a
§Pol-LUTED WATER: Water is contaminated in several places/dis- 47 NEW DELHI,
Jtricts
11 vangcuuic
®anS^ore wiU
soon gei
Set a buubicunidi
substantial ainuum
amount 01
of interna- h
gtricts of Karnataka. Bhadravati has heavy-metals in water while SSlum? j111
wm auuu
.^ijapur,
Bellary.and
reported
ltional fundin
from the coffer of
backed Global Fund to fight g
gBijapur, Belgaum,
Belgaum, Raichur,
Raichur, Bellary
and Dharwar
Dharwar have
have repui
ieu
—g---------------------- G-8
------------□ lir»iTTr rTumkur,
r>i wn l.-n v Kolar, T>
_____ 1
Z-1..11
1,
atraitl Ct AIDS,
AII
'T
’R andmalari
o {■In
at i c
inrr Q$140
1 /IQ million £q India C
^salinity.
Bangalore,
Gulbarga, Bellary
and. ^against
TB
malaria
that
isYM-wirirl
providing
gRaichur havp
have fluoride
content in
in water, water resources minister tsfor fighting
fighting AIDS
AIDS and
and TH.
TB.
J
^Raichur
flimriHo mntonf
SArjun
QArjun
Sethi
said.
_
'
*83
0
The
Fund
has
allocated
$
40
million
for
the
TB
programme,
which
3
p. ----&JFE
EXPECTANCY:
life expectancy
■. The
me me
c^pcuLanuy of
ui women
wuiiien in
in Karnataka
rs.aiiiaiaKa iwi11 be utmsed to improve the health conditions in the slums of a
' years as compared to the all-India average of 66.91 g
Bangalore,
Hyderabad, Delhi and Kolkata. A portion of the fund will S
gis 66.44
years,
ft ’$
jt; :also be utilised to expand the government’s revised national tuber- S
KUnion Health Minister Sushma Swaraj said.
DHNS | Cldosis control programme to the unexplored areas.
B
Moreover, S 100 million has been allocated for the AIDS pro..^gramme,
which will be used, among other things, to try anti-retrovin
.5 7.’
> t
1
DECCA N HERALD^ ral dru§s hl AIDS patients in a hospital in Bangalore along with three 9
•J other hospitals in Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
9
—
However, the Union Budget with zero per cent increase in health 3
care sector has come as a set back to the internaiional funding body,
which feels that it might result into lesser international funding in y
health because funding agencies prefer cost sharing.

€

-..7.

I

I

’• >

"1

1

r;

J'

j
5

j

.1

o
o
rt

1 =
I

-■

■ >4

2i

'J,
'r-X

i

'3
'J

73?

f, =
', 35

^■4 HAn 2002

1

f~r

Tlririnn
---------------

1

II

■’

teJ 1

itiiS

I TntWnrAI^notr°10

4 v-»

J

------------- ------------------------ ,

47

w^v**.**.^

VKAAV*

1

-1

A Alt-

*

rm

CApCllUlLUiC

. .

fB Tore slumsto get aid |
for TB programme
fl

Z

)

-----

'-1 71’iAi-i 2002 j

I

yflgyggra

jl

I

—

zzzr

- Xkti. >;•'»• l .CKrT/JMr.-M’rSSji^.

D?y»*

FiSm-malw to highlight dangers df .HA!
By Our Staff Reporter
bangalore, April 5. Is the hospital you go to

I
l

|1
Bl
B
£0
r

2’j
y
ft]

f*

clean enough, or is it a source of Hospital
Acquired Infections (HAJ)?
HAI is a ‘silent killer’ because patients
and the public do not know about it. But
in the United States for example, HAI is
the fourth largest cause of mortality,
killing more people than accidents, fires,
and drowning combined. .
What then is the scene in Bangalore
which has 240-250 large, small, private,
and government hospitals? Moreover, the
City is under Category A of the Ministry
of Environment and Forests guidelines,
i.e. its hospitals were to have set up biomedical waste treatment facilities by
1999. Many still have not.
Yet, Health officials say HAI deaths are
’minimal’. That is why, to coincide with
World Health Day April 7, a City-based
documentary film-maker begins shooting
an educative film on HAI titled ‘The silent

B.N.Chandrakanth, who earlier made a
urban) will most certainly be worse," Mr. »•!;
film on Hampi, and his company Vasanth Chandrakanth points out. There, for
Visuals, will make the 40-minute film in ' instance, general wards have public
English and Kannada. Medical support is
” ‘ ’burns ward patients lie close to
toilets;
by Manipal Hospital, i.e. it will be a
each oilier, and ward boys often dress
‘model hospital’ but Mr. Chandrakanth
■ wounds.
says he will film rural primary health
Infants, ver}' old people, diabetics,
centres and government hospitals, if he
leukaemia patients, those with their
gets permission to do so.
spleens removed and HIV/AlDs patients
. What causes HAI? Primarily, lack of
are among the most vulnerable to such 1 ■
hygiene among hospital workers, doctors, infections. But that today's hospitals have ■
nurses. “Studies show they are shockingly more people who are sicker, older, and
lax about keeping their hands clean," he
hospitalised longer, can also lead to more
says.
HAI.
Negligent hospital management is also
But Mr. Chandrakanth, does not blame
a cause. Mr. Chandrakanth’s research
the hospitals alone. “People who visit
revealed that.in one hospital, the corridor relatives and friends in hospitals, must
used to convey operated patients from •' also have personal hygiene," he says.
OT to ICU was swept by brooms, not
The 40-minute film will have
wet-mopped. In another, new resident
B.N.Vasantha Kumar as creative director
doctors did not wash their hands before
of photography; and the medical script
touching patients in critical care.
will be by Satish Kumar Amamath,
In a third, the operation theatre staff - consultant microbiologist, Manipal
were themselves unhealthy.
Hospital. To know more, contact Mr.
’i on 663 2833/98440 66328.

£

t

_ . . . r...................... J c

i r
Court lets HIV-infected womani
0y

ff

"* r

I

t

e
c
t.

t&

THE HINI

return to her matrimonial home! A
By Rasheed Kappan

test was not necessary to decide the dispute
between the parties, he ruled.
... .. efy
In her prayer, the plaintiff said her fatherFamily Court here has ordered that a
in- law and members of his family members
woman, who contracted the HIV virus from
had harassed her physically and mentally, H,
her husband and was sent away from her
and made her life miserable after her
B:
matrimonial home after his death, be taken
husband’s death. She was reportedly sent ' H.
back along with her two minor children. The away from her matrimonial home in June
woman’s father-in-law had sent her away
7 last year.
DECCAN HI
from her house after her husband's death.
On June 30 last year, when she went again $
The First Additional Principal Judge, G.T.
to her matrimonial home, her brother-in-law «
Veerabhadrapa, in his interim ruling,
reportedly called police and made false
directed the defendant “not to disturb the
charges. She said she was dragged out and
plaintiff and her two minor children when
. .
.
she had access to the matrimonial home.” . . beaten.
In an interim application filed under
The court rejected an interim application
Section
151
C.P.C.,
the
plaintiff said that she
from the defendant seeking a direction to
. and her two minor children be allowed full
the plaintiff to undergo a test for detection
. access to the matrimonial home at any time
of HIV/A1DS. The plaintiff informed the
pending disposal of the suit.
court that she had been tested HIV positive
The plaintiff sought an order directing her
at the Lady Curzon and Bowring Hospital, a
father-in-law to pay a monthly maintenance 5
government institution.
of
Rs. 5,000.
|
;;
Rejecting the application, the judge ruled
A final order on the maintenance petition
that the plaintiff could not be compelled to
s undergo a medical test. Besides, a
bangalore, march 19. In a significant ruling, a

I

A

£

0 i'(/An

I

^*7Condoms to be sold at PDS shops | 0
“Condoms are being distributed to com- |
mercial sex workers, truck drivers and oth- |
ers
to control transmission of both I
J CHENNAI, APRIL 3. Now, condoms can be
sexually-transmitted diseases and HIV/ |
I picked up from ration shops too.
After low-cost sarees and tea packets, AIDS. A decision has been taken to make
; contraceptives will soon join essential com- condoms available in all fair price shops, |
: modities found on the shelves of PDS the Health Minister, S. Semmalai said, in j
his policy note.
1
- shops. .
Also, concerned at the birth rate remain­
The unconventional foray of condoms
ing
stuck
at
19.3
perJOOO
population
for
into the fair price shops is to ensure “uni- ...6
—---- r-- . •
versa!" reach of contraceptives in a State,. some years now, the Govemmem wifi
out
with
a
population
policy with the
come
which has had the highest number of re-'
- ported case’rof AIDS and a woefully-stag- focus on increasing “male participation in
< r
- t
/'nntr:
contraception.” ' ... .
-I nant .birth
rate in .ithe_ last c..,^
five.years.

c
G
C

c
c

By Our Special Correspondent

c
c
c
tHE

4 Hrn /uuat
<
2b

(

c

„c

(

»

r'
I
I

3
1 1

1o
]

Q

1
1

Forced isolation"
| Two HIV-infected siblings in
i Kerala continue to be
! discriminated against

Healthy diet will
check HIV growth i

i
NEW DELHI: A healthy
j: 3 diet may retard the growth of
i m the deadly HIV virus and help '
« the infected people live a
people demanding that alterna- ’ i better life by boosting their
tive arrangements be made for : y energy levels and immune
H system, two UN agencies said.
_ . ....... ' -y “the education of the two chil­
1 By strengthening the
dren. The Government had to
£ immune system and boosting
give up in the face of virtually
j energy levels, balanced nu•overwhelming opposition to it.
WASHINGTON: With
Few believe that the special j is;.trition could help the body
funding from the US gov­
school system is going to yield !,(I defend against the ravages of
ernment's National Institutes
any positive Result for the chil­ V l.the disease, WHO and Food
of Health (NTH), research in­
4
V
g-and
Agriculture
Organisation
dren who are already way
stitutions are studying
!
J
rt
’
(FAO)
said
in
a
joint
manual.
behind their’ peers in education
\Thir;uvananthapuram
w’hether prayers cure disease
L
4'Those
affected
by
because of the frequent break in
or help recovery. Parade mag- I?
11:
HIV/AIDS
need
more
protein
their studies. Here is how their
azine;reports that investiJ
grandma sums up the new r B.jto rebuild muscle tissue, more gators at Johns Hopkins are J
I
’
;
energy-rich
food
for
weight
arrangement: "One teacher was
studying a group of women |
1
to teach the two chil­ • §i;gain, immune systemwith breast cancer who say a j
. AST Wednesday; 5- appointed
dren. However, he did not come p ^boosting vitamins and minmeditative^prayer twice daily
year-old Benson and regularly and if at all he came ! i ’A’erals and water to combat deAt the University of Pennsylr
8-year-old Bency took the classes were 'short. Last
■ ahydration, the manual said
vania; neuroscientists are *
J their annual exami- Friday he taught for hardly 5
padding despite blunted apdocumenting changes in
t
nation for 1st and Und minutes,” Mrs Salikutty told ? u jipetites and difficulties in
brain scans of meditating TiI standard respectively at their Deccan Herald.
*j!| ^eating, people living with
betan Buddhists and praying
i house at Chathannur in Kollam
This is what Mrs Deepa I,i:HIV/AIDS need to eat considnuns. At Baptist Memorial !■
t j district where the Kerala Suresh/
the president’ oT the j '13 lerable m0^ fo°d t0
1116
Hospital in Memphis, patients!
' I Government has been forced to
Parent-Teacher Association of
< illness and make up for
are receiving a "prayer inter­
< arrange a special school now. the school, said "Agreed that_ :ig j weight loss, reports PTI.
vention" before and after
I This "special school” is their
9 v
"t\
bypass surgery.____ .I fifth after they were unceremo- HIV spreads through sexual con­
and blood. Still, how many
■ niously asked to move out from tact
of you will send your children to
three' private schools and now
with these children. Think
j the local Government lower pri- ■* play
a minute about your own
{ many school in a year thanks to for
VIJAYWADA: Vaccine to fight the dreaded
children,” she said.
} the terror that the words AIDS &
HIV/AIDS will undergo first phase of trial in
Last Tuesday, President A P J
, [ HIV still ring out.
India during this year-end or early next year,
rm­
Kalam himself expressed
I . Their parents died of AIDS a Abdul
according to International AIDS Vaccine Ini­
concern at the denial of normal
■ 'year ago, and, according to their school education to the two chil­
tiative (LAVI) Country Coordinator Sweta, Das.
|' maternal grandparents who are
"Research on developing the vaccine to ,
The President, a known
| now looking after them, the chil- dren.
counter the strain of HIV subtype C, prevalent
| dren too have HIV infection, champion of child welfare,
in the country, is progressing rapidly and the
g Both Mrs Salikutty and Mr spoke out his mind to Kerala’s
first phase of trial will be anytime before early
Minister P Sankaran
c Geevarghese, the grandparents, Health
2004," she revealed to UNI.
;
who
met
him
in
Delhi.
I had to resign to the fate of their
: The US-headquartered LAVT had entered into
The President said that
0 grandchildren as they found though
a
memorandum
of
understanding
with
the
there were children in
u that the society is not yet ready
Union Health Ministry and Indian Council of
w'ho had AIDS most of
R to enable a normal life for the India
Medical Research (ICMR) for India-specific
them were getting school educa­
n’HIV-infected.
vaccine programme.
tion. "It should be found out how
B
The national attention that these children were being
"The first vaccine that may be tested in
|
1 India will be a Modified Vaccine Ankara (MVA) I
Ihthe plight of the innocent kids denied education in Kerala
h attracted was mainly owing to
vector-based vaccine,” Ms Das said.
g
alone,” he told the minister. He
Q some NGOs working in the field said the States should endeavour
-UhX—-*1f j
g of AIDS control who took up the to impart awareness right from
| matter ./ with . the ’ State
| Government in a sensational the primary level to children on h
I manner: ;They got the children contagious and non-contagious
g to undertake a day-long fast diseases. Dr Kalam likes to see a
on the lines of the B
| against--the discrimination legislation
one prevalent in the United |
| meted out to them in front of the States enacted to prevent dis-1 '<
| Chief‘Minister's office in full
crimination against AIDS a
g media glare.
;
patients. Though the case of the
|I to The
rne Government
cnuuren wereLPadmitted
children
aomirtea
. Ie|
the
School, e
in the limelight it is to be seen g
Kaimakuzhy, on the orders of whether their plight would help |
Chief Minister A K Antony. the cause of AIDS patients who g
However, all the 113 students of remain outcasts in India. . . - i
the school boycotted classes for
R Gopakumarfl
over a week from the day the two /• .. ” .
■
were admitted with their par- ■ •, ’_ r ■ in t
Thiruvananthapuram^
2 9
■r

J

Can prayers
cure disease?

? \W ; >W

I

,tvv <■
' wy ■

j Q

j

a

O

.]

3

'J*

o
'%y'

o

1
"A

K
‘

I

i

........ .......

•3

HiU vaccine trial to
commence hy 2004

DECCAN HERALD
4 WAtt ZUUJ

/

*

2111 I-I
>2 A1 lvLAn j^UU^

i

--

^rsj

‘Tl'

i- ■>

1 Vaxfieoi reiterates protection' 1
I
r
to B Sacks

1

C1ENTISTS WHO had been that the vaccine indeed produced 78 in immune response among racial Medical College said. "But in
ip
waiting for over a month for .per cent .protection
to Blacks com- and ethnic ogroups.
of case
oi
AlUbVAA.
1I am struggling l(ioj
of AIDSVAX.
.
. The
— number -•
-------------—
detailed results from VaxGen pared to 3.8 per cent in the overall Black volunteers was just 339 com- imagine a plausible biological mech-~&
mech-i,^ .l,n
pared
403 anism that couId
Inc,
the maker «r
of AincvAV
AIDSVAX group of volunteers. ..pared {0
to the tota
total| nunibcr
number of
of 55,403
--- IJ evplain niaj0r ?
vaccine, were not satiated as answers
(
The AIDSVAX vaccine trial was volunteers.
ferenccs
in efficacv. If numbers fu...
to many
ly questions remained elusive, carried
carried out
outin
in North
North America
America and
and EuEuThe
Thesmall
smallInumber
numberof
ofethnic
ethnicvolunvolun- the
the trial
trial are
are robust
robust and
and with
with a reaks?
Announcing the'’detailed
k
j:-.
j..—
i .»-------—-.i >
-■
i.-.-i. j results at
_t rOpei jn 5,403
volunteers including teers used
in i—
the »..
study
and
the con- racial-dependency,
the
enhan^the Keystone Symposia,
Symposia, Alberta,
Alberta, homosexual men and a smaller elusions reached from such a small ment in efficacy in Blacks and Ash
I',
Canada, VaxGen officials----maintained
number of heterosexual women who
group was a contentious issue. The compared to Whites and Hispanics J£i
reported having sex with HIV-infect- admission by the company officials would be about 20-fold. It’s highlv>
ed partners. 'Two-thirds
received
r-"
----- :
-a has not helped the cause and at best highly implausible that such a la
/
of injections of vaccine, while has only raised serious doubts about (apparent) effect could have a simple Im
the rest
st received placebos.
the intent of the trial to study the immunological explanation." -.
r«
•
Many scientists had earlier ques­
The
company
maintained
that
the
AIDSVAX
li
tioned if not totally dismissed the
vaccine’s efficacy results particularly
the enhanced efficacy as seen in
(vaccine) produced 78 per cent protection t^^
Blacks. Many statisticians were scep­
Blacks though it failed to establish any
tical of the methods used to arrive at
results and more importantly as the
scientific reason for the same.
c ■
study was basically not intended to
study the efficacy of the vaccine in
different ethnic minorities.
efficacy in ethnic groups. If the inIn the meanwhile a coalition oc"3
is
While the company reiterated en- creased efficacy'in Blacks as reported AIDS advocacy groups has called'
- to Blacks at the by VaxGen is indeed true, only, a de- -National
hanced ----protection
M"';___
---- ’ ’Institute
—— -ofr Health '(N.
K' .,
symposia, it said that the vaccine tailed trial involving large number of U.S. to conduct ani independent rer^
trial showed no stronger
<
proof of the ethnic minorities can corroborate it. view of the clinical trial results
r ■■■ fer ■■■
-----:----- ----------gu{­ can
racecan race
ro]eand
of jmrnuno
j.
protective effect► rfor
minority
partici
wants VaxGen to release the dat;
k
. But
role of immunolpants than what it had reported ear- ogy in preventing infections be an outside NIH panel to confirm thej^j
---------------------------------------------- •/------------- --Ar
lier. According to Mercury News, wished away? After all, Japanese suf- claims about the potential benefits*^
Vavr.en
VaxGen hnc
has cn
so far fmUri
failed to oefaKKch
establish fer mOre from Alzheimer's disease to certain racial groups. "If such
j*
any scientific reason for the en­ while very fevtBlacks suffer from os­ fects are real, they need to be tm-^1
hanced protection seen in Blacks. teoporosis compared to Whites. So lowed up with further research," thev .
Thus the question of race and the can the trial's increased efficacy' of letter said, adding, “If they
- difference in the efficacy’ of the vac­ AIDSVAX vaccine seen in Blacks be tfie public needs to be informed
cine remains unanswered.
summarily rejected despite the fact this so researchers and the affectedl*
The issue gets further complicated that the conclusion was reached communities can move on to
as
the
Vice
President
of
VaxGen
ac
­
based on a small number of Blacks? plore more promising vaccine wr ja
>
-A
knowledged that the numbers of
“Race or host genetics does have proaches."
Differences in immune response in Black volunteers (African-Ameri­ an effect on susceptibility to some
• R. Prat
0
jj Blacks cannot be confirmed due
cans) in the study was too small to infections," John P. Moore an HIV re- "J
U
to small numbers.
confirm any meaningful differences searcher at Cornell University’s Weill
Q
in Chennai*-*'

I

T'J 'V
i.:'

HT

1

AIDS

a
killer ■
disease.

a

' arG 1 Vt JI

■■

Ml
:-i I
ft, «

’

‘

‘
I

Z”X i ’ f—' ”1 "A *1

/—> 1 T 1

/ d
.. 1 V V

_— —-

I

•

•

. Let’s innoculate ourselves against pessimism

< L• ■ I

AXGEN, a California-based grail of immunologists for two
H?
pharmaceutical company, is
decades now. But they still appear'!
S.
valiantly seeking to enlarge a
clueless about where exactly to begin.
faint silver lining as it presents find- Successful vaccines usually trigger]]
mgs of four years of research on its . the
... production of cu
111uuuic;Si souiaL
antibodies,
thataa ,1
Aids vaccine. Aidsvax, the first Aids pathogen cannot lodge itself in the j
[ vaccine to be used in widespread tri- ’host. ~For Aids, researchers are not
j als, reduced the rate of HIV infection clear which antibodies are needed to::
|i by a mere 3.8 per cent among its con--'' Tight the vi
virus. It does not help mat-*:
;: trol group as compared to those who ters that there are so many HIV'' , i
■ were injected with a placebo.. For a strains that tracking them has’:
vaccine to be considered effective, a 70 become
become a sub-discipline in itself. I
• per cent decline
is rou- Moreover, most vaccines use a weak-<[
J in infection
-------------------- j
j . uui
LUC
«.. tmely
deemed necessary.
But the
ened strain of the virus for the disease'
g*> pharma company
” -says
“7- that
-“t among ‘ sought to be prevented. But in the -l
g- blacks, Latinos.and Asians, the vac-, case of HIV, injecting any form of then
| cine produced dramatically lower - virus in field trials is considered too i
| incidents of HIV contraction.
- . dangerous. So, for instance, Aidsvax I
a
So is there cause for cheer? The • uses a protein found on the surface of, i
]i stock market does not seem to think the Aids .virus but manufactured!')
j. so, and VaxGen shares plummeted ' through recombinant DNA technolo-1
. after its research was made public, gy.
. jl
: However, given the pitifully meagre
. In other words progress is bound to Li
■ ’^1“ers.tandlng scientists have of the be slow. Some leading scientists have
Aids virus more than 20 years after ' in fact, wondered whether an Aids vac-1J
; the syndrome started feUing its first cine is indeed within the realm of po^
J ZLCtims’ R
is a steP forward. . sibility. Maybe. But given the fact that ’d
The contention that the vaccine could more than 40 million carry HIV infec- i'i
T offer protection to certain ethnic tion worldwide, with an estimated 3 7 i I
Si
must’ course’ 56
•' million in India, there really is no ?
d ed before being accepted right away, ‘/option but to soldier on, hoping that fil
g An Aids vaccine has been, the holy^ ^ah^ some laboratory concoction

i

Arn 2IJQ3

V

3 3

>

u

rtatefqMd

I

1

n

I

'

■

K....

in

•<:

ft

3

tg

.3

•JW-V

■

!

I

V?

■

1

I

t
B

1 •
J ■
•>

a
a
I

t ■4

'M

w -

h.

the alarming rise and spread of
the disease.
The challenge, however, is to
encourage people to utilise
been chosen by the India-Canada
these services, says a volunteer.
ICHAP is basically doing a
socio-health
survey
on
Collaborative HIV/AIDS Project,
HIV/AIDS.
Thirteen supervisors and a
large number of volunteers of
to study the spread of AIDS.
ICHAP are touring 154 villages
collecting vital, personal infor­
mation on social pattern, sex
VIDYAKODLEKERE
behaviour and economic condi­
tions apart from health infor­ pECCAN HERALD
outlines the project
mation about the people in
these villages;
At u t-UUd
Mr C R Sorganvi, who is the
HERE is an alarming component in HIV/AIDS pre­
rise in the number of vention and care. In this direc­ resident co-ordinator here says,
HIV/AIDS cases in tion ICHAP has established “It is a general belief that
Bagalkot, specially in the areas Voluntary Counselling and test­ HIV/AIDS affected group are
1 where the devdasi system is ing Centre (VCTC) in Mudhol mainly sex workers, lorry driv­
prevalent and mostly among and Jamakhandi, as well as at ers and migrant labourers.
But ICHAP’s survey shows
the district hospital.
the migrant workers.
Karnataka is perhaps the that it is also prevalent among
The prosperous taluks of the
district
are
Mudhol, only state in the country to other sections of society in
Jamakhandi and some areas of have started VCTCs at the taluk alarming proportions, especial­
. Biligi, which are reported to be level. VCTCs provide a space ly among young men and
the highly HIV/AIDS- sensitive for safe, ethical, confidential women. Hence it is much more
dialogue between the counselor difficult to prevent the spread g‘
areas.
B
There are around 8,000 dev­ and the client. The centres pro­ of the disease, he adds.
The rapid spread of this dis- B
dasis in the district in need of vide pre and post test coun­
rehabilitation. A voluntary’ ini- selling which adhere to norms. ease is a cause for major con- a
A
comprehensive
These centres are yet to be cern'.
■ tiative,
IndiaCanada
Collaborative
HIV/AIDS popularised. Presently'most of .progamme to combat and pre- g5
31
Project (ICHAP), has. chosen the clients visiting these cen- vent Aids is yet to be formulat­
Mudhol and Jamkhandi for the ‘ tres are from the ‘high risk’ seg- ed.
Right now only awareness
pilot project and is working ment of the population or those
. about the disease and rehabili­
towards collecting data, -educat- referred by doctors.
ing the people aboutthe disease . . Till now, more than 50^per tation of devdasis can stop the
and on tty? methods of preven­ cent of the clients who have . rise in the number of cases,
come to the centre have tested
tion.
Counselling is a critical positive. This is indicative of

Mudhol and Jamkhandi taluks have

I

--------

AIDS-HIV
awareness

!

ASOS victim,
'• sons ostracised

fi to meet Global
|. Fund chief

O Residents of a village in
Orissa have ostracised a
DH News Service
i woman AIDS victim and her
|nEW DELHI, March-KDHXS)
two minor children, IANS re­ ■ |Prime Minister Atal Behari § Z.
j BANGALORE, April 12
’ A university-level poster compe- ports from Bhubaneswar
. JjiVajpayee and Health Minister
The people of Taladanda in bSughma Swaraj will meet Dr
i I tition on AIDS-HIV awareness
;.' was organised join Uy by the NSS ■ the coastal district of Jagats| Richard G A Feachem, the exec; regional centre, Bangalore and J inghpur are boycotting Saroj •.. fjutive director of the Global
-------------h,
Bhoi,
13,
and
Rakesh
Bhoi,
8.
Bangalore University National 1'
i jFund to fight A1DS,*TB and
Their
father
died
of
AIDS
in
: ■■ Sendee Scheme wing, recently |
j;Malaria to explore the possibili- '
•i
Of the 75 volunteers partici-1 January. The villagers are also <; ty of further donation from the
j ; pated in the competition, Harish I keeping away from their
| UN coffer.
J
; • A of Kolar Adarsha College and ij mother, Kuni, 39. “Once the vil­ i Dr Feachem will also call on '
lagers came to know that I was | President A P J Abdul Kalam.U
• i Johnson Samson of Bangalore
suffering from AIDS, they did
: ’ Maharani’s Arts College won
jjPlanning Commission deputy.3d
'■ i first prize of Rs 1,000 and qual-1 not allow us to buy rations or
’»chairperson K C Pant and •
let
my
children
walk
freely
in
■ ified for the state-level poster p
t Finance Minister Jaswant Singh ig
the
village,
”
she
said.
The
two
. competition to be held at Da- g
| in the next three days, according
■’
- ■. vangere. In the students’ cat-1; boys have been told not to mix $ to official sources. ,;
• egory Shubhaprada of Ma- fM with other children and stop
$ At the behest of UN General ai
■ harani’s Arts College, Ban-1j going to the local school.
^Assembly, the $ 10 bhjion global;»
galore, M Kavitha of Gov-1
^mmd was created in
.-^'iiuna
m 2000
zuvu to
io help
neip 1ernment RC College and Vijaya «
■ Eradicate AIDS, TB and malaria,
veccah
A of Government I Grade £
Svhich account for almost 10 per ; 3
■ College, Ramanagaram, bagged
• on (Vi Rent
lient deaths worldwide. In'
In.
; the second prize of Rs 700.
I January, tlie fund has donated $
.
The third prize of Rs 500 was ?
V 30 million to India for fighting ,;3
j given to B D Jagadish Kumar of
f kIDS and TB out of which $ 100
‘ ! Bhagwan Budha College, BanInillion will be spent through
galore, S V Santhosh Kumar of
y] National
AIDS
Control:*
National College, Bangalore, C
Organisation XNACO).
.
H Balakrishna of Chintamani
College and T D Meenakshi of
I Bill to make HIV test mandatory
| Bangalore Maharani’s College,,
*
I according to a press note.
f <3 The Andhra Pradesh Government has prepared a draft bill
I making the HIV screening test mandatory before marriage as
£ part of the efforts to check.the spread of the dreaded AIDS, Pi x (J]
t reports from Hyderabad. "We will hold a public debate on the bil^p
I to elicit opinions of people from various walks of life before
i
f making it a law," Chief Minister NChan£rababu Naidu said
t during a state-level workshop on HIV/AIDS.

k

pl 5

3 Ar h 2003

J

\

1 >

I

■

s
by HIV test reports
-___________ From Rajesh Deol
“
----- —-------- DHNewsSe^ce------------ J-----

i

i

I
1

I
J

expressing the need to spread awareness about ’ |
^Sjab, the number of full blown AIDS L

c

e

CHANDIGARH, April 14----------------------------------- cases was reported to have crossed the 250 mark. U
The societal awareness about the deadly AIDS in Amritsar district leads the State with over 1050 >
Punjab has reached the countryside with more HIV positive cases.
C
In a memorandum submitted to Additional Di- g.
than 450 villages in the State’s border belt opting
r\F
/Rnrdor
roncrcA
D
R
'
for HIV test reports of prospective brides and rector General of Police (Border range) D R
A.
bridegrooms instead of matching the horo- Bhatti, the sarpanches of at least 110 border vil1 scopes. The demand for state intervention for lages in Amritsar district urged for immediate H
making the HIV tests mandatory before marriage intervention by the government through NGOs J
! is gaining ground in the wake of serious spread working
in the areatheto youth
bring awareness
|
people, especially
about the among
deadly .fc
j of the deadly virus in Punjab.
|
If such level of awareness is welcome, it also virus and to ensure that HIV test was carried .
I points to an alarming rise in the HTV positive before fixing a marriage,
Remarkably, it is the drug addicts who are re- w
cases in Punjab, particularly the border belt of
ported to be the main carriers of the deadly virus ■
Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts.
These villages are following the trendsetting and responsible for the spread of the disease in a
f. example set by Manuke village in Ludhiana re- the border villages than the usual suspects like
| cently where the panchayat had passed a reso- truck drivers.
A local NGO - Guru Arjun Dev Charitable g
I lution asking parents to dump horoscropes in
favour of HTV test reports while looking for mar- Trust - has now set up deaddiction centres at
Tarn Taran, Kairon, Naushera Pannuan and
w riage match for their wards.
• Realising the grave AIDS scenario, the Bhikhiwind areas in the border belt where bun- pj
sarpanches of 450 villages in the border belt of dreds of youths were presently undergoing
i
< Amritsar .and Gurdaspur districts have, now .-treatment. • •
»
-- - ■ ■ m
I stepped up efforts to deal with the situation.
'' . - Trust President J P Singh said he would be
. On one hand, the sarpanches have passed res- mobilising sarpanches of the rest of the villages
|j olution calling upon parents to check the HIV test in the border belt before presenting a memo- r
i ' reports of prospective brides and bridegrooms, randum to the Chief Minister to press for la
b i on the other thev have written to the government making the HTV test mandatory before rnarriajgk. C-

c
c
c

c
c

I

&
■

6

■

<

/

...............

=====4

d

1 -33f

Awareness on ’ | : / Vr>>? nnr^' A ^0
U APK MAIDS PREVENTION IAW ■
a AIDS through
THE GOVERNMENT OF Andhra Pradesh is nied by a relative diminution of social margin­
I! Yakshagana
contemplating enactment of a law to promote alisation
”
.
of and discrimination
against victims,

?
3

•3

A' Express News Service

AIDS control. In addition to prohibiting per­ have facilitated tliis state of affairs, although on­
sons infected with HIV from donating blood or ly to a small degree. But these are areas to build
Bellary, April 12: Yaksha- j organs, the draft Bill under the consideration of upon in the future. Thus, there is need to create
gana, the rich dance-drama | the Government also seeks to encourage pre­
a climate where people come forward volun­
form which holds the s
viewers spell-bound with [ marital testing for HIV and AIDS among pro­ tarily to ascertain their HIV status; recognising
mythological or historical | spective couples. Additionally, it provides for the value of information and knowledge as key )
tales, also serves social can-» penalties for failure to disclose by those affect- . determinants to prevention and control. To that L
ses now. Veteran Yakshag-1 ed with HIV/AIDS, as well as persons who abet extent, the Government’s campaign ought to be b
ana. exponent and former | marriages with individuals afflicted with the vi­ matched by high quality and reliable medical |
member of the Karnataka [• rus. Accounting for roughly 10 per cent of the 40 know-how that can establish the actual status of
Janapada and Yakshagana lakh patients, Andhra Pradesh has the second
in all relevant respects. The credibility
L' Academy, K.Mohan, is on a highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in the country. persons
of such techniques and their availability at aflor- r
crusade
against
the
While it devises ways and means to cope with dable cost would ultimately determine levels of F
dreaded AIDS.
’ •■ .
After launching the AIDS < the health and medical dimensions of the chal­ public confidence and readiness to seek infor- 0
i awareness campaign in
lenge, the Government appears to be on a fran­ mation. A recent case where two of the leading "h
J
7; Bangalore • successfully, tic search for a rapid control mechanism also to laboratories in Hyderabad came out with con­
‘Yakshadegula,’ a dedicated deal with its social ramifications. The provision tradictory reports on the HIV/AIDS status of a |
troupe, is now touring Bella- requiring couples entering wedlock to.;disclosp
child does not inspire confidence in the overall
3 ry district, which is second ;
to Bangalore in AIDS cases. their HIV/AIDS status — should either of the quality of testing for the AIDS virus. On the con­
The troupe has artistes parties insist on medical evidence — is going to trary, instances where the authenticity of med- J
like Subramanya Holla and generate considerable public debate. There is a ical examination is itself in doubt are bound to |
Lambodara Heggade
as bha- clause that empowers relatives of couples to’ discourage patients from confronting facts .in ]
_
[■ gavatars (role
players), I seek HIV/AIDS-related information. This may view of the trauma, socio-psychological impact i
(
P Madhava (percussion) (Cha- > be entirely understandable in view of the pecu- and the stigma linked with AIDS.
h ndaMaddale),Nagaraj(har-1 Parities of Indian family and social realities. But
An important factor that has prompted the
B ana
ana Prabhu.
Prabhu, Narasimhal
Narasimh'a« there are equally compelling reasons of respect Andhra Pradesh Government to explore the le- R
Tunga,
Krishnamurthy i for individuals’ privacy and personal integrity gal route to enforce AIDS control is the enor- |
Tunga, Ramesh, Balakris- that warrant a more precise and reasonable moiis social ramifications of contracting the B
hna Bhat, Radhakrishna specification of “relatives” in a law of this virus that have come to light. There are report- S
Urala, Sadashiva Bhat and? nature. , .
edly a growing number of instances where fam- ||
i Rajesh Sudarshan.
■. |
While the Government’s paramount concern ilies in Andhra Pradesh discover to their shock
Every performance is a?
draw, spiced with humour,! with controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS'is un- ‘ and near disbelief that one of the newly-weds is
dulcet songs, superb danc-g questionable, it must nonetheless recognise the in fact a carrier of the dreaded virus. The treing and colourful eye-catch-| serious limitations inherent in realising its ob- mendous damage wreaked on familial harmony
ing costumes.
j’ jectives through legislation. One of the impor- (owing
' to this
’ ' complete
'
betrayal‘ of* trust cannot
By tackling modern prob-fi tant gains of uvunj
wiui
nearly two decades ui
of wpuig
coping with
be underestimated.
This
is -possibly
,
- emergingJas
lems of social importance^ ♦u
the pandemic
has been in relation. xto the
j
u__t
.. ilong_
altogether new dimension to the crisis con­
an
Yakshagana as an art wills fevity
• of- those
’
—.
. with
. the virus and even f..................................
afflicted
fronting the institution of the family, in addition
flourish drawing nev^ . r_n_rirv
! also
'
to
lead
productive
lives by an in- ■ to historically rooted factors that' continue to
vitality from the society. 1the caPacitY
creasing number of them. An ever-expanding manifest in dowry-related violence and discrimViowledge concerning the nature of the disease ination. These complexities would have to be
hihhiiT6^5,jjii?°L1|tir0|iiriigii hiLPrea^1.1^2ZTa~
tacWed
claritY- foresight and courage.

I

"3

I

'V

1

y

§
I!

".y

■■

0

I
I

I

1

s

THE HINDU

1 3 AH( 2003

^HE HINDU

g 9 Ahi 2003

33
f-

1*
!
“A

4' T>

i

i

■ i.

A'

c
SAKS / WHO TEAM TURNS ATTENTION TO SHANGHAI'

Worldwide fetal'Ses rise t© 217 ti I
By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE, APRIL 22. With both

Progress reported despite new deaths A

Hong Kong's leader said Monday that the teTitory is gaining ground in the >
China and its Special Adminis­
fight against SARS despite reporting 22 new cases and 13 deaths
trative Region of Hong Kong
—seven in mainland China and six in Hong Kong.
|| E
registering nearly 100 deaths
t
—
3
SARS
cases
worldwide:
12!
Deaths:
each, die upsurge in the inter­
national menace of the Severe
Acute Respirator}' Syndrome
(SAKS) stayed at an alarming
’
level on Tuesday.
The World Health Organisa­
tion (WHO) is reported to have
said in Geneva that almost 87
per cent of the global-scale
S/\RS cases, estimated at 3861 as
on Monday, had occurred in
'. China and Hong Kong.
ASIA/SOUTH PACIFIC
AMERICAS
'
The total number of SARS fa%
EUROPE
Australia
3
0
Canada
13
12
' talities globally was put at 217
1,959 86
Brazil '
Britain
. 2
0
6
0 China
| . as on Monday. Of these, 83 per
United States
France
5
39
0
0 Hong Kong 1,402 94
i cent of the deaths were traced
AFRICA •
0
1
Germany
6
0 India '
M to China and Hong Kong by the
0
South Africa
1
0
i
Ireland
1
0 Indonesia
ic time the WHO. took its latest
MIDDLE EAST
0
5
Italy
3
0 Japan
3 count.
Kuwait
1
0
6
Romania
1 0 Malaysia
■f .o' Mongolia
g
Two other places prominent3
0
Spain
0 Taiwan
29
0
Sweden
3
3 ly affected by SARS are Singa0
Thailand
7
2
Switzerland 1
3 pore and Toronto.
Philippines
2
1
g
Giving updated figures 4on
Vietnam
63
5
0 Tuesday, the Chinese Ministry
Singapore
178
16
H of Health said in Beijing that 97
n SARS patients had died across
International figures as o< April 21,5 p.m. GMT
| the mainland, while the total SOURCES: Associated Press; World Health Organization
| confirmed cases of infection
| . rose to 2,158.
|
The suspected SARS cases campaign was being treated as a . Mr. Wen promised help to’’’
were 918 on the Chinese main­ national priority and promised Hong Kong and1 even Taiwan
_____ —
—i
_____ _ ___ ____ :*,. '
___ ___
land. In Beijing alone, the dis­ the international
(which
Beijing regards as CO
community
----- ) jn
ease
accounted
for
588 that the Central Government in --na>„’s province)
confirmed cases, including 100 Beijing would take steps to pre- against the
ixib SARS.
<
.
EKC
health-care workers.
vent SARS from spreading to the
The updated figures in HcC/*
The WHO team, which had country’s rural areas where, in Kong as of Tuesday were 9S$
visited Beijing, has turned its at- the reckoning of the interna- deaths (including five in the laj
tention to Shanghai too.
tional institutions, the available 24 hours) and 32 new cases tlC ‘
The Chinese Prime Minister, medical facilities left, much to brought up the total number of
Wen Jiabao, said the anti-SARS , be desired.
afflicted persons to 1,434^

’ wW. ■
i'1- '

c JI

.

I

C-? t

cjj

I

r

!■

[

F

ji

9

r

ZJ
e i
c i

,|23 Ai-ti 2003

3^

cl
cl
e |
£
*

C

1

.........
--J*

■

■■-

...

;

■

3

.J

1

r

J___

4
!

J >2

; .

1

the healing ways of Tibetan medicine 1
By Alladi Jayasri

behaviour of the patient. If

.

prescribed. Herbs used in
H BANGALORE, MARCH 18. The
combination with minerals, .
i ' Tibetan Medical Centre at
gems, and semi-precious
, .
; ' Mahalakshmi Layout in
'.-'stones, arid occasionally
TT-rK-r-n^Bangalore draws more Indian
substances
of
animal
extract
I-1 it ' / ^^^-^iPatients than Tibetans, and it
are administered to tlie .
I J f Al'(t 70,makes for an awesome
accompaniment of recitation
reflection that at this centre,
of prayers and mantras . .
H healing comes from the
invoking the Bhaishajyaguru,"
y revelations of Buddha in his
She says
manifestation as the .
Dr. Passang is also aware of
H Bhaishajyaguru or master of
the fact that there are not too
remedies, propounded as Gyumany
doctors who can claim
Shi — the four "tantras".
to be affiliated to a medical
Passang Lhamo Neshar was
college built more than 300
born in Bylakuppe and had
~
i near
her education there. She
P<,..~ J!.J Lhasa where the pricelc
Lhasa where the priceless
opted for a career in Tibetan
library
and
original
paintings,
medicine in 1982.
and some ancient texts are
Passang Lhamo Neshar examining a patient at the Tibetan
She studied at the Tibetan’
housed.
Medical Centre in Bangalore. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.
Medicine and Astrology
! Institute at the Dharamshala
Dr. Passang, and her
husband, Dorjee Rapten
imbalances in the so-called
odd indigestion. Women too
set up by the Dalai Lama to
Neshar, who is the chief
humours — the phlegm,
are unusually free from the
ensure that the priceless
medical officer at the centre,
wind, and bile.
stress and ailments that dog
treasure of Tibetan medicine,
are proud to carry on the
She then has to analyse
quite a clone of Ayurveda, was their Indian sorority.
healing ways of Tibetan
various
constituents
of
the
- The four “tantras”, covering
not lost to Tibetans.
medicine far away from their p
body — blood, flesh, bones,
Today, it is as if Shangri-La, physiology, pathology,
country.
R
waste, and impurities — in 25
that mysterious Himalayan
- diagnosis, and cure, are texts
Each year over 25
iS
. divisions as per the tenets of
in the form of a dialogue
repositoty of the secret of .
practitioners graduate from
- the “Root Tantra”.
between the many
eternal youth, has descended
-•
the
Dharamshala
and
start
l|
- If Dr. Passang is in
manifestations of
from the heavens to dispense
treating not only Tibetans but l|
awesome veneration of the
the mantra of instant nirvana. Bhaishajyaguru.
also Indians as the Neshar
sf
_,w.. today, most of the 1.3
fact that she has received
Four sections, 156 chapters,
"Even
lakli Tibetans Jiving in India
and 5,900 verses are what Dr. . knowledge so ancient and
couple. Dr. Passang says that
eternal,
it is- «because she
they use- modem facilities
seek succour and healing from ”
-j over cfive
—
i ••
Passang mastered
knows that the original script
such as laboratory' diagnostics
years.
Tibetan medicine,” says Dr.
in the course of their work.
B
is said to have been written
“Of course, if a doctor does
Passang.
“There is cure in the
not have the ability to see, she on sheets of gold with ink
When they first came, the
Tibetan
medicine
for
diseases
ffi
made of “lapiz lazuli" and
is no use for anyone. Because
hot climate killed many
such as hepatitis, thalassemia, u
then placed in the custody of
of the importance of pulse
Tibetans. Others died of lung
and certain types of cancer.
S
celestial nymphs.
reading in diagnosis, a
diseases. But today, that is a
The "tantras’ also mention an w
Treatment is administered
doctor's sensibilities are as
nightmare that has passed.
. . AIDS type of virus that
in strict adherence to the
Dr. Passang notes that older importance as her expertise,”
spreads because of imbalances
"tantras".
Dr. Passang says.
men and farmers in Tibetan
.icma wtvaj.v.iciiM
o—see
— if changes
in the environment
and
’■
“First, we
in
When a patient visits her,
settlements
occasionally

„..J

1:
1:
1

s

I

I

I

I

from the blood bank. However, on January 1
this year the Drugs Controller closed the case
after just issuing a warning to the blood bank
is JANGALORE, April 22
IX blood bank in Hubli had sold one unit of checked for HIV 1 and 2 it was found to be owner instead of prosecuting him.’’
Likewise, no action was taken against the
SIIV infected blood to a poor patient. A positive. The matter was brought to the
| nedical store in Belgaum was found stocking notice of Deputy Drugs Controller S H Ane- owner of Mysore Medical Hall in Gulbarga
for
stocking blood bags in the store, Mr RaI lalf-used and expired blood bags in the re- gundi who too got'the blood checked and con­
R rigerator. And a pharmacist was caught firmed it to be HIV positive. A report was mamurthy said.
Though the Department officials had
later sent to Drugs Controller Anand Rae jelling blood bags across the counter in Gul| larga. Well, do you know what action has jshekar, who in turn sought an explanation seized the blood bags on September 9, 1999, j
no effort has been made so far to |
|neen taken ■ in these cases ?
ascertain whether the bags con-1
ftPerhaps, the answer is ‘nothing’.
tamed human blood or animal j
Deposing before the Karblood, he said.
'
Biataka Lokayukta Justice N
In another case pertaining to I
B/enkatachala in connection with
M/s Ganesh Medicals in |
|drug scam here today, Deputy
Belgaum where half-used and ex-1
" Drugs Controller M N Ramapired blood bags were found |
DH
News
Service
nurthy told that the Department
during an inspection in July 26,!
jf Drugs Control took almost
2000. no action has been taken I
BANGALORE, April 22
.
:wo years to decide on a case per­
Security has been tightened at the Lokayukta office located in the
against the medical store owner .
taining to the sale of HIV in­
premises of M S Building in the City in view of the high-threat
till date, Mr Ramamurthy said.
fected blood by Hubli-based M/s
perception to the office.
The sale and stocking of blood
M R Diagnostic Research Centre
A door frame metal detector was fitted at the entrance of the
by medical stores is being alSv Blood Bank. Throwing light on
Lokayukta office today and visitors were frisked by police per­ - lowed by the Department per­
[ iow the drugs controller had
sonnel. The security arrangement comes in the backdrop of the
sonnel all over the State, he al­
QECCzXN HER'AIJL i)iled to check the sale of inhigh-profile cases such as the CMC scam and the multi-crore
leged.
■’ J
Jected blood, Mr Ramamurthy
drug scam being handled by the Lokayukta.
Instead of preventing medical
\x|riaid, “the Basel Mission of
In fact, in the last couple of months the office had received two
stores from selling blood bags by
j; Dhurch of South India Hospital
bomb hoax calls, Lokayukta officials said. Meanwhile, Deputy
instituting
criminal
cases]
F n Gadag had received one unit of
Drugs Controller Ramamurthy, who is deposing before the
against them, the Department is]
r )lood from M/s M R Diagnostic
Lokayukta in connection with the drug scam, has sought police
abetting such sale by druggists,'
}•’ Research Centre & Blood Bank
protection following threats from various quarters. •
Mr Ramamurthy added.
’bn .June 2. 2001 and when crosss

DH News Service_•

gSwSSr,*!

t..

Security tightened at
Lokayukta office

■

>z3

«

r—==

““

----- -

-- -

I

-rrrt-n-riftnij •

"

- ■

■Guidelines for NGOs |
working in AIDS care
Oh News Service

The Supreme Court on Friday took cognisance of a public interest lit- F
igation (PIL) which sought the evolving of a mechanism to monitor $
the functioning of NGOs working for the welfare of an estimated i
60,000 AIDS patients and receiving millions of dollars as grants from !
abroad.
f!
A division bench comprising of Chief Justice V N Khare and Jus- f
tice S B Sinha issued a notice to tlie Union Health Ministry on the PIL Ffiled by NGO “Common Cause" whose counsel Kamini Jaiswal raised *•
apprehensions about th? misuse of the huge funds involved.
P
The PIL pointed out that many AIDS patients are being turned U
away from hospitals and said the government should take effective
steps to educate people about AIDS, its transmission and the steps to 7
stop its spread.
| •
j It alleged that hardly 30 to 40 per cent of the huge grants the NGOs f
get from abroad is spent on AIDS patients.
I

V

(

; plete and correct" information about the 4Sease
C°m,‘' ‘
3 On tlie NGOs front the nhn ic m Ai
’ Nls-.S'saraJ said-.
h activities to each of them srfrhat a aN°cate specific areas of ‘
| they adopted a focussed approach Tn ^th0 OVerla-°Pin8 and 1

c

N T?e naOcfng in W “f "DS
ab0l,t 700 |
invol^tS^MkSe^to^"05 '° Pr°m°,e

f

1

in
”
1

r
.£0AAAadOpt,ng XuSSed- h^-^XaTed
-dof a
ctettea, Ms. Swajaj concedP
"OS
I AIDS programme in the country and sat'd the®X nf m

shtra in according high priority m 310118
AIahara‘l
:■ shtra in
of HIV/AIDS through
preven«onf
projects, Tamil Nadu xSu soon rn!fld e^ective control!
g ™aj°r intervention nrofr^m.
xT_0Ut,'?th bother j

rHE H1

1

■'

awareness through their field staff FoPr irwi^n tS 10 cre2an8 Public
grammes could be organised for
k an!?sensidsation pro- ;• (in direct

■

J the intervention strateX S

'

high pitch nationwide campaign that would emnh° a. Y aU

H£KALD

- '

By Our Special Correspondent

•of NCOS involved in the XXe.b> Stream,-n>ng the activities^
|;against the dise^sr^snen^the^ed?hhVheI

|

NEW-DELHI, May 2

Steps to promote | AIDS awareness • - i

I"™, PrOje‘:t

Fart oY

J"

i

J

1r

V

r

EJ3S5

ospitals reject HIV patient

t

I

r
r
'■

SfcftMJMattiiSSS

ByToufiq Rashid

T

New Delhi, May 7: The urine bag is still attached to
the open wound in his stom­
ach. Raj Bahadur, the HIV
positive patient, is back on
his old bed in his Sultanpuri
home, still waiting for that
elusive operation.
After a five-month stay in
Lok Nayak Jai Prakash
(LNJP) Hospital, Bahadur is
pinning his hopes on AHMS,
waiting to be operated on for
stricture urethra (block in
urethra). He has already
been denied treatment by
five major hospitals in the
city.
Bahadur can now move

1

I

r [

about without support (unl­ fitness certificate. The certi- r.
ike the immobile condition ficate was issued despite ;
he was in when The Express Bahadur being advised to ; |
met him in November 2002). continue to take all his.
“I hope, I’ll be relieved of seven medicines. He has'
Ck
this perpetual pain at also been prescribed a diab- • |
AIIMS, which is supposed to etic diet. "I am a govemmhave the best expertise,” ent employee and gening a
said Bahadur.
fitness certificate means I
, Bahadur is registered in have to report for work,” he |
the Urology OPD at AHMS,
—
said. Doctors at LNJP wereand he has already visited not available for comment. ;■ •i|
the hospital three times.
His seniors at the MCD J
Though the visits are yet to Flood Control department-1 i' j
point towards -something (where he works as a Class 11
concrete, AHMSlias revived IV employee) have, how-' ;i
a new hope- in him.
ever, asked him to■ extend: 5.j
Ignoring the bag attached his leave till he has “prope- U
to him as well as the open rly recovered".How long
wound in his abdomen, would that be, nobody has’ M
LNJP has even given him a an answer.
- Jali

r

e* i

; 1

I

c

-xx\ i-ijciwxLL.

Hay Z003

G-

36
C-

el
.ww mWf ■ .IT.......... ...

•a*«r>«n«

i

a-

.r!
..... ..............................

...

.... -•.. . ....-.. ..................................................................... ....... -...

___

r3

, .

3 “

]

II

T73

. \

\\

?;■

Eor^sra

h•

t

n

K ■ ■ f

□

——................. —.......................................................... ...... '■

\

i

H

n n

R

0

nB

Fl

Ji
JW

V

I

i& ■

a

Ofts

I

'■

u

■■

g . DECCAN HERALD: What is the focus of the
new country programme?
!^Cy ■'
MARIA CALIVIS: Our focus will be on three
£1 target groups - children under tliree years of age,
$ children in school and adolescents. The overall aim
§ of the programme is to contribute towards goals of
q the Tenth Plan with proper emphasis on reducing
rates of infant mortality, neo-natal mortality, mag ternal mortality and malnutrition. Providing
support to Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for
g primary education and assistance to NACO for prew vention of HIV/AIDS are also on tlie agenda
P DH: What will be UNICEF’s role?
g MC: UNICEF will work within tlie framework of
g these national objectives and provide technical assistance for capacity-building of the community
g We would play the role of an innovator in those disg tricts, which require the most assistance. We would
* also develop communication strategies targeting
g family members so as to help them in taking care of
their children in a better way.
.. Special assistance would be given to the SSA
g programme for children who
school. In
»vuv are
cue out
uui of
ui bCIlOOl.
m
.
. ...
$ so far as (our'interventions
" 2__ ___
for combating° ■DPT
per cent Wlth
cover3ge in rural------------areas
being
o only'- 17 H
____
Ahnnf CQ r>^v.
_________ i
i i
cent. About
53 per cent of 1household
water is
HIV/AIDS are concernedI we are more into per PPDt
contaminated
either
at
source
or
in
the
home.
ty
£ launching awareness campaigns for adolescents
I
nd^prevention
rev!ntiion of rnot
her-to-child transmissiom
Taking view of this situation UNICEF interven- 3
g ^and
mother-to-child
transmission.
§ ^Iso
An important
component
the new programme
is tions in the State give priority to school sanitation |f
|
working towards
poliooferadication.
"
~
programmes involving construction of water 0
& also working towards polio eradication.
« DH: When countries like Bangladesh and Sri tanks, proper toilets and a boiuldary around the
£5 Lanka have been declared policT-free,
polio-free, new cases school. The basic idea is to instill an idea of hy­
g are still
‘.........
~
being_ reported in ____
India. Where
do we gienic behaviour among the children and to reach
out to the community through them.
p lag behind?
£
DH: What sort of interventions arc
g MC: The problem with India lies with its sheer size
are you j
and population density. There are 30 million planning in the sector of elementaryj edu- |
cation?
g children in Uttar Pradesh alone. The State with its
MC: Access continues to be the major problem
g highly-congested districts and lack of sanitation
g facilities poses a big challenge for us.
m,, 6 no11116351 P3rt of the State where UNICEF |
Our interventions
Wld collaborate with the Azim Premji Foundation
vcuLiwni in
ui UP
ur include
uiuiuue social
social mobilimooili‘as
& Ration
sation efforts among the parents, teachers and to
toInprovide
Pov*ro.vide quality
quality education
education
as well
well aTsupport
as support I
L_______________ i
§
health
workers.
UNICEF
has
roped
in
cricketers
in
Other
mtervent
ions
of
health
and
nutrition
in the
if
. --------f--------------RS thent- z'omr.o__ i: _ i itr. .
____ _of |
area. From
Fi om POOS
2005 north
north JCornotoVn
Karnataka .trill
will be an area
k
their campaign to ‘bowl out polio’. We have pre- area.
g pared a TV spot with Amitabh Bacchan urging primary’ focus for child labour and education inter- f
’
'
E
g parents to bring their children to booths for polio ventions.
UNICEF shall support the State government’s £
g drops. UNICEF also helps the authorities to
effort towards the prevention and elimination of I
g procure vaccines.
8 DH: What are the key activities of UNICEF in harm and vulnerability of children via a compre- f
hensive approach to their protection in the areas of $
Karnataka?
trafficking,
sexual exploitation and H
ii MC: Karnataka is one of the high-prevalence child
..., labour,
.
—------g states for HIV/AIDS. The child sex ratio has de- .
difficult circumstances. It will also inig| dined from 960 in 1991 to 941 in 2001. tiate exploratory work on the trafficking issue'in 11
a Complementary feeding rate is only 38.4 per cent Karnataka and facilitate the Government’s effort i!
L- which is the lowest in south India. About 71 per in mapping and development of a database on th£
J cent of children between six and 35 months are trends and issues that contribute to trafficking and |
| anaemic and 44 per cent of children under three sexual exploitation of children. Advocacy, capacity ||
| years are undernourished, which is again the building of the police, judiciary and other key in- ■!
tervenors as well as networking, with NGOs and j
| highest in south India.
I • Water quality and hygiene are major problems civil society groups will also be supported.

I

v

...........................................................................................................................................................................................................

hildren

HE UNICEF has recently renewed its pro­
gramme of cooperation for children with the
Government of India for tlie next five years
(2003-2007). UNICEF Representative in India Maria
Calivis spoke to Shruba Mukherjee of Deccan
Herald on tlie priority areas of die new country
■programme
and
the
specific UNICEF activities in Karnataka.

-

■

&!

-

’

’

’

II

■

..

I

immew
mamWWis

.

c

•

•

______ I

•

!

I

.’1

i
<

8 <
$

,

in Karnataka. Overall toilet coverage is about 36

«
<S

j B MAY 2803

r1

.

1 • r*r-

j

,.4;

I-

Sex workers get a new life as cooks.
. nurses, farm hand^

By Kal>\th<l Ramakrishnan ‘ edi workers, facilitating ’ sex workers had been reunT,
,
’
their early return to main- ‘ ‘
Kasargod, May 20: Worn- stream society. Many privtes condoms. The LAD
en forced by circumstance ate hospitals and hostels
by has plans to introduce v
to subsist on tlie streets here and in the neighbour­
en's condoms among
- no longer in the profession self-help group among the for
for th"
"
working the world's oldest ing city of Mangalore have
the first time
in.the!
----------- --------------------------- :----- • QSWs here and. their daily State.
profession now have the come
forward to employ the
« chance to live a different CSWs here as cooks.
earnings are deposited in
ir.ere are HTV-af
Hiv-af to
There
’
A Kasargod-based NGO has so far banks with a minimum of children in Kasargou, uut'
i life, thanks to the efforts of
_______
_ so iai
The
LAD has
far rehab1 the Institute of Applied Der- ilitated 49 CSWs belongin’ ;: rehabilitated 49 sex workers, 19
Rs_!0 a da>’-their education ha? nevoj-i
"
varjous communities'
| mafninrr..
matology HAm
CAD), ««
a non-goveInstitute has adopted been a problem for the ■' • i
of them have been married off, 8 • a The
| mmental organisation
here
novel
method
to
promote
•
ents
who
themsphv
1
------- .and age groups. As many as
the use Joff..condoms
to red
red-’ HD' Positive.
positive?* There
There .h^j.has'CO?d.°Dlto
[gagedjn the fight against 19 had been married off . ,.\have found self-employment
| HIV/AIDS.
uce the risk of AIDS among never been ah outcry by/^aJ1
w-hile eight had found self­
g. Commercial sex workers employment. The LAD had
sex
workers
by
distributing
ssmates
or
teachers
Y
Most of those rehabilita­ are engaged in collecting condoms to autorickshaw ' children have not bet aid?
| (CSWs) here are being_ reha-■ sent two as home nurses
children have not bet
ted
are
now
leading
a
fam
­
ayurvedic herbs which the drivers who ply at night, t^-"'r —
-c
| bilitated as cooks,
cooks., home
home and another five to ashrthey —
are Trr
HTV
positive and£
ily life and have children.
tl._L identity ' is a cclo‘ /j
| nurses, farm hands
----- - and be- ams run by nuns while four They also keep in touch LAD purchases in bulk and Sreedhar/ an LAD field their
markets through its outlet.
“w‘. worker, drives an autorick- guarded secret.

i;

DECC/xN HERALD

1

KQ3

U.S. graift to support
project for ABS patients -

By Ramya Kannan '
ment and modus operandi are yet to be finalised
CHENNAI. MAY i. Pan of tlie $100-million grant-in- The f^s will be channelised to all the participaaid to India allocated by the Global Fund for AIDS, Ong. N90s through the National AIDS ControfOrJ TB and Malaria, will go towards funding a project 8anisatl0n (NACO), sources said. It is likely to
to provide Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ARD to per- conimence in June.
3
sons with HIV/AIDS in Mumbai, Chenrfai and L 771 e Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria has
| Bangalore. The project intends to examine public- been established to fund the fight against the "dis
fnnT n partnek L£,T^0/iding ART dru8s t0 Per- eases Of P°vcrty"- Wth latest statistics indicating
J
I™8
HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and three or- ^at India bears nearly 10 per cent of the global
1 nf?‘Sav OnS"lt>?n?,taHllshed presence in the sector H,v burden, the nation falls within the ambit of
? °ai YRCCArphin rl™ ha7 bee" Ch0Sen for 1116 the, G‘obal Fund- which accords priority to areas
] Chennai, Arcon tn .Mumbai and ^th the greatest burden. The Fund intends to oro| Freedom Foundation in Bangalore.
vide grants to public-private formulation aidPiml It has been scientifically proved that ART in- Plemanta'ion processes in support of technically
g creases the quality of life of the PLWHA and this SOUnd and cost-eI7ective interventions for the prog study is a funher attempt to examine the feasibility cCn Craatme9t- care and suppon of the infected
I ?L,subs!dlsin8 the costs of ART drugs in IndiZ Special ei?Phas>s is laid on providing increased
There is no doubt that ARTs will enhance life ‘ 5ess bealtb se™ces and critical health prod- I
I quality But this project, which is pan of the third flCtS ln.c,ud,ng dnjgs. training of personnel and in- 1
round funded by the Global Fund would study Uuencin8 behaviour change and outreach.
I
local responses and conditions to the treatment.
While the cost of ARTs has gone down since they I
ndr wSi ’000
°Ver a five-year peri- were first introduced, it still remains beyond the t
1 od. Sumti Solomon of YRG. Care said.
reach of a number of persons living with HIV/ £
The ART drugs would be provided at cost price AIDS' TheJcost >s around Rs. 2,000 per month per I
to the NGOs, which, in turn provide the drugs to perso.n ^nd unaffordable for a vast section of the
the patients on a sliding scale, depending on their E?KIOn in n.c,ed of the treatmenL Urged by the S
economic status. While subsidised treatment
,0Pr°vlde free ART in all government hos- g
would be provided to those who are able to bear P'ta s T 1116 Stale'the Tamil Nadu Health Depart- E
S part of the costs, and in the most deserving ra^ ment has constiruted a committee that would B
U the drugs will be provided free.
' e?amn?e the feasibility of the demand, considering ft
| While preliminary- approval for the project has' to Vke care'S'th^n?’ Comrnitn?cnt ” entailad §
^been^gramed, specifics such as financi^commjt-. ^contracing °he infe^
°f perS°nS |

I

........

P.

A

A

■ ........... jg

1

e-

i

o

o

l

fl

I/ '' '

;sl

I
■■

J

;

j

i
.■.:V

f

UNDP calls for transformatsoMaS
I fEsfisg SSH=SSLr.sh® to AgM HBV/A8DS . . ..
|

i;-?a

■

From the blurb i

^-F

S.

oi SID and AIDS, gives porsoectivpnf

w

7 hu,'tOfists, organised by1

.

.

.

..

§

t0 create new

....-j------------------------------- --

|i®f5
I.

I

Of ^Xna,maonb£

a

OIUI1V1O.

'

■iiMH

p

?;

. r

| ■ developing countries fo^epSiofogy Govern,!^
S Culture.
By Ramya Kannan
shame and fear that have come j
„
ing basic images and society- licular- .beyond the workshop, j; t-i
g and treatment, effect of STDs on health
, to dominate approaches to the wide nerceotions
The conclusion of the work- ; tj
g. of individual and community, treatment Iran
.
CHENNAI, MAY 21. In the global pandemic, but simultaneously P • P
images, icons and metaphors, shop even saw the formation of; |
H- guidelines of NACO, CDC and WHO, lateralism’- K Santhanam
aagainst HIV/A1DS,, the
die worked to infuse positive emo| and prevention.
Team; Pub. by the^lnshlutG^or Defence UNDP haS switched on a sear’ tions into tlie existing frame- to take a stand and 'seize the e-groups and discussion fo­
, uu JuyA-uie’ insuiuie
tor Defence
--------- Sear’ ------- work.
day,’ according to UNDP HIV rums among print journalists.
d
‘
’’..............----------------Studies -'
and Analyses,
Block 113. Old C,'1118,1L n^I
ie searchlight scans
and Development Programme
The Goa workshop replicated
JNU
Campus.
New
Delhi-110067
and
the
globe,
looking
for
potential
Ane Boo^STZa alZTn 2? Xs to
Z m n
tThr°Udgh ? pr°CeSS “f T™’ rCgi0^1 “■ordil’““^ S°ram »’<= experiment that was underiA^„
00
D
S
'
^hParwana
Bhawan,
24,
leaders
to
pilot
the
movement
Ansari
Road. 2DDaryaaani
hli agai. nS,t thePpandemic.
J
niuVLmein sation, dialogue and discus- Yangchcn Rana.
aJJ:_ Ababa, Ethiopia,
taken in Addis
hi 1 WOOERS
9a5rya99anJj’’ IW
New De,
Delhi-110002.Rs,29^
NeW
- agams the pandemic
sionS( the bUnited Nations
Following close on the heels where the media were able to
Offers an incisive analysis of the events f In11 what
iat 1S SCCn
^C.?3S
aV3 dlverslon
dlv’ersl0n agency hoped to create break- of a similar leadership work- successfully create new icons
'Tn^nnt u^ennllracicrisisbythelDSAlraq from the established methodol- throuRhs and thc possibility of shop held in thc capital for per- and metaphors for the chang- , i
Insight
Team comprising
nino scholars
tackling
and
^Hordinn^
SC,^h-S ogy
OgY of
°f or
tack
’in8 crisis
cnS1S situations,
situal,ons- eVhope, Dr. Sharma said. As part sons with IIIV/AIDS» lhc ing paradigm, according to i *
. professionals
----------terms
Situational
analysis
ciplinary
noiltiic.M/umu
S'economic
a ordnd/nuw-a/s-in
.3 and
a mull
!-dis- in
terms
situational
analysis,
ii.:_ attempt
___ »
„i„„P i.L.i
qplinaryCpolitical,
military
n ann
int of resouice
mob
lisa °cfrthlS
t0 develo
lead' workshop examined the possi- UNDP staffers.
perspect/ve.
’
i
m/c
and
m'1'tary
planning,
resource
mobilisaership skiIls
skills in
in Gie
the community,
community, bilities
bilities of
of going
going beyond
merely
sEh qf- H M- . ■
■
■ don and8’mJdia camna7Pns the ership
beyond merely
These
These leadership
leadership workshops
workshops 5’
Hua
Yoak
spir
'
INDP
H
ipTpvps SPHIV/ATDq the UNDP roped in around 100 reporting facts and trends of would be offered to different. "1
■- Cap
itual t. Yogic
Guide for
Natural es^ 1
K 9Z Reddy.
M ne^P
epXic S fo rZoX perS™S
the ™dia “d the epidemic or sob-stories on constituencies to several coun- |
Vasan' Vihar. New Del- tion uX“being and do n^of
StaJ^ t0 at' the de™station and problems, tries (India, Cambodia, Malay- : |
S;1S7 R^12?■
'
leadersh o
reg10^1 WnOrkS?^ m
It is believed that the emerg- -sia and China) over the years, |
7r^‘^n^Jd,ea.°f
Goa between May 9 and 12.
ing
leaders
|«
ing
leaders of
of the
the sector
sector will
will be
be UNDP staff members said.
from the Upanishads, the author focuses
A keY asPect of this transforAmong
the
more
prominent
able
to
shift
public
perceptions
11
In
addition
to
involving
those
:
i
on developing one's inner strengths
mational shift in the response
HIV/A1DS and fgJ
Chaar Dhaam - A Guide to the Hindu ‘ to HIV/AIDS is to identify lead- participants at the workshop and create new images and sto- livingg with HFV/A1DS
t
j
iat
ac(ua
]]y
^elp
oa^Co9win
9upla; Rp* ers across society to achieve comprising journalists, film ries that will actually help re- mediapersons, the organisation |
will also reach out to govern- |
New DeihMip^^^^
significant breakthrough in the and theatre personalities from verse the epidemic, s;
*
_ »• _ since
groups: local politicians, 9
Exploration of the ‘Chaar Dhaam', Badri-1 battle, according to UNDP HIV/ India and Nepal, were ad man ‘“communication" is perceived ance ’--••-T
The Srikara Bhashya — Beinn ihn Vira.
th' Ran}e^hwaram, Dwarka, PurCthe AIDS group head, Monica Shar- Prahlad Kakkar, Children’sFilm to be thc “first line of defence panchayati raj institutions m
(PRI) and strategic planners.
|
Society chairperson Sai Para- against the epidemic."
j
__ 4i_ _ »» M
_
tOUr most SOCrcd
nf nilnrirnnriss^
njpye, actress Nanditha Das,
A series of special workshops a
Mediapersons also resolved
EdS( by
S H?yavadana Rao —
dllOr, VOl.1- I, ,u vuuuuui i dllU VOI <Ld
. - -— Swints rilflUU
artist Achuthan Kudaloor and to work together to take the im- for PRI representatives have |
i
, Akshaya
Prakashan,
208 • k®FP®ct.ivas; Den‘S Vidal, Gilles Tarapoetess Imtiaz Dharker.
ages of leadership in general been planned for Andhra Pra, M.G.House, 2, Community Centre Wa- R0U ' EFC Meyer ~ Editors; Pub. by sive resignation, hopelessness,
The workshop aimed at shift- and
’lw Fiy
^'ndustria'Area, Delhi-110052. Rs
nf De Sciences Humaines. New jjcvnicisrm

I

=)s

n

svir* (Resd-> ^-1

J

1. I . .1 T/. 1 1

*1 i-

» - T^-l

.

.

..

-

ji

•IS
1

I

1500 for the set.
Delhi and Manohar Publishers & DistribofJhe book originally published wf rs'n
Ansari Road, Daryaganj,
in 1936, when it was the first time the text
Delhi-110002. Rs. 650.
'xj was offered in Devanagari script. The b°lledion°f adioles by scholars recon■ ‘ work, which is the commentary on the Sldann9 the understanding of violence
; Brahmasutras by Sripatipanditacharya
and^on-violence in Hinduism highlight: establishes the Virasaiva philosophical '2P how
can.nP.t be understood H
»t standpoint, the first volume being a dedeare d,sassociated from each other
i tailed introduction and the second vol- H.e?Pondmg to Terrorism — Dilemmas
j ume gives the text.
Democratic & Developing Societiest ‘ .R®.f*®ct,‘Pns on Yo9a Sutra-s of Patan- Lakshmi Krishnamurti, R. Swaminatham i
jah: T. K. V. Desikachar; Pub. by Krish^ueck — Editors; Bookventure
|: namacharya Yoga Mandiram; 31 4th •Lrw ~ 381 Thanikachalam Road T
I; Cross Street, R. K. Nagar, Chen- ^a9ar. Chenn^-GOOOl?. Rs. 245.
L nai-600028. Rs. 200.
Compilation of the proceedings of the
j' Translation of the Yoga Sutras with lucid
or9an‘sed bY the Satyamurti
. explanation by the Yoga mastedrelevant ' Scf/
De^rat.c Studies, the Ma[- to.the contemporary-context Also ore/ssociatl°n and the
Isents the chant notaUons to enable
ism
and
its
related
aspects, m
in whir-h
which the
' recitation.
1 ana 115 rel3ted asoects
tr,n
, Humour India 2002 Hyderabad — with participants included academics, social i
I; the event CD: Pub. by Andhra Pradesh activists, administrators and security ex- I

n

C-ECCA?- IL-r.ALD'

■2 2 May 2G03

____________ ■ ‘--h: ________ Ij

‘V L-,.,-,. ■ ................... •

2 7 MAY zona

A

C>1
(*

r

r
V

i*

f'

I-,.

r».

/

wise m
■? spending needed7 <•■

W' .. ", WlV alaaeCKWiS /

1i

mystery solved

|J

By It. Prasad
out that a massive expansion or the epidemic was h CHENNAI, MAY 1. Scientists have finally solved a longstanding scicn-

By N. Gopul lluj

not inevitable. Two-diirds of the 45 million new

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MAY 13. A nearly six-fold HIV infections that are projected to occur beKj• tific
be-L
»■«. mystery
, — how Human Immunodeficiency
, Virus (HIV) pjanrise in HIV prevention spending was needed in ttween now and' 2010 could
IJ 1be averted if provenMJagcs
.. _ to infect, multiply with abandon
-----1- ‘ —
’ subvert
"
and‘-----eventually
the
key Asian countries, including India, over the prevention strategies, used in combination,
combination,Ejj
w’j human immune system to cause AIDS,
AIDS.
next two years if a major increase of the AIDS could
h
1.1 McDonald, microbiologists at the Unicould be
be dramatically
dramatically scaled
scaled up.
up.
Hj| Thomas Hope and D...
David
epidemic
.
was to be prevented,
^.nmrmt says a report from
There was no magic bullet which would stop
stop fill versity
versity of
of Illinois atat Chicago,
Chicago, found
found that
that in
in the
the early
early stages
stages of
!!Y Prevention
J’rc-.cr.'.icr. Working Crcup.
the spread of HIV. Instead, a range of intervcn-H
t| the C!eb:t!
Global !HIV
Group.
intervcn-||i infection, the dendritic cells (Langerhans cells) — the first line of
[i
lion strategies
strategies had
had to
to be
be used
used in
in combination
combination to||i
to||i defence
The report, titled "Access to HIV Prevention: tion
defence for
for the
the body
body —
— gets
gets infected.
infected. The
The fact
fact that
that the
the HIV, first
7ACIIKJ ill/' L. □ t^ ** tAf ir'H Va "» *■ fillet
n n nt • z»
ri • % •
n n
• 1m >• -» rt"— — • .1
„J
n
»l
I•n
11 e
n f t n r'k’ •» t H t* T * ff* 11 *» WIl 11 (*) WH
g Closing
the Gap," which has just been released, ttarget
the many diverse
populations
affected and
a)• 1®infects
the
dendritic
cellsit before
it attacks the T cells was known
P finds that theglobal annual spending on HIV pre- the various routes for HIV transmission. At pre-Hj long ago. But what was not known was how the virus manages to
i- vention should be increased by $ 3.8 billions dur- sent,
sent, fewer
fewerthan
thanone
onejnjnfive
fivepeople
peopleliving
livingininthen)
then I gain
suln entry
v.>>, j into
1..^ the
C.w T
. cells
—of the immune- system.
-j
ing the same period. More than 40 million people world
access toto basic
These scientists■ have now
discovered
world had
had access
basic HIV
HIV preventions}
preventions
- ■->>
---------- 1 how this is done and their
were at present infected with HIV, the virus programmes.
R. results were published today in the online version of the journal,
which causes AIDS, far more than had been preSuch interventions would be even more potent R, Science.
dieted a decade ago and the epidemic showed if they/ were
carc|j Dendritic cells or Langcrhan cells are the watchdogs of the imwere closely
closely linked
linked with
with treatment,
treatment, care.
few signs of slowing, the report noted.
and
and support
support programmes.
programmes.
j g tnune system. They patrol and normally attack and degrade any
"The world's success in turning the tide against
International donors and the Asian countries^: virus or pathogen, which enters the body, into tiny bits. These tiny
HIV/AIDS will be determined in great part by themselves
crit-OT' bits are then presented as antigens to T cells to prepare in advance
themselves have
have been
been slow
slow in
in providing
providing the
Ithe crit-(
whether the epidemic car. be curbed
?d in Asia. Not ical
ical financial
financial support
suonort needed
needed for
for preventive
nreventi' - mea-H
mea­ • the immune system for any possible attack by a foreign body,
''•'i”
~the
■’-----— most
—ipopulous,
—— >-••• but
-------------- -----------------■*.
Dendritic cells present the antigen to the T cells by making ag
only
is the region
wotld's
sures. Such-----programmes
currently received■ onlyS.
physical contact in the form of a tight interface called an immun-1
alarming increase In infection rates in India, Chi­ $ 421 millions a year.
na and Indonesia raise (he prospect of a major
By 2005, Asian countries would need uj.j/.wA.-g,:
approxi- ological synapse. This contact helps cells to talk to one another vial
:cly $1.9 billions annually to mount acompre-H ' molecular signals. Once the communication is done, the T cells are j
expansion of the epidemic," it warned.
uiv prevention effort,
n <-,,™a sum which
aiened and it responds to spot and destroy the virus.
n
China and India stood "on the brink of wide- hensive HIV
However, the hitch with the HIV is that the dendritic cells orj
spread epidemics” as HIV spread from high-risk would grow to more than $ 2.4 billions by 2007.
Langerhans
cells
arc
unable
to
destroy
all
the
HIV
before
present-1
groups to the broader population. U.S. intelliThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the
■
gcncc experts believe that HIV/AIDS is poised to Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation to inform ! ing them as antigens to the T cells.
Scientists have now discovered live dendritic cells with the HIV
escalate in India, creating up to 20 to 25 million global policy-making convened the Global HIV I;
new infections between now and 2010, according Prevention Working Group, a panel of nearly 40 .1 particles inside them.
And, as the dendritic cells make contact with the T cells for
to the report. The Group, however, also pointed leading experts.
*
Lj
alerting them, the HIV particles take advantage of the contact and
ya.’CWWtRSft^M
move into the T cells. Just as dendritic cells could signal the start ol
the immune response to the HIV, the immunological synapse (the
contact) helps jump-start infection.
In short, the HIV exploits the dendritic machinery for its own
ends, taking advantage of the cells’ special relationship with the 1
cells to gain entry and launch its assault.
In the process, the HIV does not gel destroyed. Once inside the l
cells, the HIV multiplies and slowly kills the T cells. Widi time, tin
person progresses to a diseased state (AIDS).
I
Recent studies have shown that die Ebola virus, cytomegalovi H
rus. and the bacterium that causes tuberculosis follow the sanug
fa

c
c

A’

5

_THE HINDIS

A-l-

|

< MA/ ?003

A.

A

i

?D(]3

■ i

J

I
i

e

- Wot ?

DECCAN HERALD <

■ 1 tec /IrCC!

i

L

i
i

■ -

Members of the Trained Nurses Association of India, Karnataka Branch, take out a procession i
in Bangalore on Monday to create awareness about AIDS, while celebrating the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale — Express photo by Keshav vitla
► Details, page 3

c
C1Aj

A

e
e
ee
c

"...

-3

J. _

a

»I

I

-J

AIDS care centre facing closure
<

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, MAY 23. The Samraksha HIV/
AIDS Care Centre at OMBR Layout here
is facing closure as the residents of the
locality have objected to the centre
functioning in a residential locality.
Responding to their objection, the
Bangalore Mahanag
igara ~Palike (BMP) has
asked die centre to, either "relocate or
resolve the issue with the local
community."

from die residents as his rationale, and
said he was empowered to take 'any
and all action’ to ensure jhat the local .
residents were no longer'disturbed by
the fear of being infected,” she said.
The Samraksha Care Centre was
moved to the present location from
Benson Toyvn on May 12 this year as
thereJ was no adequate space to meet
rowjng nee
ds. Besides,
the centre
centre>’ss ggrowing
needs.
Besides,
there were
water supply
and sanitation
----- supply
and sanitation
problems. "The shifting of the centre to

had provided in-patient services to 14
PLHA in the past 11 days at its new
place. "The residents’ opposition has
given a glimpse of the discrimination
that PLHA face. We are surprised that
the BMP has become a part)- to such
discrimination,” she said, and added
that the centre could be shifted if an
alternative location was provided.

Health Officer (CHO) had ordered that
the centre should be shut down
h’| immediately, and “people living with
'4 HIV/AIDS" (PLHA) shifted to the
.Isolation Hospital. However, the BMP
Commissioner, M.R. Sreenivas Murthy,
said this was not true.
According to Ms. Sangamithra, the
CHO called her office on Friday and
ordered the immediate closure of the
cenfre-. He (the CHO) cited complaints

local residents Despite our efforts to
face n0 perSOn?
threat of HIV/AIDS from our centre, the
residents have complained it poses a
threat to their psychological health,”
Ms. Sangamithra said.
Although the centre made several
requests to die BMP and the
Department of Health and Family
Welfare for suitable accommodation,
nothing had worked out so far. she
added. She pointed out that the centre

Hindu that “the centre was ad'vised to
reIoCate ^e'facility as the residents had
objected to the present location or
’ ■issue with
. . “die
jucauon,
resolve the
local ’ or .

I

- J

’0

ilbri!

J

-J

1 -5

J

J

1
II
(1

BMP’s ‘advice’

community.” "\Ve have not asked them
to shut dov.m (the centre). Our advice
has been wrongly understood. In fact,
centre,
” he
said. to be helpful
r — to the
the BMP
is willing
He said he had promised the NGO of
help, and asked it to identify suitable
premises for relocation.

*
|

ft 7

DECCAN HERALD

2 4 fi/u 2033

-J

n-

—j

Womkn contracts HIV from donor sperm

J

£

']

V

•jjKOLKATA, May 18 (IANS)
f^ A childless couple's quest for a
ferbaby has ended in the hopeful
V mother contracting HIV.
In what is being termed by
J doctors as Asia's first case of
''■ •p, HTV from artificial inseminaw'| tion, a woman fertilised with
i J sperm from an unknown donor
l • has contracted the dreaded
' virus.
The woman discovered she
was carrying the virus when she
underwent a medical examina­
tion in August 2002 as directed by
■ I
an NGO from which she wanted
to adopt the child.
The woman and her husband
approached the adoption agency
after six attempts at artificial in­
semination since 1997 failed.
SI- The case has stunned doctors

I

I
1
.1 '

15

H -Aa

a.

y.T.

>

of the School of Tropical Medi­
cine (STM) here, but they say
similar instances have been re­
ported from the US, Australia,
Canada and Italy
"This is a shocking case, but
not unprecedented. However, we
have found out that this is the
first of its kind in Asia," Dr
Dhrubo Neogi, head of the state­
run STM's virology department,
told IANS.
"There is every chance of the
woman becoming a full-blown
Aids case for no fault of hers," Dr
Neogi said.
The woman's identity is being
closely guarded and Neogi would
only say she was a 35-year-old
from a well-to-do family in
Kolkata.
The woman and her husband,

after realising their incapability
to produce an offspring, had vis­
ited at least three private infertil­
ity treatment clinics, where they
were told artificial insemination
was their only option.
The woman, whose husband
suffered from oligosperia or low
sperm count, underwent artifi­
cial insemination six times in
the three infertility clinics since
1997.
"In August 2002, after all at­
tempts to get pregnant failed, she
went to a non-governmental or­
ganisation to adopt a baby As a
matter of rule, the couple was
asked to undergo some medical
tests.
"It was then that the woman
was diagnosed as HIV positive
while her husband turned out

HIV negative," Dr Neogi said.
|
The shocked patient was then |
referred to the STM, where Neo-1
gi and his team of doctors are!
now treating her.
He said chances of the woman's
having contracted the HIV virus |
other than from the artificial in-1
semination is being ruled out be-1
cause neither had she undergone |
blood transfusion nor did she be-1
long to the high-risk group.
Even blood tests carried out g
on the couple before the insemi- g
nation process had showed both |
partners as HIV negative.
The shocking case was first g
reported first in the January is-1
sue of the Indian Journal
Pathology and Microbiology, but |
had so far escaped the notice of|
the media.
S

ci vhay sr
4-1

1

■3

•A

3

I

IZJ

3 A pain beyond ^fc‘1 6 THE HINDU, Sunday, April 13,2003
the physical... it

g BANGALORE, May 23(DHNS)
|
pl Aids is not a contagious disease h
but the deep-rooted societal disBOO
||| crimination has made the lives «■
Njof Aids patients miserable. Now,
U.an Aids Care Centre itself is in t, Continued from page 4
Pljeopardy, thanks to unfounded r
Mt stigma about Aids.
J?
.....................
tii The Aids care centre situated V
pl in OMBR Layout in the City is |
h: facing the threat of closure due F
p;to opposition by the residents.
feWhat is even more shocking is a
b that the BMP’s chief health offi‘ cer, who should be creating H
;;
awareness among the residents Vj;
il;that there was no problem in the k
V
i
^.Centre being there, has ordered U
■
. immediate closure of tire centre! [»
Fy Ms Sangamitra, Director of •
- '
Samraksha, the NGO which p
runs the care centre, narrated at K
■■ ■■•
.GG.< 7
f a press meet today the plight of J
4 the inmates and problems in
convincing the authorities and
.- A
v
E the residents.
Samraksha had set up the
!. care centre two weeks ago. Ever 5 forces of globalisation, especially in sectors the elected representatives: “Clearly our rep-|
r since, some of the residents have S like fish processing, cotton pollination and resentatives, Presidents, Prime Min
rsl
■’ been
threatening
.
Samraksha
ito
-----------------1 floriculture where the girl child phenomenon Chief Ministers, Ministers are guilty of
,
move out of the area fearing they p! is prominent.” More significantly, the verdict liction of duty- to promote and protect the
would be infected by the HIV.
Lj opined: “the distinction of hazardous-non- Constitution of which they were (and ar ’ ’u-:
When the residents com­
hazardous work is fallacious in the context of ty bound by the oath they take prior to
plained to the authorities, the ; the child, especially the girl child. The fact she ing office. Their guilt is compounded as the
BMP asked Samraksha to identi­
is a girl makes her vulnerable to sexual harass- price for their dereliction of duty is bein
fy an alternative place for the
lfien-ti trafficking(
to HIV/AIDS, sexual stereo- by millions of children of tender age
JSe.
d care centre. A place has already ? typing and
and health
hea]
hazards arising out of unbearable testimony we heard the whole day
been identified. She said: “Even | inhuman working conditions and malnutri­ on March 6. at Mysore."
ij before we could complete the for- t tion. The law is insensitive to the above diDespite the rigours of poverty, the
11 malities of moving to a new} | mension where hazard is defined from the dren’s ability' to dream was still alive, against
| premises, BMP Chief Health Of- ’■* I point of occupation and not the child.”
heavy odds. They wanted to study, be '•lf-1
t ficer Dr Jayachandra Rao called J The CACL has been drawing attention to employed, and become a social wor. ,
|us.I ’
’
•
•
-----Instead of trying to convince E.; t^e
Convention of Child Rights that de- preacher, a singer, a teacher and so on.
I
Bthe residents that there was no h fines a person a child until 18 years. The IndiRinku, who complained of lorry' dri- eni
F harm, he asked us to vacate the 4 an Government has ratified the Convention blowing cigarette smoke on their faces
L
j place immediately and shift the :< without reservations — with no obvious in- girls bent dowm to pour their drinks, declared!
i patients to Isolation Hospital.
H ten(iOn to implement, going by its shameful “I want to become a police officer to be ab'e to
The State and National poli- q recorc] in enforcing even the existing 14-year hang all those who make children wo
cies support NGOs to set up care a limit. The jury verdict was, in fact, harsh on the Government listening? &
centres but there is no support a _____ .
' .
_
.
- ■■---------------;■ from the BMP Health Officer.”
When contacted, Dr Rao said 3
1 that the centre was creating psy- $
5 chological problems in the resi• dents. With no support from the |
i residents and the BMP, the not- £
for-profit Samraksha doesn’t T1 knew wbat t0 do-

Give them

n

7

r

-v

flA.

y G",

SB■ —
; '" -

” ' WSCh' t’1

: / AAW;

J

I

on the rise
I!hBi ' AIDSBangladesh
IE

P£CCAN HERALD
•A»

•

’ <. • (

O

ID

I

By Haroon Habib

detected in Sylhet in the 1980s.

b

The first patient was an e.xpadhaka, may 12. The number of
people getting infected by the , triate from West Asia. He died
■ and hi?.
also an AIDS pa- "

| routes. There is no AIDS deux- ?

1116 Dubaj ,authonties f

&S Was detemd in

Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong
It is not only the expatriates,
where dozens of flights from
abroad land every week. Nonh- ,’ particularly the unskilled laeastern Sylhet, a region with a I’ bourers, who are the only ones
larger number of expatriates j■ responsible for bringing the incountry. Some
and adjoining Meghalaya and i'j fection into the wno
; army personnel, who woncea
worked m
;n |
Assam, has become a rregion
—•— ’. th.
j.the
U.N.
Peace
Missic
3
with a greater AIDS risk.
i abroad, have also been found : • •
In Bangladesh, AIDS was first f be affected by the virus.
nCCAiV tit:A-a

r ••

-f

7
f

d ■

#1

...

.4.

I
"J
■

*”

J
. I

_____ JI______________________ !______________ UJOD

Sil 1

______

______________ _

l

•• '■ '■:* _

v------ --------- ________ |

J ?HE HIND^

Is-

W MAY 2883
■3

•3
■3

J
J0

1

X’3
Males Wh° are circumcised have nearly 50 per
o.oi per cent though only 4 cent reduction in HIV infection when indulging in
unsafe sex. Langerhans cells that HIV-1
$ young men use a condom on a regu■ij ^lar basis. The UNAID officials workencounters during sexual transmission are
|j dug in Philippines were quite
; .
missing in these males.
perplexed by the low prevalence rate.

J

■---------------------------------------- ;;‘—■
t-jj Many believe that a combination of Hl -factors — low rates of injection drug
- ji:
(A use, low' rates of clients to sex workers many South and Southeast Asian missive CD4+ T cells. This way they
L
H: could explain this strange phenoinwhere circumcision
is rou- Su^ru^^ifictS
actually -promote virus m^
infection/ '
| enom But there is someth^more to countries
tinely performed
ta mo*
„_
y
occu
,
jk
i
4 it tn an meets the eve.
nitn
icirmc can Un
>..
• n > r
.
.
J
nite r-nnz-h
conclusions
be reached___
only
rapidly before the immune system is
The widespread practice of male when results from the clinical trials activated fully,” said Dr. Melissa Pope L
| circumcision prevalent in Philippines now underway
in Kenya and Uganda of
i
of Ro^ckefeneJ
Rockefeller ’unTveSty
University.’
-L
5. ..could be one of the most important become available
jAs
.............
■ - }cells,
'
available.
HIV-1-permissive
Langer-’L
,n<: cells
rpllc in genital
crnnifnl or
nr rectai
rontol fJUJCQg-^' 1"*
LCS
'
hans
LCs the
the Trojan
Trojan horse
horse
----- may
where male circumcision is routinely
But in
in the
the first
first place
place what
what is
is it
it that
that
e.mucous membranes
mt be’ji
But
the primarytarget cells for HIV in-ii
.renders circumcision powerful in
done
f^
“OfheTvffu^^can^AfeTtLn
1;' ji
oone also supports the possible con- •fenders
i
nr---C
fcj
_________
”and
. ■ other
'
k nection between _________
circumcision
and 'keepingJ"
HIV
sexually trah:>Sgerhans
cells,
but
typically
theyE
low infection rate even when indulg- rrutted infections at bay? The answer
- cells in ways gj
jl
ing in unprotected sex._____________ k’es in the Langerhans cells (LC) activate the Langerhans
(?
These observations are not without found at the body surfaces, within that make them more effective at ac- f!
tivating
immunity.
The
latter
is
one>£
• scientific basis. Research studies foe epidermis and within the outer thing that HIV/SIVappear to subvert,-^
si. point out the vulnerability of Langer- I epithelial layers of the mucosal tish hans cells found in the genital muco- sues Including oral, vaginal and cer- so in this sense I think that HIV/SIV is f
unique.” Dr. Pope Jaid. With the fore-T
R. sae of males to HIV infection. In vieal epithelium.
£ circumcised males the Langerhans
Langerhans’cells are macrophage- skin removed in the circumcised
males, the mucous membrane no* |
k cells are missing and hence could arac­ like cells that are normally the watch­
longer exists and so do the Langer-,- H
count for the protection offered to dogs of the immune system, patroll­ hans cells, the first immune cells that’ 1
-4 these males.
’ s ing skin and mucosal ’ surfaces.
Now a soon to be published report Typically LCs would capture a patho- HIV-1 encounters during sexual g
by UNAID also points out to the 8en an<^ ultimately process it to pre­ transmission. The easy entry of HIV is s
thus nipped in the bud.
i
strong correlation between circumci- sent the antigens to the immune
Circumcision can no way be con-* ?
sion and HIV protection in males in- system. In short they are antigen presenting cells’ to for' Bfy^pho^es" ‘a Pana.cea t0 P'ewnt Hp' I
dulging in unsafe sexual practices.
But in doing so the LCs can get in- ™e“On- ^aJfes df° en^„s°Te de-; f
a -Nearly 50 per cent reduction in inHIV infection:;
y fection has been found. An extensive - fected. In vitro findings have demon-' F6,6/ P"’tect:°p
*ey do stl11 d° got infected. IjUNAID multi-site study done in the stated the ability. of HIV to- infect
—
. probably
...
should not provide a false sense of i
$ past found that male circumcision isV tLangerhans
• cells. “This
security. It should never lead to more‘■A
T a principal determinant of the large' Lappens in HFV infection when LCs promiscuous behaviour as risk of in^?
disparities in HIV prevalence across caPtui£ the viruses and may actually
different African regions. The study §et infected and replicate "the virus fection still exists.
found
rhnr
themselves as
as well
well as
as boldine
holding tho
the vin
?
^[ui
i nd^th
a t MIA/
HIV nrmmlnnm
itirev a lein c e [ e m a i n e d themselves

I-

I

I

t

V

V

3

I:

II’ ....... . ....... ........

I

I

I

1 w condonS 5 abstain: SusfimaF
K-v

By Kalpana Jain
Times News Network

New Delili: Union health minister Sushma Swaraj has had her
way. The ABC of AIDS is up for revision: Abstinence and Being
hrb faithful come upfront, while the
Intravenous unknown
place of ‘C’ — the condom — falls
way behind.
drug use
reason
The
programme, which
•;T‘ so far
condom as its focus —
as that is the only known means
of keeping HIV away in sexually
active people — has gone through
a major shift in its approach. The
Sexual
Mother to Blood I ’
- 1KW]
>3- health minister had raised objeccontact
Uons to the condomcentric AIDS
T prevention programmes even
As on 30th April, 2003; NACO
|
r when she was information and
p broadcasting minister.
1
IJ . Though heterosexual transmis- ' condomcentric campaign to one
one of Positive Life. “If abstinence
sion is responsible for over 85 per which emphasises equally other and faithfulness had been so
r cent of the infections, henceforth • routes of transmission. The new
h messageswill list this as only one approach is not at all about ex- saleable, we would not have had
| of the modes of transmission. All . eluding condoms, but about plac- so many babies. The thing is you*
can't prioritise. Priorities are
g other transmission routes have to mg the condom promotion strate°f
”
f be clearly mentioned in AIDS pre- gy in a more comprehensiv’ep'ro.
Tf
i; vention programmes in the new ^rammo
gramme.’”’ It
looks simultaneousah * * 2
—v., on avauauuny
have been instructed
;i strategy Close to four million peo- L
ly ~
at 1issues
availability arm
and ouou- * .
I pie in India live with this virus. . treach of the condoms along with ad^ , t^TL1 ght balance in the
-------------ABC
of
HIV/AIDS.
Not only
Director oi
of me
the nationNation- ‘awareness generation, she says.'
I;: aProject
iujcu uueuior
•
would all scripts for television or
; al AIDS Control Organisation . ' But, act\7sts feel such an ap2, ’ - video
“ f need
- - an
-1 approval from the
h (NACO), Meenakshi Dutta Ghosh ■ KekCh“n1Ul.Sei the, pro^amme
NACO, but communication"would
Wsays: “The shift is in programJt is dlsastrous. says
need
to
be
sensitive
the "Indian
says need to be sensitive to
to the
"Indian
r matic emphasis — from a.,^,^^1211:?!^?.
nurolv
>51^r?_ enri•. 1 ,••,ityr-r-

I

cW'd

’■*5 4 MAY M

i

4-3

'>!JL'H <!' '!■ VI'U S-j- 5(ifrj

J____ ___

<f\

Saturday, May 24,
24, 2003
Saturday

liiiec;.... i'o’be^
! Centre not clear about 1 key prs-Jners
AIDS statistics in State nnli-A /.'i dr-'-"1

I

E
A Thought for Today

g NEW DELHI.?'

NEW DELHI, April 21 (DUNS)

If abstinence andfaithfulness had been so saleable,
we would not have had so many babies.

How many AIDS cases have
been reported in Karnataka
j w»vi
mi; iool
mice ^Cctlb.'
over the
last three
years? The
; Union
health 1111111011/
ministry fur*
v‘**w4* **»-v*jm
’ nished two sets of figures for
j the question on AIDS cases in
g ?U1* b?tte^d aijd bruised sanskriti has much to be grateful 1 Parliament today.
given
u According
ir • * "'rto
’A a
“ reply 0
-----rj foi to health minister Sushma Swaraj who has unfailingly
•4 come to its rescue. First, in her avatar as information and H a
■
A
Raja
to
a
specific
question
g broadcasting minister when she made ceaseless efforts to &
g pi event women newscasters from wearing sleeveless J4 from Dr Vijay Mallya (Inde- cases detected and put onM
•tii pain and trauma," Project Direc] pendent), the total cases re- treatment
ineni in
ui 2000
zuuu was 58,6-10
oa.wiu in 'd[ tor, Nation
National Aids Control Qr
'***■*» •
_ ...j
3 ported in the state in 2002 was 2000 20,203
in 2001 and 57,276 g ----------ganisation1 Meenakshi
j*
H
Kn°u T1,8 the m.lnister as we do. her pronounce- J 260 compared to 490 in 2001 and in 2002.
f Ghosh
'
said here y .terday m a
J ments are pi obably premised on the fact that promoting the HJ 420 in 2000.
The minister told Dr Mallya < seminar on 'Leadership for Re­
|
However,
to
another that considering the districts ; sults in India'.
Cfc
I question raised by Mr Ja- in the state, the highest
"The government is co* nitnardhana Poojary and Ms number of AIDS cases -61- was P ted to involve oeople living with
t Mabel Rebello, the minister registered in Udupi district in £ mv/ATnc « i-.-*,J her personal domain but when she seeks to incorporate F£ put the figures on the deadly 2002 followed by Bangalore:; HTV7AIDS as key partners w;$-jin the national response
A
them in national policies which will have a vital impact on - disease cases as follows: 314 in
iuucui -- 59
□□ and
dim Karwar
rvaiwcu -- 25.
^o.£ disease," she said adding governthe lives of so many people, many will question her. At . !. 2002, 516 in 2001 and 541 in urban
Dharwad district, which had £ ment would also support the/ -.
w urxru JV°S rcf°^* r Pi 11110n
' ^d*3—
has
016J'-buuuKugCiHiut
second largest number of ’> 2000.
S
- ----------“
and^ pacity and leadership de
173 and 106 cases in 2000 andU?
Hl v-intected people
neonlp
in the
tbn world,
•
Iii HIV-infected
in
and tk„
the infection
C
The
contradiction
did
not,
registered only eight Ki ment of infected people so that
F rapidly increasing. In such a situation,
situation all menci
measures to r however, happen when it came 2001,
cases in 2002?Bangaiore urban | they can effectively undert^
combat the pandemic must be explored. Since 85 per cent of
had 101 cases in 2001 and 37 in h
[a this important role.
.T
HIV transmissions are through sexual contact, the promo- ’f to I? cas®sThe minister said in reply 2000.
tmn of condom use is crucial in any prevention strategy
j
Despite efforts made to create
Gandhian abstinence must ideally be the best deterrent 1 y-TT-y
awareness amongst people abfu’t
[iWjacrerg
but as our burgeoning population testifies such restraint is &
rem?
HIV/AIDS 2a lot more reme
not Practised as universally as the minister would like. H
be done to tackle stigma anu uisT hough the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) m
crimination :r■ ached .with
with
g director assures us that the minister’s directive is not about H
| ft disease, she said.
-DECCAN HERALD
g excluding condoms but placing them in a more compre- i
' |l "It is painful to hear of the illd hensive programme, this can only serve to create further 0
' 1 j treatment meted out to pebplq; *rH confusion on an issue an which there is little awareness, i
j.[jfected with HIV/AIDS," C_.
a Moral issues ought not to obfuscate the HIV/AIDS preven- $
Ghosh said.
U tion strategy. The emphasis must be on generating awarea ness of the virus and its modes of transmission and, of
H course how best to protect oneself. The bulk of our popula- !
.1 tion is below the age of 25, in other words sexually active.
$ To expect them to curb their natural urges and practise abs8 !npnceuls a recipe for disaster. The minister might like to
..«r
\C>
3 liv n^heiap5r?.ach ad0Pted in other conservative societies
y bke?,hailand. Faced with gallopingrates of infection, then
health minister Mechai Viravaidya launched a country3 Sl.ui °J-n-a!10n camPaign centred around the condom,
d Health officials tirelessly targeted everyone from school- „
y ,, d-J'CH t0 commercial sex workers to promote condom $
.-j use. The result — infection and birth rates dipped. A recent H
*1 fU2Ve-ypubllshed this paper shows that Indians are more 0
4
p. sexually active and adventurous than ever before The 3
J minister s message, pious though it is, will find few takers.

I

— Monalisa Mishra, project director, Positive Life

I Till Condom Come

I.

\iil)

to separate questions that the In view of re;:-, iris- f discri’^u^
TB cases reported in the state | tion against HIX’ 'positive j
were: 1,09,118 in 2000, 1,97,625 r.| the government is contemplat
in 2001 and 1,29,306 in 2002.
ing to rope ir. such people as k^
One point of concern in his partners in tile n: i ion r?
senior minister Sushma sponse to the oi.'oasc.
Swaraj's reply was the number
"People
living . wUh
of deaths due to TB has in- £ HIV/AIDS can better 1
creased uvei
over me
the years
years in
in me
the sh stand the mental state of aiiect*
vicaocu
sta
?e: 14 in £2000,
000- 21 bl
e°Ple- Th5
-V can empathy
state:
in 2001 and M
lTed Ppeople.
They
empath^e
fclAV-AAA CaoaM Va.JVI1; 1 OlcXllL

---------- '.’J

» sb

|

I

$

f

j

— *

-J

Z2 MAi 20Q3

i

the

0 '

MAY 2803
4‘V'

c-

c

tjjr '
-...... - . ..

.

....

•

.,-5.

.^7”^

T

-)

'I

~l

I
' i!

r
DlO

i

M|33B

ffloT-S

f

'<

; ■

Through unprotected sex

J

BiBl'lOfx

T?®1 Thm^ht^

® =\ ,?w

. . ■

Receiving HIV infected blood

.
■

I

Through mosquito bites
■ ■.;'.

■■/»

Tv^l' •

By using unsterilised needles
or needles previously used

r

I

8 f
h

I

I
i

'

•;-fc
.... ' . ; . :

i.

!L ■> ;•

■

.•

;.;>. :,

• .

f. . iv ®pt

i

I

f ■
■■?■• f ■'

■

■. <<;.

■

<A ;f®
«■;/;>.'. - f «■t ■'
_

’

R

A

■

'

BV sharing food, c/orhes '
andte/zers
;
-

®>T
• ■ ' |X

'•

■

\

.

^/rvr-O NATIONAL aids control organization

I

By working together

■

From HIV Positive mother to
her baby

.

-'■

>

'
F \

''■

ft®
®w

, •' ;.Y g

:

.

•'

.'

3

•.

.-.■\.

;

i

amiStRY OF HEALTH « FAMILY WELFARE. GOVERNMENT OF IHMA. -- ---------------- •

■ • ■ - Z1

'. - /; - ■••-<

: •«■

:•;"kfe;

r

!

............

-U.X

j

: '

............

r:

I
ft

■& t- ?
'

I

1I

'I
i

—

1

___________

‘iBank whkhi supplied HiV positive
as 8 off with warning'

I Express News Service
Bangalore, April 22

TAEPUTY Drug Controller
-L/m.N. Ramamurthy on
Tuesday said Drug Controller
Anandrajashekar had done
“injustice to humanity” by
allowing blood banks to'func­
tion in “an indiscriminate
manner.”
Deposing
before
the
? Lokayuktq, Ramamurthy stat­
ed that blood banks in the State
were not functioning as per
J norms, and though irregulari­
ties had come to light, no action
had been taken in that regard.
(
“Instead of filing a criminal
______

K
1
i
i

i

I

I
j,.. i

case against the blood bank in
Hubli which had supplied HIV
positive blood to a patient in
Basel Mission Hospital in

cost of Rs 1,000 for a bottle. After
receiving the blood for a
tai "by chance" checked it for

hW

XI. .

I

,

&

...

r

sl

driven ©at of AIDS centre I
By Johnson T.A.
Times News Network

; Out ot range .

a

^31^38® i

;.. ' 1 v:

"

<

a

P. Ik.

who had not taken any action
ouxcmeu
- Hall i j f
against Mysore
Medical
G°ulbarga7which hadslored |'

human blood in a refrigerate’'
which lacked the required facn J *
ities for storing blood.
<
“In Belgaum, Sri_______
Ganes
«
Medical had also stored blood, s v
Bloodbanks are not functioning as per norms,
| but no action was taken against I
them,” he added.
and though irregularities had come to light, no
Ramamurthy said four
s
action has been taken: Deputy Drug Controller
supervisors and four assistan+
A
Gadag, the Drug Controller just HIV and found the result posi- supervisors were appointed to 11 "keep
tab
on
the
blood
banks
in
||
ipft tnpm
__ tivs he said
left
them ixn+n
with oa warning,>>” ihe
the State. But they were
said.
“Senior officers may have
M/s
M.R.
Diagnostic taken bribe and let the blood appointed to different posts ano d
Research Centre and Blood bank with just a warning,” the work was entrusted to only
one person,' he added. The cas'
c
Bank, Hubli -- a private blood Ramamurthy noted.
has been posted for hearing ona|v
bank -- had supplied blood at a
He also chided the officials Wednesday.
JJ

Bangalore: Lack of awareness on
AIDS and HIV has driven 12 patients
out of their palliative care centre in
Bangalore city. Umpteen calls from
r|fij worried residents of OMBR Layout
pushed the Bangalore City Corporation to shut down the AIDS care centre, and move the patients to Isolation Hospital.
fjy
The verbal order was delivered to
$$ Samraksha, the NGO which runs
.'ji the centre, following„ repeated
.
i com­
reside
plaints by people of the residential
area. On Friday afternoon, BCC
chief health officer Dr Jayachandra
Rao ordered immediate closure, ac­
r:'2 uuiumg
cording to
iu aamraKsna
Samraksha director
•ijZi Sanghamitra Iyengar.
sH
“Twelve people living with
HIV/AIDS face the immediate risk
of being isolated. We are one of the
'^3 few centres in Karnataka which prohl vide palliative care to people in terminal stages of HIV infection,”
.^’1 Samraksha’s director stated.
The Samraksha care centre was
set up on May 12 this year, and 14
-Mre people living with HIV/AIDS have
•j Ij reportedly been cared for here.
« "I do have humane feelings for

S

r

Xl----- -------------- X____ _

i

• Samraksha’s AIDS care
centre set up on May
’
12 in OMBR Layout
® Worried residents pres­
sure BCC to evict patients
• Talks held to find
alternative site
• BCC orders shut down
oni iviay
May zo
23
\_i
|
HTV/AIDS patients. But I am also interested in seeing that people do not
suffer from psychological trauma. I
have received many complaints

2003

from residents. The earlier they &
move the better,” Dr Jayachandra k
Rao said when contacted. With tu- y
berculosis on the rise among AIDS 4
patients, there is the danger of peo-ff
pie contracting the disease, he said. *•
“The Town Planning and Country. ..
Act states that hospitals and nursing^',i
residen-^
homes cannot be located in residen‘T
tial
tial arpac
areas. Tf
If thaw
they want to continue, 11
&
they must raise the building wallK
and take care of the waste generat- '!•
ed,” Dr Rao stated.
.
£
Samraksha officials say they have
tried to convince the residents that M’they have nothing to fear.” DespitejH
our efforts, local residents have com-H
plained that the care centre poses aii-i
grave threat to their psychological
health,” says Iyengar.
The BCC and Samraksha were, in-Vj
cidentally, talking of an alternative rd
location for the centre following theJ’j
complaints. Samraksha had found
one of three sites suggested by the 33
BCC suitable for its purpose. The na- 31
tional policy on HIV/AIDS encour-X1 ,
ages location of AIDS care centresul
since isolation
beeri
t0 be Uari unsuccess-r] 1
strategy” in preventing and re-JH

•«

■

i

x..\

~

C7

ri 1

6>

t

^”1
pW»T-7.v...la«.'5

h...

... ^^....

,r?

I___

r' Bush launches

plan t© comtot Al OS in Amca

WASHINGTON may 28. Citing “a moral du- attends the June 1-3 summit of the seven
ty to act” against the spread of AIDS, the major industrialized nations plus Russia
31° VesidU.Georg? W. Bush, today ;n Fnnee..said he^ld warn then, that
launched a 15-billion-dollar emergency “time is not on our side.1’
“I will urge our European partners
plan to fight the disease in Africa and the
and
Japan
Canada
to jointheir
this great
missio
’n of and
rescue,
to match
good
; • Caribbean.
mission
of rescue, to match their good
“America will not look away. This intendons
f ■'
with mol
real rocniirmc
resources,”” cniH
said tnP
the
:
great nation is stepping forward to President who leaves later this week for
help,” Mr. Bush said in a ceremony at Poland. Russia and then die G8.
Russia and then the G8.
. t ? th,e
Delore sigm
the U.S. State Department before
signing Poland,
European
long
charged
i
• t
.•
.
• I.I z-.!«-» rC
t.ryy
Umi
x critics have
•.«•««> ------Q --------o
’t j legislation
audiorising
the TT
U.S.
Govci tKo
that
the
United
States' international
international
aid
. lament
tne moneys over nve
Urinimri
stin4 Relative
to the size of aid
its
( ment to spend the
ffive
years.
•
t H Years- ’
,
A
\ ,
Mr. Bush also vowed to step up pres- economy,
on key allies to spend more when he
J”'
F
LI.

f

r
“7 millioni new infections .withH •
ernment to spend three billion dollars a prevent
year through 2008 to provide treatment HIV, the virus that causes AIDS; care for^J
10 million HIV sufferers and AIDS or-t4
!ho^ danger^ ^hansfand

contracting the virus.
•
« to
vw one billion of
—that amount can
Up
be sentm^Se Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria created in
2002 and managed by die World Health
Organisadon. —
— AFP
AFP But
But activists
activists were
were
Organisation.
worried that the full $15 billion would
never
and
said
more
never be
be
approved
and
said
money
wasapproved
needed to
stop
dieeven
disease's

lion, *»^r;
especially
,inn
9ilv in 12 African and two^
Caribbean countries where HIV/AIDS isSI
concentrated "In the face of preventa-g
ble death and suffering, we have a moral $
duty to act, and we are acting, Mr. BusliQ
said at the signing- He
1 ie rnoney^J
would be used to buy and deliver med-rd;
icine, clinics,
train health
workers,
build anuJJ
equip
train child
care workers
tog

snread

attend to AIDS orphans, conduct HIV,

’ll:’?

/rL'aoa
>2 9 MAV 2003

1AIDS W|H be threat
to social fabric
of India’
By Sridhar Krishnaswami

tive involvement of the Agency
for International Development
Washington, may 29. The Unit- and the Department of Health’
ed States and India have had a a..J
and Human Services. ..w
He also
“long history of excellent coop- pointed out that the USAID
eration” in combating the had been working for several
scourge of HIV/AIDS, even as years now jin
■ Tamil Nadu, the Bush administration is es- where thereVyas a “high degree
pecially concerned with the sit- of cooperation”.
• uation in India, given that
...................
With this also came the judg­
• nearly four million persons are ment that “more needs to be.
afflicted with the deadly dis-done and more can wv
be uwi.v.
done,”
ease, says Jack Chow, the Dep- he remarked. "Our framework
uty Assistant Secretary of State approach...
of -----threej..pill;
... —
Jars has'll
for Health and Science.
been SUipponed
r
by a founda- is
The current HIV/AIDS situa- tion”, he said, going on to say I
tion in India will, over a period that the pillars
would
pillars would be
be public
publi<
of time, "present a threat to the health strategies, mobilising of
social fabric of India” and the the civil society and ensuring/;
U.S. wants to extend its hand of the commitment of political;-:
political | j
"partnership to help confront” leaders especially in "de-stig- t.
the threat, Dr. Chow told The matising” the environment.
Hindu. He was speaking about The Foundation, of course,,
HFV/AIDS in the context of the would provide the commitPresident, George W. Bush's ment for the resources.
*
latest initiative, which tripled
Dr. Chow, who is also the •/
the American vviiiiiuuirem
commitment iw
to Special Representative of the 'i;
<1
fight the scourge. The under- Secretary'
Stprrpfarv of
nf State
Rtafp for
fnr Global
ninhol ,£•]
hang message was that even if HIV/AIDS, said that the United
« Mr. Bush’s latest initiative was States was keen to work with
| confined to the sub-Saharan India with a view to increase
I Africa and the Caribbean, there
| was going to be no let-up in the “opportunity space" and
jointly accelerate the efforts in
g this administration's global "quantity, quality and intensi­
3 programmes. Mr. Bush has alI located $ 10 billions of addi- ty”He
will be in India at the be­
■ I tional funds for H1V/A1DS
ginning of July to participate in
? programmes with S 1 billion
j| earmarked for the Global Fund. Global Issues Forum, a visit
that will hopefully take him to
V
One of the issues that Mr.
[ Bush will be raising in a very places other than New Delhi
such as Chennai.
j’ serious and high profile fashDr. Chow said the U.S.
£ ion at the summit of the Group
; of Eight in France next month would like to adapt its strate­
within India to local needs,
> will be on the ways that the in- gies
cultures and values so that I
; dustrialised world will have to there can be a “strong under- '■ [
i take on the challenge of the
standing of how society works ‘ i
disease.
In the context of the U.S. ini- and how we can put together a
that can break the
. ! datives in India, Dr. Chow said
the anticipation right now transmission cycle...in a way
1 would be. to double the $ 63 that
. is ,,culturally
- sensitive and
| millions that is being spent in c5llt“r.aI^y aPPr0Pnate . given
richness
and^ tthe
diversity p
® dealing with the malaise over tthe
^ie “nc
“ness an(
^le diversirv
y the next five wtw-ivuhxh^c- of the cultures within India”.

I

ii

■

i

II

’'I

rl

" '30 Mat 2003

a
*

^ENCEr&-TECHNOLbG“
;

s'- c -

A

ted reprodiscticm
M Vi

SS1STED REPRODUCTION
can safely help HIV positive
men to become fathers
without infecting their partM ners, according to new research
H from French fertility experts. But, the
news is not so good for HIV positive
women.
Assisted reproduction techniques
M do. not seem to provide the same
H success for them, the researchers reported recently in reproductive
y medicine journal Human ReproducPf tion. Dr Jeanine Ohl and her Strash bourg-based team carried out
H various assisted reproduction techSk niques on 57 couples in which at
least one partner was HIV positive,
h
For the HIV positive men with HIV
H negative partners they ‘washed’ the
m sperm using two successive techniques that involved separating the
y motile sperm from the semen and
i-j using die sperm that tested negative
H’ for insemination. •
hj
Nearly a third of the 39 couples
i J where the male was infected became

'i
\

•e

d n E3

El

c.-*• I

••

n* .V:

*

V

&

■

x '»• V-'

;

<

-7

.

r
f

..

e
A'

:;

__

<•

V.__ __

Injection of egg with a single sperm (ICSI) technique
was most successful, resulting in pregnancies in
nearly half of all embryos transferred.

Ii:

ferred.
No
pregnancies were study. On the other hand, in develachieved using IUI. However, of the oping countries' young3 infected
10 HIV positive women treated, only women become pregnant easily. We
Assisted
one became pregnant. Thirty-seven have to determine whether the virus
reproduction can
couples are still being treated. Dr has created an additional negative
Ohl, a specialist in assisted reproduc­ factor. Perhaps ‘at home' insemina- *
safely help HIV
tion techniques for serodiscordant tions could be advised if a couple is ’
couples, at Centre d’AMP de Stras- very
:ry young.
young."”
<
positive men to
bourg, said: “I was very pleased by ■ f
She said the ART programme for ;
become fathers
the good results for men, but sur- serodiscordant couples was ex- • '|
prised at the poor results for women, tremely rewarding for the research ’
without infecting
which I did not expect.”
team and provided hope for the fu- (
One explanation may be that the ture for people infected by HIV ■
their partners. But it
men did not have any fertility prob- More than half the people infected I
does not provide the ,lems but the women did. The women by HIV were of childbearing age.
;•
were significantly older than the
Progress in treatment had sub- [
same for women.
partners of the seropositive men and stantially modified the outlook fork
some had waited a long time for this patients. The infection often did not i
(■, parents with the birth of 14 children treatment, which only became pos- progress and could be considered to:
‘
tn IQ /'•ntinloc \Inna
tlm
to 12 couples. None of the women sible because of changes in the law in be chronic.
?
became infected.
France two years ago.
"Patients can thus make life plans t
Of the three assisted reproductive
Dr Ohl said her team was now and even envisage having children.!
techniques used intrauterine insem­ planning an observational study of This pressing desire for children isl
ination (IUI), IVF or ICSI (injection ovarian function in HIV positive legitimate and any other conclusion [.
of the egg with a single sperm), one women. “Some research has found would discriminate against these pa-h
was successful. It is the ICSI tech­ evidence of premature ovarian fail- tients. A cultural revolution is taking £
nique which resulted in pregnancies ure in infected women although this place, especially in the medical pto-k
in nearly a half die embryos trans- would need confirming in a larger fession," she said.
'

’■

■

i

c.
c
C:

f

I

j^ggcjaas*'

i

r'yr'T.-

-

•&5 Jun 2003
i

j

1

»"

............
J

■

n

pie sham AIDS

s3

ie

By Sahana Charan

individual detected^
agencies are in place
for creating awareness first HIV
t----- —
mv sero positive
pubiuve inoiviauai
aetected-u
about the disease in the City and the State, in 1988
in ixuinuiuNd,
Karnataka, tlie
numbers nave
have nsris- h
$
ju m
tuc numocrs
BANGALORE, JUNE 7. Shanti (name changed), discrimination against AIDS patients is en■to
upwards
million.a. AVCl
Karnataka
is ’£•■
--- -----f- • • - ------------of 0.15
v
L i Id LtlKCl IO
*4
P
who was seven months pregnant, was re- . widely prevalent.
UUIU
nlghest prevathird aiIlong
among dia[es
States Wlin
with ine
the highest
pr<: eva-Fi
-m
fused admission in two hospitals even
Prejudice has many ugly faces. While lence
Maharashtra
Andhra
Pralenceafter
after
Maharashtra
and
Andhra
’
--------and
----------a Pra-^i
though she was in labour because during
people of acommunity
communitydodonot
notaccept
accept an desh.
desh.
During
stages
! die routine check-up, she tested HIV AIDS patient amidst them, it is mostly tlie
Duung
luv early
vcuiy
ui
ui>
appearance |
During die
the
early oicigca
stages of
of its
its appearance
- ‘
educated and upper middle class who are in tlie
positive.
die country',
country, the
die HIV virus was reported M
She was finally admitted in another hos- more
moreintolerant,
intolerant,sajsay NGO representatives, to affect
mostly the “high risk” groups such ■
—------ tiuuuo
pital only because her family did not dispatient
suspicious landlord
landlord even * "clients, truck
S .I.^sucn,.,
A A patient
’s ’s suspicious
as sex workers, ’ their
drivers,
close her medical status to tire hospital posed as a relative and accompanied him to and migrant labourers. Now, the virus is?/l
authorities.
•the
’ doctor....
.
’s clinic to find out about his ill­ spreading to die "low risk” groups, and
The situation is pathetic because Shanti ness. He did not w'ant an /VIDS patient as a women
and children are increasingly
increasingly' under zj
| acquired the virus for no fault of hers: she
.
says
tiiere is evievi-1
threat. The report say
’s that there
!
£s got it from her husband who had
it is social alienation and the fear of deuce of growing vertical mother to child ■ ?
cumbed to the illness.
AIDS rather tiian ignorance that drives peo- transmission.
‘f |
|f
Twelve people with AIDS, who were be- pie to ostracise die patients. They do not
"Women are
are usually vulnerable
as they
■?
vulnerable
they
:? (
3 ing treated by an NGO situated in OMBR want to accept die fact that these patients often acquire the virus from their spouses 7
vu.cn a^uuc uic vnub num ineir spouses, t
• ^ayrout in the City, were told to move out of are part of die community. Weird reasons who
indulge in risk behaviour
behaviour. But sadlv
sadly,’ 4
i; '
the area by residents and the centre was are given like rentals falling in the locality'
locality women
....... are more discriminated uby
y the I£famJ- p... j
y asked to shift tlie premises. The reason be- ’ due to the presence of the patients,” Sang- ily
ily' and community' and not provided neces-! iI
tf] '
’
'
■ '
- . .
ingthat
the
residents
felt
that "dying people hamitra
Iyengar,
Hn7/7TnCTyQ
"“~ Director, Samraksha, a sa
Drhelp.Afterthehusbanddies,ifdiewifeisary
help. After the husband dies, if die wife ’ •
health. ”
g! would affect their psychological health.
HIV/AIDS
ra tr
H1V/AIDS rarp
care nnd
and rnnncpii;™
counselling ^t
centre,
told
turns out to be HIV positive, the family it
!t
$ Disturbing though it is, tliis is the stark The Hindu.
imd hpr
might refuse to fund
her trputmnnt
treatment,’”’ c-ivr
say's I1
d* reality about HIV/AIDS. Though proAccording to the Task Force Report on Glory Alexander of Asha Foundation
' 41
Foundation.
grammes by the Government and voluntary - He^th
Welfare 2001- fTOm
(To be concluded)
'
1!
concluded)
w®^
»-->,U7iaci

I

♦M

A____ — - • 1

■1

(II

•

1

•

»

• ‘.J

I

i

' '

- ------___________ - 4^

JUiV

'J

-•- ,.•-_ .4 ,-j

i^ssssd

'ana

1

■

j

I

■■'

1

1

patient to take him home, says Sanghamitra Iyengar, Director, Samraksha.
bangalore, JUNE 8. Care and support for
"Most ot
of the HIV positive persons can
people living with AIDS who are seriously ill live longer if they have money to buy medis a matter of concern as such services iicine. If
Trpeople
. \ are sensitised to these issues
y might be affected due to a biased approach and provide monetary help to ailing HIV/
by certain sections of society.
AIDS
AIDSpatients,
patients,they
theywillwillnotnothave
haveto tosee
According to people working with HIV/ them dying,” she added.
g AIDS patients, prejudice against affected
"Few' organisations dare to venture into
persons exists even among the medical fra- palliative care because that is the most
3- ternity.
challenging of all aspects of HIV/AIDS sup­
y
Though there are a fewr doctors who are port.
3 sensitive to the issue, many are hesitant to
“This can be one of the factors why care
5 provide treatment to HIV/AIDS patients centres for dying patients are very' few, as
« and refer them to other clinics.
they encompass a lot of complications,”
Medical institutes, including govem- Ashok Rau, Executive Director, Freedom
J ment hospitals, reportedly refuse to spare a Foundation, told The Hindu.
J bed for an AIDS affected person. Dying
The need of the hour was intervention at
■y.HIV/AIDS patients are discharged, as hos- all levels, he said.
j pitals do not want to add an HIV/AIDS
“There is a tendency to focus on issues in
* death in their register.
isolation but HIV/AIDS interventional
“The situation is worse as a HIV/AIDS strategies have to be employed in all areas
J terminally ill patient has nowhere to go, such as prevention, awareness, care and
•_ where he can die in dignity. Palliative care support. A holistic approach has to be taken
is still in its infancy in this part of tire world to deal with this problem,” Mr. Rau said.
and hospitals ask relatives of a dying HIV
"It is not an easy task to deal with and

?■

4

•

I 4

I~
■4

' • -*

THE
jT-Q Jud

comprehend the widespread stigma at-,a
tached to the disease. Even setting up a care u
and counselling centre can be difficult in .4
the face of bias among public, including |
government officials.
i
"Our centre has been conducting sensiti- 0
sation programmes for medical personnel, 1
corporates and officials, among others, and j
trying to understand their fears. We have J
managed to send some of our HIV positive!
children to normal schools, by creating i
awareness among school authorities,” he §
added.
|
Counselling the family can go a long way, |
feels Glory Alexander, Chairperson, Asha '
Foundation. Families are supportive if
counselled properly.
People also needed to know what did not.
cause HIV/AIDS infection as much as they!
should know what caused the illness, she
said.
I
"Integration .pf HIV/AIDS care into the
public health system is necessary to remove
the stigma attached to the disease,” she !
added.
(Concluded)

■ -'"^.•>5:

■IAIDS virus tracedjwo,'_.w.0©8
j , to monkeys j
New research

|HE prevailing theory
of. .how the 'first
human got AIDS is
• V *C'i~
■
y
4 that about 75 years ago, suggests that
I
• someone in central Africa
A ins
vil;us ^at caused the
.put,.himself while butcher- chimpanzees and
j
epide,nic has been
.3 '™s a cbhnpailzee for food, human bei
JI traced to two strains of virus
Tba animal was infected ■
. -----eings
1
! I?,und ;in monkeys in Africa. 1 with simian immunodefi- acqUired their
,^S |
L ciency virus (SIV), which
■fl
TUSeS Probabl>' PaS5*cl ban1, and a co-author of hthe-^
ig
into chimpanzees when
tlie study “The transfer between^ /II
ii Xe
mien tne
alter a few adaptive nmta- versions of the
I
Saiebp]?CtedmOnkeynieat
’ ?lmps and humans probably ||
■
Schers say.
happened before 1930.” Bibol- W Ii tions evolved into human AIDS virus by
’ thaf H vl thUdleS haVe Shown
? m?6 Said that three tyres | |4 immunodeficiency... virus
d (HIV) in its new host. This is killing and ;?
7 pq
11 ?e VU’US Oiat caus'
f
11 caUed M, N and 0
-W
■J: known in AIDS research cirf(
Probably
’
I
if es
eb the
me most common form of probably
----were trnncmiH^
cles as the -‘cut-hunter . butchering otb h human AIDS, originated from from1 chimps totransmitted
humans
■.hypothesis.’
ago.
3 a simian immunodeficiency decades
'
gi . A team of European rtnu
and primates infected
1 virus, or SIV, that Is found fo
scientists
offered
With Similar ’ •
$
-Si
Amenran
.< chimpanzees. But how chimps Filosicaiyour
U ® ln. the.journal Science what
i came to have SIV has been a
M
m^hf
ho
cal]ed
the
,
cut
■J
mighrbe i
I'microbes ■' ?■■ ■.
3. mystery
S
gi’ chimnan?^
chimpanzee hypothesis’ of
| search^XysedXneS
American and English — .“S (DPA): ~
German I
o?W tbat species acquired
3' utw lhe genetic ,father’ of The ones that made the most
,
a way
pattern of a number of SIV f• aVe-----mventeci
to speed up or
down
mu-^’.HIV Sometime deep in pre­ sense had the chimpan^-e
d‘ strains in African monkevs sir
” slow
“*/” uw
'vu U1U
oly as the product of
w
1 and concluded that at leart two enahl
WarPlnS the tOnes’ I -history, they say, a chim,S strains found in the red-capped
Pre " ’
"
phones to match their E ‘ & two monkeys-a red-capped greater ^t n/ T yS, ?
t
mangabeys and in the greater favourite music to their actual® | mangabey and a greater
This XfeVen?0'/'^; 1
15 spot-nosed monkeys in south- Pa
^_ ...
.it
sensVonTof tb^Z/V J
„ g. S“se.d.„ monkey-each
| central Africa combined to pacesense. One of the three si"
a
med
f
-I
!
!!^
ecte(
!
with
its
own
pa
rticThe
technology,
codenamed
I
I p01'^ .the type of SIV now
species of chimpanzees that
StepMan in tribute to the origc“-‘- '> S| U?ar stram of SIV Both carry
4 Pound in African chimps.
SIV occupy the same
machine, J(\ 1
- was
,v«o this
Uns iorm
ot SIV that ■ inale mobile
’ — music ^*^hine,
got into the chimp’s region of west central Afri
|?
It
form of
jf spread into the human populaWalklnan- ^Planned i ‘
tbh°°^eam’ ■ pprobably
robably
-X--- start uie
popula- nf 1116
near Cameroon and Gabon ’
J
tion
the uuman
HIV1 epidemic
epidemic
C°01 thing for MP3 |
°Pen W0Und’
•1 II
01? ftoostart
111611171
:K that has killed millions of neo p a-^r,s and sound-enabled per-1 ; §] thJ?-15 scenari° is based on ? a$ ,?e ;wo other animals.
Although they were om
Pie, researchers reported on t°naId^taJass^tants(PDAs). f :
dlsc°ver--y that
—- the
«ie virus fiiought to be gentle vegetar-. ],
H Friday in the journafScience
$tudles show that runners ■* =41. chimpanzees
now
car
chimpanzees
now
carry
is
a
u.
...
of
lans, it is now known .th?* * ’’
I'
“The recombination of
PaCe better’ g0 further I
SOmblI
?atlon
or
chimps
the monkex b
spot-nosed forfood. hunt
J1 these monkey viruses han ?nd breathe deeper when their < j ft marigabey and spot
..
[|
drains
of SI
SIV For
ppened
ened in
with music, « ■■ $ -onkey stra
^ of
in chimpanzees
chimpanzees and
and the Ieg.%7°^in
•
The
hybrid
.
scenari''
a
StepMan works fine on a < , .4; the two strains to mix and requires Uiat at some poin. h
chimp transmitted it to hu­
4 mans
'd :
fuse> a chimp would
have to
"UUJU ^ave
on at least three occa­ desktop computer,” said Ger-'3
^uns/
-said
Frederic
BiboUet
^d ®leber of the Fraunhofer H
?ez simultaneously infected an individual chimp was H
sions,
”
said
Frederic
Bibollet:j Ruche,- 9 virologist at Se Un ‘
G^aphic Processing II ' ' by both-and that is likely to infected with SIV from bofi A if versity of. Alabama Birmino Laboratory in the northern IL T bappen
through the species, and that the viruses
{L
VSVX- (V G?rmanfPort of Rostock.
fl/
.Wo^dy activity of predation. underwent a.‘recombination
, event,’ which mixed thei
—1—'■—fr
Tbe research and its conSSCT^^^^lusions emphasize the par- genes inside a cell. The new
»• allels with the origin of HIV research adds to the AIDS
peccan herald
qj infection in humans’, said virus’s biography by fillinf
Paul Sharp, an evolutionary in the story of its ancestors
geneticist at
| N of Nottingham, in Britain
Af About ■ 30
different tions-which are rare, scat- • M
2 r, African primates harbor Sly tered and hard to study-har- P’.
2-1. often with no ill effects and’
rher ?Vs capable of ill'
3 T each species
^ith no’stain
m efrect
s.
is difffer
n human .^ings. , |
11. ent. Genetic anataJs sbT/'
-U.
1.1
Genetic analysis showed
them. They still . might
“mt chimpanzee SIV-the acquire other similar virus­
.<!' c^osest relative to the human es in the future. ,
*virus-had some genes that
Human beings appear to .j-w
are similar to the red-capped have
gotten the AIDS virus
mangabey's SIV and others
•j 8 that are like the greater spot­ from African primates twice.
Human immunodeficiency t./
fl nosed monkey's SIV.
df; Sharp and his collabora- virus 1 . (HlV-l)-which f* /
.. accounts for virtually all the
£tors in France and the' / cases of AIDS around the
United States attempted to world-came from chim- :? •-*
J; nail down the relationship
g 1 between the strains. They panzees. HIV-2, a slightly dif- ■ " '
looked at four genes fthey ferent strain that is the cause
cases in ^est’ Africa,
I”' camefi-omsooh-mangaboYs:
tgdozens of hypothetical fami- ~
K
ifc^Ltonhe virus strains ’
Th
Dav,d Br°wn

.-..pctenc©

.-UM

■ $

«

o1

z-x 1

.

O — -*-

.

“na PersonaJnaca

a -

sstsrsrsst j-paajyASs EsrSF™ 1

■

i

i

J*
p

JUN 2003

i.

DECCAN HERALD^

4 8 JUN 2033
\ ;:,A

. **
I

....

7"-:7---------.

....

...... *

e-

cl

■.il-

'XSSSii&ffl..
9

rs o

o
-V .1

- o
n o
; -l o
-U

—

o

J

^^ri^jurni V h
T^ati&nts,families ®
11 8

a

4’

■

I y^ExescssNews^v/ce

J’he ‘ Centre would

s

' I

7/i on
------- heaiISlumpga, June 13: Care 70-80 per cent of medical R
h:
,^and Support Centre, spons- expenses and 50 per cent of
.'r.
'*S > :
the boarding charges of
Jims bn Karnataka State ruv
H
V patients. It would also
sAIDS Prevention Society, take
-~.e
fin Sagar, would provide f ' up the responsibility
to see that they were not ost- !■§
!.;counselling-cum-medical raclset
ractsed by society, he fe
^advise to HIV patients, said added,
.fui k h Chandrashekhar
Dr
R
Di .Rao
said the Pratisht- L*’
; Rao, president of Moolika
hana
was
started in iggg' h
•.^4
. \\
i ®aniruc^n Arogyabhivru***^H*g£ .
with the objective to set up j
ji
dlii
Pi
atishthana,
Sagar,
iij
JilV-positive woman Jalmabi f;
ij Talking to reporters here a nursery to preserve medi- I*
..^ Goswami looks through
j
on Friday, he said HIV pat- .. cmal plants of Western >
.----- o.i a win­
'
‘
Ghats. ■
j;
| ients faced harsh social stidow in Guwahati on Friday.
District
Health
and i
Goswami is leading a camj
jf'gma, which made their
paign to have pre-marital AIDS^
i [1 lives miserable. Proper cou- .Family Welfare Officer Dr'■ ik<
tests made mandatory. She was’ } nseUing to the family mem- Hanif Saab, who also spoke i
infected with the virus by her
JJ bers of the patient often on the occasion, said that v
'3 husband who died in 1996, and
helped the latter to lead a 365 AIDS patients had regis- f
tered for treatment at McG- i
■J
now works as a counsellor J.
normal life.
aim Hospital.
:
J
.!g with the AIDS Control Society j
■'
..'I
in Assam.

i x.r

I

1 s7 K

I ..

3k

if

■J

J

___ 1X■^jp255^^^

’

1
i

*

3
■U- I I

i

!/Passed
j the apes ate infected moXyZ?
d “lt° ^oahJIlX

3 '"’

ii.

.

‘y ^cSnhSa^^
<

-

-

•Agencies

!

.j

0

1

3

J
3
5 o
1

0

J >3

t-

3

0 30
■1
'1

o

Si

3
3
3
3

3

j^»s ' 3X-

0821U

'i|

s

TGI
m*

pjj-

; j
rX,:72 :.-^2

s hint at

11—

Isr I

■<

nests

1 ofHIvIT tbIpGHT °h °rl8'nS

I

‘bushmeat’. The:
Jre are other striking
parallels
between
H
1
es/MDS
has
bn
^
CUcl“Pea^n^es
between
a-pPear in the /
I
searchers ->? n
by
chim
and SIV infection of
chimpanzees and HIV infection of Iwce of WSWfertoanthfoPrv5‘.?i
NottinghZs Insthme^Scs0' app^'/h
. ...... —
t as chimpanzees
For more than 10 years, Professor nvo difi h!VG acqmred SIVs from chimpanzees is much lower that
"harp has
'
different sources, humans are
■-/j Sharp
has been
been collabomtcollaboratare
j-l; *tig 'vith Professor Beatrice
’’’
tv Hann, at tlie University of
Alabama, on research
X7- 4^
■-> demic seems to have f £
.v
A
A
a;;, emerged. The major differ^
aimed at clarifying the ori­
gins and evolution of AIDS
“etween Sl^mfecti3
r
4
3 viruses.’
r" -<'■
' ^ chimpanzees and I
In 1999, this team identi­
fied the origin of HIV-1 as
being transmission of a vi­
rus (SIVcpz) from chim­
ease ^Ptoms; given the'panzees to humans, but a
^2l0Se genetic relatic f
mystery remained con­
5h-‘/■
ship between chimpanzees 7
cerning how chimpanzees
. acquired the virus in the
' ; first place. SIVs are a large
. family of viruses, carried by
many species of monkeys
in Africa, but chimpanzees
. are the only apes known to
a
|
i he implication of the V
■z be naturally infected.
^'e^thatittvillbeim. j
. Tbe latest results, pubP°«an‘ to broaden th Ji
w; lished in the Science, show
that the chimpanzee virus
is a hybrid of the SIVs nat1 ueeS-For exaraPle, b won! ’ ?
■’S urally infecting two differbek interesting to lean, f
[i ent species of monkeys, the
A- red-capped mangabey and
4 the greater spot-nosed
monkey. It appears that, in
Chimpanzees and human: F
; 1 Jj16 past, chimpanzees
T VirUS that successfully |
have picked up viruses
<? from both monkeys, and
adapts t0 spreading
.1 then the hybrid formed
z from the two viruses.
hybrid virus
spread
:y... This
... ...............
CaPPed
mangabey
cappedand
mangabey sPot-nos/d
and greatermonkey*
spot-nosedS/wT n U 4°.
916 cfiitflpanzee
hnmteS ai?d VaS later transmitted to infected
by
AIDS vi™
r
?UsIy
that the SIVs
mfect.ed
by two
two distinct
distinct
AIDS
viruses fr
A humans to become HIV-1. Chim- ^^umans
in' addition
to HIV^
D^
°m red-caPPed mangabeys anc
— in addition to HIV-1, there is
r^pcuix-cca 1
^mT2?65 com,mpri]y hunt and eat HIV-2,
fr 1S gr-eater sP°t-nosed monkeys are
HrV-2, which
which was
was aconirJd
acquired from
i*
monkeys,
^v^de'd
r tS muSt likely pro' soory mangabeys in wes^ Africa
• k • the SIV from chimpansooty
mangabeys
in
west
Africa.
Sec‘­ zees> ^thm certain regions of their
dvided the
route
by which
ond whii^
.
Sec
Squired
these
monkey
viruses.they
ThisacL inf^tet
? XiS
SlV^f™
ond, while
monkeys
may7 have been genomesinfected
with SIVs .ffor
longg . However, the evolutionary rela­ V^similar
hn- H
mo
or a Yvery
ery. lon
^similar to
to the
the means
means by
by which
which huJmans probably first became infect- time, chimpanzees have clearly ac­ tionships among these viruses, and
ffid, by but^ering^himgaigegs foc quired SIV more recently.

v^ift

-

i

■ wVV w w V'r
•

1

-

•

:'

•:-

■•-•-

•

'•

'

; A^sa^^jssas-

fe®

:

Wl fmdy Of natural SIV infe. fr

a< .rrZBfeiawts

■ ->

L

sS±±^h “ 5 b'°”

'.'J 1 1 T

^World’s largest condom
J O In a bid to create awareness about AIDS and role of condom
j in prevention of the deadly disease, a ‘water condom’, billed to
■.| be the world’s largest, has been put on display near a lake in
-J Chennai, reports PTI. The condom, measuring 300 feet in length
j’.and 30 feet in breadth, was kept on display at the Muthukodu
!
,ij Boat House, about 60 km from Chennai, by Indian Community
;] Welfare Organisation, a non-governmental agency involved in
< STD, HTV and AIDS prevention in Tamil Nadu since the last nine
r> rzcr5 A xi• tttzyx-J--r--r<j years. The previous largest condom on record was 87 feet-long

•

-

It'

flone fat)ricated i11 France in 1997.

Ifc*’/

tr

.. .'S

..

.

~

________ _____ _ j. *

__ - -

-

:

---------

______________________
9 11 ------------- b

io'lore journal question.§ AiLOS theory

.;
i
:o.si

!

! NEW DELHI, June 20 .
iThe controversy on the origin
jand cause of AIDS may spur
[once again, thanks to the publification of a detailed scientific pa|per by the lead proponent of the
|AIDS-is-not-caused-by-HIV theo!ry Dr Peter Duesberg in an Indijan Academy of Sciences (IAS)
^journal. •
w In the latest issue of its JourM nal of Biosciences, the Bangay lore-based academy has published a 30-page scientific paper
$ of the controversial virologist
who claimed that instead of the
5£ virus,
vuua, AIDS
/iiuo is caused
uauseci by
oy a lethal
letnai
J vcombination
of toxic
drugs
'wiiiuuxcu.xvli vl
luaiu m
ugs and
<?
3 malnutrition.
3 Debunked by majority of the.
1 scientists, the controversial theory raises questions like why can-

1
1
1

r
\

V
V

1

V

AIDS patients; why HIV takes as cause of
. AIDS.
____________
However,, in 1984
many as 10 years to develop into the US government researchers
full blown AIDS and why the proposed
proposed that
that a
a virus,
virus, now
AIDS epidemic pattern in the US termed human immunodeficien­
and Europe are different from ' cy virus (HIV), is the cause of the
that of in Asia and Africa.
non-random epidemics in tlie US
According to the maverick and Europe and a new sexually
Berkeley University virologist, random epidemic in Africa. The
though US researchers proposed virus-AIDS hypothesis was in­
the virus-AIDS hypothesis way stantly accepted," he argued.
back in 198-1, till 2003 the theory
The controversial theory, Dr
was burdened with numerous Duesberg claims, has resisted
paradoxes, none of which has into drying up of his research
been resolved so far. ■
funds and a virtual ban on publi­
While he attributed the AIDS cation of his scientific papers in
epidemic in Europe and the US venerable peer-reviewed science
to overuse of life-style and so- journals like Nature.
called anti-HIV drugs, the dis­
In fact, the paper published in
ease is caused by malnutrition the IAS journal was rejected by
and lack of good quality drink­ two other journals, as anony­
ing water in Africa.
mous referees of those peer-re­
"From 1981-1984 leading re­ viewed journals did not find his
searchers including those from arguments tenable enough for
the Centre for Disease Control publication.
(CDC) in the US proposed that
The Journal of Bioscience
was 1116 claims that it has published tlie

From Kalyan Ray
PH News Service

1

Drug with
side effects
■

fassKor-

A

u

;

Vjbite of a sandfly
Fungal infections and Kala^ar are resistant to conven­
tional drugs, said Professor
^•eelimaAKshirsagar.Dean
department of Clinical Phar­

macology at Seth G S Medical
^College, Mumbai.

i
■i

WtencinB within the con­
fines of fat globules called Li­
posomes. They prevent its
—G

I % 2 JUN 2003

a

*

!

I

I

;

Training
I
programme J
for doctors on i
AIDS launched |

jy -

DECCAN HERALD

1 JUN 2003

I

.

:

-j

federation of Indian Industry,!
Southern
Region,
(A.P.),^
coming in contact with other I 1?-^h!d a ----------------PS
?1" 3mme h
j-*0
*•-'£}*
for doctors on HIV/AID here to-J
cells during its journey ’ ceils
rnrvMi/>V» *1__ i
n____
through
the body
Thus
side ef- g day, tlie first of the six cities, as a i
r
A11UO OH---------joint initiative with Australia-1
feefr
feck are not manifested,” she | India Council.---------------------- «
artificial
K. Damayanthi, Director, A.P. I
sac formed from one or more
State AIDS Control Society, f|
layers of lipid is used to en­
capsulate
the urug
drugat
at mo
molecu-r^«
uc U1C
jecu. m while inaugurating the pro-ij
gramme presented an overview
of HIV/AIDS problem in the £
--■■'■S'—'’-’

k----------- ---

i s,„. S1, 1Y-;.. -

m Liposomes, attacks the fun- !?. Region, spoke.
N. Kumaraswamy, chief med-1
gaJ celJs more like a guided
missile in a phenomenon
-g ical officer, YRG Care, was the ?
|
called targeted drug delivery
f £ main faculty.
system after being injected”
I
Doctors from different hospi-1
she said. -’ll
tals shared their experiences on w
thp hnw
tin!e a drug enters M the pathogenesis of HIV disease 3
the body, travels the blood1/ and the spectrum of “opportu- -1
h
stream and reaches the site of 3 nistic” infections.
infection, toxic effects like
'5
The doctors discussed mon- |
Xef^nd chWs, kidney dam$ itoring of laboratory’ diagnosis S
age and severe breathing diffi­
infection and markers of 0
^^
culty
tymanifests,
manifests,” she said.
HIV disease progress! i°n.
S.

A

4

I

J

By Our Staff Reporter
fg
. Science.1 HYDERABAD,
JUNE 21. The Con-|

g eases such as AIDS, cancer
pjand diabetes by encapsulating
j/its molecules in “fat globules”
which help it act as a guided
.■^missile to target the infected
sites, reports PTI
■Mife-tlireatening infections. It
’11sa_
organ
7*
”0~ used duringorgan

i

Z

I NEW DELHI: Scientistshave

8 succeecied in overcoming the

•'0

paper after its own peer-review *
in which anonymous re­
searchers from the same field go
through the manuscript to de­
cide whether the paper merits
publication.
;
Dr Duesberg, who has a sup- !
porter in South African president Thabo Mbeki, has in fact ’
proposed to replace the peer-re- (
view system with a modern jury '
system without conflict of inter- ’
esi so that
est
mat scientists talking 1'f
against the establishment also I
receive a chance to air their 1
views. In fact, relying on Dr i
Duesberg Mr Mbeki called for a
review of the AIDS-countering 'la
strategy in South Africa almost
three years back.
The scientific community in­
cluding many Nobel laureates „.
immediately rejected the proposal and came out with a declara- R
tion endorsing the theory that// |
HIV is causing AIDS.
U I

4

»

THE HIND’S.

I

53

■

.

I-

.

■

■-

■

•

1___ _

...

.

-

A

rtVro-^.Tj
■

Global initiative sought'to ■ s.
1'1i ‘. ■
develop Al
vaccine

■

■

i

5. '

'

r£ ■ .T'
rg
-

‘ By N. Gopal Raj

jf’THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JUNE 28.

What

is

.^needed to bring the H1V/AIDS epidemic
plunder control? .More money for one thing,
t’
says the latest report from the Joint United
■3} Nations,.-hirh
Programme on H1V/AIDS (UNMiAincn
ZiJAIDS), which points out that the spending
;3t in low and middle-income countries during
| die current year was only half the amoun’t
.> required. A massive global initiative for tlie
development of ,a safe , and
, effective HIV
-vaccine
is ur
urgently
savs a group
prnun of
nf
Vt’ ?
a^clne ,IS
8endy needed, says
ini
wilting in the latest
U. influential otituuow,
scientists, writing
issue
the journal
11SS
ThP0ofHfv/AiDQnal Science. ■ ...
The HIV/AlDS-problem is rapidly moving
mrrestAPR in India
inforimnc are said
e,iri
f .J centrestage
India. Hiv
HIV infections
|3| to be rising twice as fast in South Asia as in
M sub-Saharan Africa,’ CUrT
currently
tlie W
worst-afMn™ 016
°rf V uf'
on in 016?vorld...
- There ^ou d be
H
ffecte
‘ .d rc.g-.....................
N 20-25 million

, -__ _

a

’S—Z

fl AJl,10U8hJt is 20 years since the Human
jnl Immunnnpnripnrv
Immunodeficiency Vinic
Virus fHRA
(HIV) wac
was shown
fh tarrfn?hnCcay™Ve TV'
pIDS/ a
vaccine has remained elusive. Earlier this
A year, the sole candidate vaccine to havemade it to the final phase of clinical trials
was found to be ineffective.
i’lr *Tr»c
Although
- treatment methods for HIV/
jlAIDS
, progress,
AIDS f.................................
have made considerable
transferring concepts for un,
HIV vaccines into
trnneforr.^r,
j

clinical application had lagged, points out
the policy paper being published in Science,
The paper is authored by well-known
names from leading research institutions,
funding agencies and international organisations. N.K. Ganguly, Director-General, of
the Indian Council of Medical Research, is
among die authors
"Tens of millions of lives are dependent
on the development of a safe and effective
HIV vaccine. It is essential that we aggressively explore all mechanisms that might
expedite this process,” they remarked.
They want to see the development of a
roadmap for a Global Vaccine Enterprise,
rather along the lines of the Human Genome project> which sequenced the entire
human genome. Its aim would be to create
a Iarge number of candidate vaccines using
all possible routes and an efficient system

- ---------- to be osupported
UKHVlu.-u by
uy “a series of fj
tres
will have
rrlinnforl PITA?
rrinn scientific
..
iu
coordinated
HIV’ tF'.
vaccine
tZ
”
.
IZJZZ.,
uu
tia”. Facilities are needed to piuuULL
produce. uie
tlie iy
candidate
vaccines in sufficient quantities
... . ......................................
-3 S
for clinical trials. as well
" as methods
• •* for
- car- M
rying out “large, comprehensive, coordinat- w
ed, international clinical trials”.
~But, even without so ambitious a project, B
alarm'belis’areTerng’soZ^d^eVZZ
..-the:.-.- jA
adequacy of worldwide
• fight
" '
dwide funding
funding to
g
HIV/AIDS. Most recently, the UNAIDS
°
has §
estimated that,. even with the increased g
funding promised by the United States and L
. European nations, this year’s anti-AIDS |
the
spehding
enphdina in
in low
Inn, and'
nn,i ’middl'e incorne C0un.
■ - billions. That is far F
tries will only >be *$4.7
short of the $10 billions annual spending ri
required by 2005.
£
“
“Wo
We have come a long wav in committing U
additional resources to fight HIV/AIDS bm

*

EF — —’

Since diverse approaches have to be tried UNAIDS.
---------- _________
. n toj find
.1
.
.
„
H
simultaneously
in order
the 1best
A paper in a recent issue of the British
vaccine- they have suggested setting up Medicaf j’ournd po'intecTout thaHnrha w-as
1 was
some six to 10 Vaccine Development Cen- spending only Rs. 300 crores annually,
tres. Each centre will be devoted to the de- imuch
-----> less than what was needed
• • to fight
- •
velopment of a particular HIV vaccine the epidemic. Large investments at the out­
approach
set of the epidemic would slow its progress
As nianY °f th6 fundamental scientific more than those at a later stage, noted two!
questions impeding the AIDS vaccine de- scientists from tlie University' of California^ 1
velciwrieat remajocd unsolved, these cen- at Berkeley.
1 « MM 1

T M • a _____ — 1. — *

. »

.1

.

«

« •

awanwaw

TIIEHIE®^'7:|1^
vv J

WN £009
THE HINDU, Thursday, July 3, 2003

" S’

J

| '^Ewipfoyees with HIWAIDS I
| being discriminated against’

i

r-

1

nation such as those living below the povern
line. The Ministry has written to the Home Minis ,
S. NEW DELHI, JULY 2. The Labour Ministry is identify- try, the Department of Women and Child Devel-g
and . the National Commission fo^
ing the kinds of discrimination faced by employ- opment
,
!U(i ees
at their
places
of
work and
chalk
out
ways by
to Women
for datadiscrimination
or feedback that
available withe
address
thes^e.
The
exercise
had
been
ordered
them.
Gender
is is
primarily
U address these. The exercise had been ordered by them. Gender discrimination is
primarily bein-X
bein^
H the Union Labour Minister, Sahib Singh Verma, looked after by,the
||
by the Department of Women an^
zr^F just before his visit to Geneva to attend the ILO Child Welfare that also looks after the rights
the
child
and
the
National
Commission
for
Wom-h
Conference.
*’ ’’
n
Preliminary surveys have shown that discrimi- en.
’ H
Data will also be available with several com-g
' nation ranged from racial, religious, gender, caste
missions set up for the Scheduled Castes andR
and creed-based to age-related.
However, the worst and the latest addition to Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
“As far as the Labour Ministry is concerned, we i
I this list was discrimination against those suffercan primarily enforce the Equal Remuneration
f ing from HIV/AIDS.
I
“While most forms of discrimination can be Act and other labour laws to ensure that all em- ’
o stringent
o
o action, r
..,
rployees
’
’ les but social issues need to be
| tackled through
legal
prejudices
get their due
against the HIV/AIDS patients have to be dealt tackled differently," Mr. Chandramouli says.
--------------------areness among the people
Once the data is available with the Ministry, it
f with iby
creating
an awareness
j and in society,” says K.C. Chandramouli,
Chcndrcmcu!:, Joint intends to divide the discrimination into two sec- :
tions
— those which
can be tackled legally and ■
|| Secretary' in the Ministry' of Labour.
........................
•' ■'have *to *-7 creating
social j
lating socialg
Concerned over the intensity of discrimination those that
be dealt with uby
against the HIV/AIDS patients, the Ministry has awareness.
----- ------ The Ministry will
” Jgive more powers to ’
identified this as a priority area and is moving all the States to deal with the situations, make the
laws more stringent — if need be — and start J!
its sources and resources to check it.
The Ministry has come across instances where awareness campaigns to remove social biases. <
HIV//X1DS patients have been denied, employ- For-this, all 49 Central Bureau of Workers Educa- ’
ment or even terminated. Then there are some tion — run by the Ministry — will be given th^ ■
b^e^mad^^^im^ of sudden d^soi mi - task of spreading awareness among the yyorkers. J
|

r-

By Our Staff Correspondent

. ...

/

p

Ax

c- c

c
5?^ e
co-

c •
r-3
.......... -

J 5
A?

ll Break the
ijl'f Continued from page 1

...i

] ;
]

V

r

1 ■

a-

—in—---------

transmitted and its preven­
tion," says Damayanti.
j? r; This year, according to APliSACS officials, the programme
’ tiwill be information driven and
jjthe life skills component (skills
S;to prevent infection, capacity
(building
for
behavioural
^change, issues related to
pigrowing) up — self esteem,
f ^ability to make sound decirjsions, resist peer pressure and
J -.more broadly self determinal-ftion) will be taken up from
pjinext year onwards when Std.
• /IX children move on to Std. X.
As teachers are still uncomH|fortable with talking about sen­
sitive topics dealing with sexual

myths on AIDS, how to deal
with HIV/AIDS patients (treat
diem with sensitivity etc) as
well as issues that adolescents
face.
A table also oudines the risk
of HIV infection associated
with different activities and
some tips to deal with peer
pressure. It also has a list of
names and addresses where
youngsters can contact for ad­
ditional information. For the
trainees die experience is a reo­
rientation of sorts.
Says Santosh Kumar, a para­
medic from the state health
department, "we know about
HIV/AIDS as a part of our voca­

■jhealth and sexuality, it is pro4posed that over the first two
Hycars high schools will be as­
sisted by teams of facilitators
/.(that include paramedical staff
jof state health department and
^officials of education departjljment) trained specifically for

tion but this is a different ex­
perience as we have to reach
out to a new group. It is a reo­
rientation of sorts and is also a
challenge to send the right
message." His colleague, Hari
Babu adds, "Our main objec­
tive is to ensure that children
do not get scared about HIV/
AIDS but to
ensure that
t’
they
can j ’
not only protect theniselves but also reach out to
-tiieir peers (who are (,uw.„v
outside the
school
senool system)
system) with
with this
this mess
mess-­
«age." The programme includes
a few teache°rs like Venkata

. II
1 ~

4

4.

*

x

■<

fx?

r® ‘‘Q - i I.

3

I
1

1

f

tive is to generate.awareness
!
LjHdesh Government under the and capacity building for be­
!
pg <r'aegis of Andhra Pradesh AIDS haviour change," says K. Da> Control Society (APSACS) with mayanti,
Project Director,
-I
-jU; UNICEF providing the techni- APSACS. The need for such a
H Ji
cal support. Nearly 4000 facil- programme, she says, has to be
^?T
‘ itators will be trained by the . viewed against the backdrop of
-I end of November and with tlie the alarming increase of HIV/
formal, launch of the pro- AIDS in the State in general and
?,n jigramme on World AIDS Day. among youth in particular.
1Vi-iDevised in an *nteractive for-As per UNAIDS estimates
mat, the sessions involve in- 3.97 million people in India are l
^formation/discussion
on living with HIV/AIDS and
.i;;Tormation/discussion
Dispelling myths...some posters.
■' : ••.
-t1-'• growing
growing up (physical changes, around 400,000 of them live in
Worldwide studies reveal that driven epidemic, i.e. 90 per
y*' ■
•^.1'menstrual cycle, reproductive A.P. National AIDS Control Or- h
more than 50 per cent of young cent of infections occur
y’system), sexually transmitted
ganisation places A.P. among people in the age group of 15 to ‘ through heterosexual mode of
■y? infection (STIs) and HIV/AIDS tlie six states with a high preva- 24 harbour serious misconcep- transmission. Though there has
and skills for preventive beha- lence of AIDS (i.e. over one per tions about how HIV/AIDS is been a major effort to launch I
.•{?*:'viour. Each session will also cent (of general adult popula- transmitted. In A.P. specifically
targeted interventions for HTVj
■J: have a crucial component of tion has HIV/AIDS), while the
among young women (15 to prevention with groups that are f
jj ’ feedback and ‘question box’ latest sentinel surveillance surZI only 30 per cent of known to have high-risk beha-|
19 }
years),
coccinn XAZif-K
r* /-»»-* A »-»♦: ~ 1
-------£ ^.session.
With confidentiality
as vey data shows that the figure them know two ways to proviour (truck drivers, sex work-S
j one of the vital components of of pregnant women with HIV/' tect themselves from HIV in­
ers
and their clients etc)p
;h' tiie programme, students will AIDS in the state is as high as
AIDS in the state is as high as fection.
According
to relatively few interventions^
•• be encouraged to provide feed- 2.2
u\- Damayanti, die HIV/AIDS epi­
2.2 per cent. What L
is of HQI
partichowever have been aimed ai 1
-y., back as well as write their ques- ular concern is that 50 percent demic is reaching beyond high-’ young people.
tions and drop diem in a box. of'the
'' new
' ' infections
'
occur in risk groups into the general
"We need to create in youngB J
' "This is not a sex education the age group of 15 to 24 years
population with latest data people as the main issue witnJy
sj/programme, it is a programme (UNAIDS estimates) while 50 suggesting that A.P. has one of regards to HIV, is fear. But fear| ij
to educate students on HIV/ per cent of the infections the
1' fastest
'
‘
growing
epidemics will neither address nor solvej;
AIDS. It will provide complete among figures for existing in the country (with infections
.
. ------- j the , problem. People
shoi
j.;.; information about how HIV is prevalence of the disease are doubling over three to four know that it is'fatal, but. pre|
g ■!.transmitted and how can in- in the age group of 15 to 29 years
ventable. The
The programme
programme wilO
wilU 0
. in some areas).
- HIV in
1 ventable.
fection be pr^vejited Jts.obiec-.. vears.

lathis purpose. An important
^PomPonent °f die training
package for teachers is a bilingual workbook in Telugu and
English which details not only
.die need for imparting HIV
education, but also on how to
go about it. A set of flip charts,
.will help the teachers in con­ Krishnayya and Madhusudan
ducting sessions. The booklet as well, who feel that this trainprovides basic factual informa-. ?■ ing has'helped them in trying to

I

Both
^.F
Both teach
teach in
in rural
rural schonk
schools.®
B’’CCAN
CCAN HERALD
Krishnayya admits that,
reproductive system is a part P ' JUf« ?003

I

of the syllabus but we have; 4
not stressed on it at all. Most; |
of us have just avoided talking ]
about it." His colleague Mad- i
husudan whose school is in a <
tribal pocket emphasises the
need for such programmes^ "In |
our villages, boys and girls get ■
married after Std. X irrespec-H
tive of whether they pass orf
not. They have no knowledge/
about STD/Venereal Diseases j
and H1V/AIDS. Now, we knowji
how to reach out to them," he I
says and adds that in villages!

where popular belief is that in-J
jections hold the key to curing!

illnesses, or tattooing is a com-r
mon practice, such pro-j
grammes will hopefully create;
awareness about the dangers4
’!
of infected needles and lead toll
a demand for disposable nee-V
d|eS.—
■ ••
-Pradesh Chicfri
The Andhra
Minister’-s decision
d-- Llvy.l to put ujvj
huge cut-outs of condoms oi^{
the first day of the Assembly’
session on November 21
evoked protest from opposition!
members, but all that the un­
fazed Chandrababu Naidu had'
to say was, "Break the silence,
talk about AIDS." That's the
government's
mantra for
now.

on Ml MO

W.

uurnig Atnca visit

By Srldhar Krishnuswnmi
r; t T ' i' »
I WASHINGTON, JULY 5. The U.S. President, Will continue to fight terror
r.nr
--------- —-“wiueni, " ®h,lour Interest that when we find Wld’ the dr-d-d disease.
• r
v.
hiif. on thc one hand the U.S. Is
.i
.'.bile
: George W Bush, starts a critical five°n Mr. Bush to do something mid
ftvc- su''cring, we deal with It," he said at Bright spots
Im,....,; at ways to utilise Africa In
quickly but (he ndmlnlstrnt
hn.
nation trip to Africa with several
n round table with African
the fii;iii ngalnsi terrorism, on thc
Mr. Bush Is only the third
I issues
Issues in mind when he meets thc
the
Journalists this week.
made
It known that Amcrlc.,,. tr,.,
other hand there is also concern
will
only
be
there
nlong
with
a
of[,*Senegal,
South Africa,
. Mr- Hud* Is also making the point American President to visit the sub' leaders 0
Scnc«al' Sou<11
that some African nations, like
AfriCi'' lhc o,bcr hvo being
contingents from African nations”
Uganda, Botswana and Nigeria. And
,"at tl,c emphasis on IIIV/A1DS
Nigeria, could Itself be the target of
Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter
9J heading the
agenda
As Mr. Bush gets ready ft
s’
,i---------- is
. 'the'" ........ ..
could raise awareness domestically
terrorists
given the economic tics '
But what is also being taken note
t promotion of his five-year $15much delayed African trip, tin?/
with the U.S.
of
is
(hat
the
President
is
visiting
f billion plan for fighting the IIIV/
question is also If he Is going tU"It's important for our fellow
But Washington, in the recent
countries in a continent that are
| AIDS epidemic in thc continent
the occasion to apologise for 'ave,
citizens to realise that we live a
past, has been closely working with
’
‘ n® rclativc bright spots and
I where about 18 millions have died
But Indications from his toj
relative luxurious life throughout
many
African
nations
in
the
realm
tliat this Republican
[ ’,’cc tl,c ''’oidence of thc disease.
our society, there is a pandemic
of counter-terrorism. M.. Du.mi s irir
administration’s track record In
| this proposal Is before the U.S.
taking place that's destroying a lot
takes place against the backdrop of
Africa
has not been a full sticccss
t Congress.
subject, no formal apology J
t|1(
of people, ruining families. I want to
the ongoing strife hi Liberia and in
1 altogether especially In the
use this trip to say 'Here's an
I
According to thc President, the
the prospect of the U.S. sending
promotion
of
democracy.
“The President Is going to t.>
example
of
what
is
possible.'
”
troops
there
to
try
and
quiet
things.
message that he is carrying to the
Still this administration strongly
about and acknowledge what c|avc
The United Nations has said that
Thc President has brushed aside
people of Africa was that America
believes that die U.S. has everything
an
S’ .‘5 ±l"h,cd ,Of,hc ,'lIV/
media reports that he has decided to has meant to Africa and has
I cares.
cares. ''It's
"It’s In
In our
-.......national■■Interests
to
gam
from
a
longer-term
to
America. But there Is plcnlyx«that Africa becomes a prosperous ’ J- hb^Ar
fr°m thc sub’
send American forces to Liberia; and
PTriSp.Cr t.ive by a cl°ser cooperation
blame
to
go
around
about
slaverPHc. it.s
our
has instead directed the Pentagon to .
with Africa in a number of ways
remarkedr- theL'i
National
send an assessment
tcatfi.
Adv.-e^
...... ..... Securh”
___
_____ including terrorism.
■ .domestir.4?r<.
u
.There
.ro
Ad .,
ezza Rice,
h
M..
-„
■■-»■
.r ,.’’’Condole
---- XWVV, 11
If
.....y
.There ^
jg,dc
^R-5"y**^|WTTuiin A‘rlcan
x>
“‘American. _______
n Li
'
U'
fi«11 jt.A1 «1.t
1.11 1 ■■ ii-._

cRare anWofly eoilftr
I 'lead to HIV vaccine

1 If IT TASHINGTON,

fl

•

! attacks and strokes if heart patients, most diabetics and
M
-•
over 55 took it.
fij
ft they had figured out how a rare 4 P x</ I M T.-f1 iy J \\ everyone
However, the American
. M
ff' antibody sees past the disguises
£c:f,!»_V*O{.yJ-X-/
-< Heart Association questioned
k-of the AIDS virus — a finding
the concept, outlined on Thurs- 13
that may lead to a vaccine that will finally work
day on the Web site of the
ft against the killer microbe.
British Medical Journal.
I <3
g
The antibody, taken from a unusual patient
Such a pi 11 could be too dangerous for healthy (J
fl whose body can resist the virus, recognises and
people, not strong enough for some with heart
»
j(. attacks the human immunodeficiency virus, un­ trouble and may lull other recipients into per-. j I a
ll like most of the body’s defences.
sisting with life-threatening habits, the Ameri- 1.1
hl “Nothing like this has ever been seen before,"
can Heart Association said.
’
| | Ian Wilson of The Scripps Research Institute in
The idea was proposed by Dr Nicholas Wald
. t La Jolla, California, who led the research, said
and Dr Malcolm Law of the University of Lon- Ja
ft in a statement on Thursday.
don.
! sj
J,
AIDS has killed 25 million people around the
The pill, which they call the "polypiH", would 0
world and is projected to kill 80 million by 2010.
contain aspirin to reduce the stickiness of blood Ji
£j The only real hope of fighting the incurable
cells involved in clotting; a statin drug to lower ’d
8 virus is a vaccine, but efforts so far have flopped
cholesterol and folic acid to reduce levels of ho- Ts
,te although dozens of vaccines are being tested.
mocysteine. an amino acid that promotes hard- fl
>
Antibodies are an important arm of the
ening of the arteries.
Three types of blood pressure drugs — an
n r r'f'
body’s dcfences against germs. They are usually
HERAL^ able t0 rec°Knise an invader by structures on its
ACE inhibitor, a beta-blocker and a diuretic —
‘£ surface, called antigens, and can either call in
would be included at half the standard dose. •
which the doctors said maintains the effective/
11 H 9^(1^ y' help’or neutra,ise il themselves by pasting
tc; y J t- Z VU J fr themselves against it. Most vaccines in use stimness of blood pressure lowering but reduces the
£ ulate the production of neutralising antibodies.
side effects seen when single drugs are used at J:
higher doses.
j
Based on evidence from more than 750 exist- V
I Combination pill
ing studies involving 400,000 participants taking I
| could avert strokes
heart medications, the scientists estimate that ifft
taken by people over 55. as well as many people ©
LONDON, (AP): British scientists have said
with
high blood pressure, heart disease or diathey believe a single pill combining six medicabetes. the pill would prevent about 88 per cent of J
. tions could avert more than 80 per cent of heart heart attacks and 80 per cent of strokes.
I

!'■ ffivScienpe;^-

fillffife:

’G\
JI

Ci
£

I

(

J
i

- J
r

I

i

..
..... ~

.. J

Mi

--------------

J

Controlling an .epidemic

•T

\

s
3
tfi
1

..

-J
3

.. i
"I

J

1 ri
J

2

-1

J

Q

lessons learnt in Africa. An oft-quoted estimate is that there could be 20
mnuon to 25 million new HIV cases
in India by the end of this decade, a
many-fold increase over the present
t,,,, . r
-------------four
HIV-infected, 1people
four million
milhon HIV-infected
people,
But if
if Ventaramana
Ventaramana Chitta
Chitta R
a!n«.
BalasaBut
tya, who was head of the Andhra
Pradesh State AIDS Control Society

be infected with HIV, become maior
social
problems. By
social problems.
By affecting
affecting those
those
in the prime of their lives, HIV/AIDS
has a tsevere impact on national
nine Tbn
_______
•
economies.
The rate of economic
--------- CUUBUHIR
growth in sub-Saharan Africa is believed tc
’
’
• •by two to
lieved
to have
reduced
four
r-- per: cent as a result of AIDS.
There is as yet no effective cure

------------- — ____________
Imiia needs t0 ^"Cldy boost its

India needs to quickly boost its

ib

, , ,, ’

should be encouraged and provided |d
information to make informed '•
choices to protect themselves from §
infection, she savs
.
.
- - ’
- Inadequate funding for AIDS pre
pre-­ $
vention work is a global problem. A if'
new report from UNAIDS points out IS
that, despite the increased funding w,
promised by the U.S. and Europe*
this year low and middle income
countries
not be
spendine
even
half would
the amount
needed
an- ’7
awnv.

*u________

.

2.

.

D

£

tion,” observed a recent report. The •
AIDS
nually by 2005.
AIDS prevention
prevention efforts
efforts.
41 current low prevalence rates are de'
J
'
The Global HP.’Prevention Work4 ceptive. The Joint United Nations
~
:
----- -----in- Group
r'ro”? estimated diet
’
’ -----------------------------------------that the L
fundProgramme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and
is
currently
doing
doctoral
rewhich
ran rpmnvp
i
in
J 2aP$1.4 MfflS
Asia and the Pacific
whichran
remove th^n
the virus entirely
about
and
is
currently
doing
doctoral
re-j puts the prevalence of HIV among search in the United States is cor from^hThndv f th rVlrus.entlrely about $1-48 billion. While Dr. Potts
cor- or
from
the body -h
of’ T
an 'infected
i nfected P
person
Rsr 300
jj adults in India at less than one per rect, the picture could beis even
a v^rHnn^
ers.on and Dr. Walsh note that the Rs.
r even
j cent, compared to nine per cent in. grimmer. Ina published journal
oa fection
Buiawhich
uhhn
VSn
11'­ Cr°reS India
cun
’endy inv
ests on
or a vaccine
can
prevent in
India
currently
invests
grimmer. In a published journal pa­ fection. But as the Global HIV Preper, he and a i ” o
1
p said in a nne?p^"’ r?° estimate on the extent
h ^Or^t a^ected region in the world. that the commercial
,Orr.,i sex networks recent report, a massive expansion of this deficit
j. On the vmvi
other iiauu,
hand, lllUia
India DltUlU
stands sec- could create over
.. — „„^.t seems readily availa­
50 million HIV in­ of tlie
the HIV/AIDS epidemic was not ble. But if the gap is in the same
• ond only to South Africa------in the2 num­ fections in India by 2005 in a worst­
inevitable and could be reversed if proportion as for Asia and the Pacif­
;J ber
ber of
nf HIV-ihfected
HFV-infnr'toH people. IWorse
case scenario. Even his more conr \P?-rtS
l !hat HIV
I™,' rin- servative estimate of 12 million HIV proven prevention techniques were ic, the shortfall could be as much as
I still, there
7- are
a^15^
used in combination and on a suffi- Rs. 1,000 crores.
fections are spreading twice as fast cases by 2005 would be a marked cient
scale.
in South Asia as in sub-Saharan escalation of the HIV/AIDS epidem­
India needs to quickly boost its
In India sexual contact is the pri- AIDrpJewntonL&tts'GLiUSysis
Africa.
■
ic in India.
mary route thrmioh
v/hiz-h
unz
'n,„
r___ _ .
. ’^aUmpl
.
.
through
which
HIV
in
7727^ncersb?owed
’e- H
There are fears that India (and
The African experience shows
mentation
of
a
comprehensive
pre'
i a society
1 sante ri-skfaciolsasA'fdc^ncludLg
3
f a similar pattern of health expendi- in sub-Saharan Africa is Pnow 47 tradition hnnnd^'^t-11 many°5er Hrv infections between 2002 and 3
ture, an uneven health infrastruc- years, when it wo^d have been 62 cussion of
,eS’?S‘ 201 °-of this global reduc- j.1
-----years,without
when itAIDS
would
have
been 62 nrnhl
cussion
■ of sexual
issues 1S often tlon would benefit two countries — |
ture and prevalent
high
risk
sexual
years
Loss
of
incomePm
->ti/
issues
prevalent high risk sexual years without AIDS. Loss of incomebehaviour,"
Malcolm rotis
Potts ant
and and mounting medical expenses Pproblematic
The^thc in India. r •
india and China. But the experts al­
iuui, sayociy-ividicuiin
and mounting medical expenses
and- realities around
around so warned that delaved implemen:jii Julia Walsh of the School of Publi.
Public push
HIV/AIDS
affected families
spyThe
andmyths
co Si-an
push
HIV/AIDS
affected
families
f Health at the University of Califor- deeperintc-ZUTrippin^ssets sS
sex and sexuality issues in India are tati°n °f 1116 Prevention package
deeper
poverty,
stripping assets
similar
to those
that existacross
across the
1 n‘a at Berkeley in a recent article in from
theinto
almadv
h^povehshed
As work
1 sat^
Re^m^h
e wo^d lead to large reductions in the
from
the
already
impoverished.
As
world, the
says
Ehmer,
J ^eBnnsh WerfzcaZ/ozzrna/.Theyar- parents die, tlie care £td upbringing chairs'
U NRenate
eihatper ^pn^
r’ who Actions prevented. India has a
parents
die,
the
care
and
upbringing
chairs
the in
U.N.
i
the of children, who might themselves on
AIDS
’ Ind?
v™fn Y
windowofoPPommity— butitmay j
of children, who might themselver
Young not
people
not remain
open for long.
reniainjDpen
for long.

IJ
a

1

3

0

•j-N
0

i

j 30
•j ■s
■!

J

5

By N. Gopal Raj

I

a
. i

"ORDS
are
.
, OF. warning
.
,
£r!ady_!Jbe,n8 y01<LedThe incidence of infec. w
t’?n wth the Human
Imniunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and
chC/Cquir,ed Immune Deficiency
Syndrome (AIDS) it causes could be
set to explode in India and China,
the world'so two
most populous
l?vo most
countries. "China and India stand
on the brink of widespread epidemhigCSrisk\oPfhedLoaderSrpJpula-t

•

' |

‘2

'1

S -s

f? 1 JUL
JUL /ULd
ZUJd

Ipool reception

while Mbeki has sought to nego­
tiate with the authoritarian
ruler to end violence there —
if”'
Bush said the reporters were
4b* jr^^cool reception on
. trying to "create tensions which
K
Wednesday in the capital of don't exist."
•^Africa's largest economic power,
The Bush administration has
4-hs opinion leaders in Pretoria
called on African states to pres­
Tand across the continent comsure Mugabe's oppressive regime
•l^plained about his policies on
to make political reforms, while
yfk'aq, AIDS and the International
Mbeki has resisted doing so. "We
^'Criminal Court.
share the same objectives," Bush
narsi
Bush has come to this long_____ "The jr*
—a
said on Wednesday.
presi^struggling region with the promdent is the most involved ... And
newspaper, quoted South Africa's
yiise of billions of dollars for
-----z-(sic)
; ' ! intention
■*
IT'~
’m not any
of sec­
government sources as saying
•^development, disease-fighting
ond-guessing his tactics." Still,
the Americans were "too embar
Vand counter-terrorism efforts,
while calling Mbeki an "honest
rassed" to proceed with the visii,..,j<and he carries the prestige of
broker," Bush said he would con­ because in recent days the
;
^making only the third sub­
tinue "to speak out" on the sub­
______,
administration ^>..4cut «.:i:
military
aid *
-Saharan Africa tour by a US
ject.
to South Africa and other coun­
X president. But Africans have
Mbeki avoided any mention of tries that did not agree to
■g responded with anti-Bush
AIDS, an epidemic ravaging his
exempt US citizens from prose­
demonstrations, diplomatic
country, in his opening state­
cution before an International
g snubs and critical media coverment outlining his discussions
Criminal Court.
|agewith Bush. A senior Bush aide
An administration official
In South Africa, the country's
said
the two leaders did not dissaid Bush "simply decided he
Jy i—
’
• •
-- - revered aw
former
* ixacx pxcoiucm
president
ixeibun
Nelson . uuw
cuss the
uiu war
wcu in
in iraq,
Iraq, me
the adminadminwanted to go to the Ford plant."
g Mandela, who sharply criticised I istration's move two weeks ago
Senegal and Botswana agreed to
a Bush ™
on tIraq
~,-------and once
----------.
saidj Bush
- ’
to cut off military funding for
the exemptions, provoking some IF
3 "cannot think properly,"
South Africa because of its
grumbling here that Bush
1arranged to be out of the counrefusal to exempt US citizens
bought their support with milltry while Bush is here.
from the International Criminal
tai-y aid and a presidential visit. ,S
The country's dominant politi- Court, and Mbeki's earlier state­
Despite Mbeki's cordial
cal party, the African National
ments disputing the cause of
embrace of Bush, his African
Congress, led a 2,000-person
AIDS.
National Congress is protesting
march to the US Embassy on
Bush was Mbeki's guest at a
Bush's visit. According to the
Wednesday in protest of Bush's
luncheon for about 250 people,
Sowetan, a South African news£-j visit. Hundreds more marched in where he dined on ostrich con­
paper, a number of members of
M Cape Town. President Thabo
somme and lamb, and toured the
parliament and other politicians ''
Mbeki left the country after a
assembly line at a Ford Motor Co "snubbed inrites" from Mbeki to &
=; half-day with Bush to attend the
plant, where he sought to
lunch with Bush on Wednesday.
52-nation African Union meeting
emphasise the company's work
The reception for Bush in
w with the rest of Africa's leaders
against AIDS during a discus­
Africa is not as overtly hostile
in Mozambique.
sion with employees. Bush had
those he has received in places
In a news conference on
intended to go to a South
such as Germany, where tens of
h| Wednesday, Bush and Mbeki
African military base on
thousands filled the streets to
emphasised their common
Wednesday, but that was dropped protest what they called his uniground while avoiding differin favour of a visit to the. Ford
lateralist and militaristic pollences on contentious issues
plant. The Star, a South African
cies. At the same time, howev-I-H
such as Zimbabwe's leaderer, the reception contrasts
.
ship, AIDS and Iraq. Mbeki
markedly with the large and »
told Bush in a luncheon toast
adoring crowds that greeted
p' that "we would not but
former president Bill Clinton
■—
rj. receive you as a friend and
five years ago; some still have
g an honoured guest," adding:
photos of Clinton in their
kJ .
gj "We're greatly strengthened,
homes.
Mr President, by the knowlUgandans see Bush's inter- ^3
ij edge that we have you as our
est in Africa as simply part of' 'A
nartner and friend."
his war in fighting terrorism.
Poor en reP°rters quizzed
Commentators in newspapers
gj dirph and -Mbeki about their
and on the radio in Uganda
P !ekrunces over Zimbabwe —
Anti-war coalition members demonstrate have said he does not really
fl of p»
been highly critical
against the visit of George W Bush in
care about Africans.
y^_^sident Robert Mugabe
z
Pretoria. AP Photo.
—The Washington Post

W''nRESIDENT Bush received a

rOTHKWf ':

iiiij

F

a

I

-g

*■

DECCAN HEB-ALD

‘A JUL 2003

r

r
•^E>> —

s

• ---------------- >

r!

-.^va

7-. ?.:• •

rj'>>..'<»^-x. •»<..; ..-;i,»^s-<*■••’-.• -j.--■ //1* ->

________

• K Tiling of AIDS alTlictcd woman

NCW fails to find conclusive evidence
Chairman Purnima Advani came here
to probe into Die incident personally
The NCW chief admitted that she
1.5 Chairperson of the National Commis-. could not get any conclusive evidence on
.^ion for Women (NCW) Poornima Ad- the incident but had enough circum­
ni on Monday wound up her two-day stantial evidence.
„.tting at Kuppam as she was unable to
however, declined to' divulge de­
£‘■<£Ct
i all the facts relating to the death of tailsShesaying
a full-fledged meeting of thef
J’ n Aids-afflicted widow.
commission would be convened to dis­
The woman. Ponnamma, was alleged- cuss the issue and finalise the report. .
,
N
rlnnwl tn
’OS af.d
j.f ly stoned
to rlmth
death hy
by her yclati'.
relatives
and
However, Ms Advani made no hesitaNeighbours in Kuppam. The incident tion in expressing her displeasure over
ew the attention of the NCW and - the failure of various government agen-

cics to check the spread of HIV and re­
habilitate the affected people. She cited
how ponnamma was ostracised by her
own relatives and neighbours.
The NCW chief who reached Kup­
pam on Sunday, is said to have ques­
tioned foim persons who reportedly carried Ponnanuna’s body to the burial
ground and burnt it.
.... ......
.. JU1IO „
J1U UV|Juavu
The
other Hpersons
who
deposed ue
be-.
fore the NCW chief include Kuppam
.................................
DSP who rejected the contention that
Ponnamma was stoned to death by her

■^5 ________ OH Nows ScrvicG ________

.tUi’ATI. July IS

J

-

£

£"

_

J DECQ.AJiiHEIL-U.Igj

-

AIDS Initiative
panel formed

----------------------------------- -------------------------- ’
____

U

B Womeiits -panel chief $
■ to visit Kuppam I

3!
By Our Special
Jj:
Correspondent
f >, NEW
new DELHI,
utLHi, JULY
jult 12.
XU. The
inc Bill
Dili and
andt'lf HYDERABAD. July 12(PT1)
Melinda Gates Foundation to-l-jh The ’ chairperson of National
a I day announced the constitu- m Commission for Women (NCW)
tj'tion of a ^-member India AIDS} poornima Advani would visit
Inmauve dAD Programme I Kuppam. the hometown of
!

A

'3

■-

*1
i v J*"in .?the country
r to,'; I ; A,
■s its activities
M ’tlhra ^.cish Chief
m •> Minister
.

iVdisc^

3

?uiic in,,) il,5

committed $100 million aid for N ln • wluch an
Heeled
these programmes.
. woman was stoned to death.’
According to Ashok Alcxan-- J ( J Hough 1116^51310 police had
■j denied the incident
dcr, Director, India AIDS IniliaJ““*and
.... 1 claimed
....... '
live, the board would be | »that the patient, Pavanainma
co-chaired by Hajat Gupta of 4 had died a natural death, the
McKinsey and Co. and J. V. R. ■? credibility of the police statePrasada Hao, Ministry of Health 4 ment had to be verified. Poorniand Family Welfare.
n ma told reporters here today,
* I Ollier prominent members j The state government had
': of the board include K. K. Abra- ti submitted a report to the visiting
j:ham of INP+ Chennai, N. K. U NCW Chairperson denying the
..JGanguly of the Indian Council. u incident and claiming PavanainJL'of Medical Research, Vindi Ban- < ma had died due to AIDS-related
■',‘*ga of Hindustan Lever, Rattan
complications.
J-i Tala of Tala Sons. Kapil Sibal,
£.
Poornima, who is leaving for
^;MP, and Kenneth Wind-Andcr- £
gjsen, UNAIDS. New Delhi.
■' L

■0

3
0

themidd;^ .

4 y JUL ztiild
'5

relatives and neighbours as she was HIV drababu Naidu expressing its
positive.
over the Incident.
It is learnt that Ms Advani also visit­
The incident assumes signifi j
ed the burial ground. Voluntary organi-' it occurred in Kuppam, Mr Naii
sations insist that Ponnamma was stitucncy.
‘ '
stoned to heath and burnt immediately
CPM District chief Kandar.
However, police, her mother and people rali at a press conference on Tuf
residing in the colony denied it and said leged that at the instruct ion; J
she died a natural death. .
chief minister, his secretary an
The incident shocked international ficer on special duty at Kupp.
organisations and the Australian Aids pressed the facts. He also dem
IN nd Inc. has written to President Ab- fresh enquiry by an independe'
dul kalani^an^Chief Minister N Chan- in to the incident.

II

f

L

Kuppam later in the day. termed
the incident as "shameful in a
civilised society" saying she
would meet parentsand relatives
of the deceased.
>■
' Poornima. who arrived here p
yesterday, said she had meetings
with Hie olllcials of slate women 1'
department and also with a rep- 1
resenlalive of Tirupali-based V
NGO
Women's
Initiatives 1'
(WINS) which has posted a press 1
release on its website claiming f
the AIDS victim was stoned to
death by her relatives ancFvil- £
lagers. She said the representa- .£
live of WINS had confirmed the P
incident but "they are too scared J)
to say anything now".
“All is not clear. As it is a very
__
sensitive issue, I’ll have to check fl
the credibility of the reports l|
submitted bj' tlie government as 3
well as the NGO," she said.
|

I!

DECCAN HERALD

e ? Hil

1

t-

fJ.

I

__THE HIKD'O”
tj

H

AP govt orders probe

^Uganda a role mode!9|
‘.:M

1- ‘j ENTEBBE (UGANDA), JULY 11. The

=i. IL U.S. President, George W. Bush,
■_

t.

ll-HV-positive woman
stoned to death JI
K

Sub-Saharan Africa hit hardest
by AIDS

I;

■

i’' praised Uganda’s aggressive
prevention and treatment pro­
Prevalence ot
grammes to combat HIV on FriHTV.'AIDS In 2001
i f. day, declaring at an AIDS clinic,
■f
"You’re leading the way." It is
one tin.iQ
thing to
about
< .■ one
w talk —
———* the
^■i scourge of AIDS, and quiteJ an­
be allowed to go iunreported in’
-------------d -HYDERABAD, July 11 (IANS)
other to see it up close in the
norlia nr
or wiFh-'
with-: ti'!
||'l face of victims, as he and the
Following protests raised by hu­ the Indian mass media
man rights groups, the Andhra out condemnation by an interna-'
First Lady, Laura Bush, had
Pradesh ’ government has or- tionally respected leader such as;$■ done, Mr. Bush said.
‘‘I’ve met generals in the
•dered a probe into a shocking in­ yourself.”
In another letter to Mr Naidu, 1; worldwide army of compas­
cident in which a 30-year-old
'woman suspected to be carrying Mr Haill said: “This dreadful act- S sion," Mr. Bush said in a speech
after visiting the clinic.
do nothing to do away with
L •’HIV was reportedly stoned to will
Earlier, Mr. Bush met the
the ignorance and fear associat-. 4j’
; death.
"8
L
ruiUlcUimicio
Ponnamma’s iciainw
relatives Land ed with HIV/AIDS and it must be $ Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni,
and
heaped
praise
on
friends allegedly pelted her with confronted head-on for the sake
which is struggling with thelj
3 stones in her house in Kuppam of India's future.”
-f him at a picture-taking session. world’s highest HIV infection‘s
‘
‘
You
have
shown
the
world
The Women's Initiatives T
.
'in Chittoor district on Friday
what is possible in terms of re- rate. Mr. Bush's own five-year,||
last. The incident has embar- (WINS), which works for the S' ducing infection rates," he said. $15 billion AIDS plan is model-^
rassed Chief Minister N Chan- cause of sex workers and in the %
Uganda, an Oregon-sized na­ led after a programme in Ugan-S
•i drababu Naidu, who represents field of AIDS, said Ponnamma | tion in east-central Africa, is a da, which stresses abstinence,ft.
y the Kuppam constituency in the was cremated immediately after, t model for stemming its once- monogamy and condom use.
she was killed.
ir; spiralling rate of HIV infection.
£
State Assembly.
Mr. Bush also praised Mr.
WINS sent a team of its office- , r, It stands in sharp contrast to Museveni as "a strong advocate ,
It came to light only after
4 rights bodies demanded an inter- bearers to Kuppam to conduct an;
Botswana — another stop on of free trade" and a force forT2
>. • vention by the National Human independent probe. They saidj Mr. Bush’s African journey — peace in Central Mrica. — AP I
t-- •4
< Rights Commission (NHRC) and Ponnamma was stoned after shep.
lcr
the President. Chittoor district returned to her house in B Cjy
'■ police and civil authorities, how- Colony because of the social stig‘•J ever, say the woman died a natunatu­ ma associated with those who ;’ j
are HIV-positive.
-sj
■
ral death.
She reportedly had illicit rela-J'f j
Mr Naidu ordered an inquiry
■3
after Women's Initiative, a Tiru- tions with a man in Guntur dis-i t ?
*
/ ■ pati based NGO, sought the inter- trict after the death of her hus-;^
4 ' vention of NHRC, andj nrMr Brian band Munuswamy two years^i NEW qelhi, july 14. The Tata its first national programme for
if!’ Group z chairman, Ratan Tata, HIV prevention by the first week
•. Haill, president of the Aus- ago.
ucuicui AIDS xFund xxxw,
— —
After
her- ----------return, she tested.y.; the cricketer, Rahul Dravid, and of August, Ashok Alexander, Di­
tralirm
Inc, wrote ~a
letter to President A P J Abdul positive for HIV and village eld-;i4 hie Infosys chief, N.R. Narayana rector, BGMF, said here today,
I promoting
,
w "The formation of the board is a
ers decided to expel her afteri • Murthy, will now be
Kalam.
’ rollingj of the
•
“Such horror is not accent- slapping a fine of Rs.600. But rel-uj the cause of HIV prevention as a first step towards
he said and added
- in any society ’ and must
; be -----_r xu22 member
initiative,
” he said
■■ , able
atives---------------and neighbours
decided
toil-> partIndia
of the
22-member
Indiaand
■
i • ii. .
________ x ——
fnl.n +V.r» Iritir ivrtn +Hoir- Htanrlc
j.'V
Airle Initiative
Tniriatiiro RnarH
and
t'dj
Board of
of Rill
Bill and
that Rajat Gupta. McKinsey and
| Aids
. condemned in the strongest pos­ take the law into their hands.
MHILMd
Gates
Foundation
J.V.R. Prasada Rao from the
ai|l
Mellinda
Andhra
Pradesh,
which*
sible and public manner,” Mr
Haill said in a statement in New claimed to have a high level of. (BGMF). Making a beginning Health Min will co-chair^ the
AIDS awareness, has
1.. . nearly^ with $100 million grant made by board. Other members of the %
’ Delhi.
board include Azim Premji of
<
The letter said: “I-write to ex- 400,000 people infected with HTV.g the Microsoft chief. Bill Gates, Wipro and Vindi Banga of
j i press our revulsion and outrage, the second, highest rate in the?* last November, the Gates Foun­ Hindustan Lever Ltd. — PTI
f dation will soon be rolling out
i
Such an appalling act must not country’ after Maharashtra.

r

i

I

Ratan Tata, Dravid on
Gates’ AIDS board

■

j

gj 9 JUL Zl&d

JUL /UUd

60 c' !
I

oJJ
C 5

cH
mI

f 3
?'3

__ _

. issiJ

...... ..... . .. ■ ■ .

.. /

_T

.....J
-‘ J

-

a

rrjt n m5*!.

tT

73

n

Fl E3

f?

rj

—; five ■
MIDS heiplme turns

N
K-

J

............... .....LT—... 1
THE HIEW<g

1
1

b JUL ZDIjJ

1 ■

.1

riji

1 ’
V

J] i

£.

r: , * *
r?

.

.. J...

AIDS: Bush promises help I
'

'■■■

GABORONE (BOTSWANA), JULY 10.

I?

? i
-)

I

ggjjii'W-R ..l Tji ii rmfi

)1
-J
1

a ■

"'0

I'/j

l‘

i

OS

dn cl"

1

f. .Visiting a .country with the
: ' world’s highest AIDS infection ':>
rate; the U.S. President, George
p AV. Bush, said on Thursday that 'I.'
the disease was "the deadliest
*: .enemy Africa has ever faced"
t and promised that the .U.S.
t’j would help meet the challenge,
ri • "The people of this nation
I have the courage and resolve to
fl; defeat this disease and you will
5~ have a partner in the United
States of America,”- Mr. Bush
.told Botswana’s President, Fes­
tus Mogae, in a toast kicking off
a festive luncheon.
The U.S. First Lady, Laura Bush (centre), with children at
"This is the deadliest enemy
a paediatric AIDS Initiative centre In Gaborone,
(
’.Africa has ever faced, and you
Botswana, on Thursday. — AP j
will not face this enemy alone.”
Mr. Bush’s brief remarks small American and Botswanan Mr. Mogae, Mr. Bush said hisj
were greeted with chants of flags danced and waved, and five-day trip to Africa was^
"Pula! Pula!” which means "all scantily
■’ clad
' J men and
■_J women meant to demonstrate "thatg
we're not only a powerful na-£
performed tribal dances.
good things".-’ .
. .
Mr. Bush stood at the edge of tion, we’re also a compassion-’,
Mr. Bush came to this country near the southern tip of Afri- the scene smiling and waving, ate nation .
.
■
{
caresl
plunged into a crowd
"The average citizen caresi
ca bearing a $15-billion plan to then
'
A of
$ combat AIDS, and he received a hundreds of people, many deeply about the fact that peo-(
raucous welcome upon his ar­ jumping up and down, offering pie are dying in record numbers; ’
both hands for handshakes.
because of HIV/AIDS,” Mr.
rival.
•- . Y ’
Later, during a meeting with Bush told reporters. — AP
Dozens^of chUdren wanng^
-L-r—■;;«
-..y-/
------r ,

ft-

>

r;

i

By Our Special Correspondent

l

v>-

■

ii I

-nel as well as equipment. The equipment, stored infonnation does not have to be pe-J
which works 24 hours a day, is expensive riodically deleted. A new facility will bed
>LOICinformation
11UU1 IlldUUllin
111aclseparated
ocpuicll^t
and
needs continued watching for prob- available to store
BANGALORE, JULY 14. If the fear of HIV and
cartridgeinin the
the hard
hard disk
disk every
every 48
48 toto 72$
72$
AIDs17hauntfng you* thereis help at hand, lems if the power gets cut for a long period, cartridge
AIDShelpline, Asha,
has The
hotline runs
M Bangalore’s first AIDS
Asna, nas
meiiuuine
iuiuon
unelectricity
cicuuiuijand
<uiuhas
> to be hours. This can be accessed only with at)
■
• r->
•i*
1 _1—
z-» In
tnfr
..
pclSSWOFCl.
3|
hi completed
five years off* providing
help andJ kept cool through
airconditioning.
A questionnaire will be circulated eveiy^
El1 counselling.
Over the past five years, it was found that
services were
provide
public. /^
F:> The AIDS helpline is an automated
uuivn.u^d facifaci link-up
HrJ: up ccr.".ccc
’.■.•ere necessary
necessity to
to pr?
’nr,° six months among
„ the „general -..
■«•
lity with a computer, an interactive voice more comprehensive care. The manual tel- specific reporting format is also being|
response system and a regular phone line ephone counselling, voluntary counsiselling, prepared.
3543333. The equipment contains pre- and testing services, free HIV/AIDS clinic,
01 recorded information on HIV/AIDS under and other programmes were developed as &
specific headings in an easy-to-understand offshoots of the helpline.
B
w:
■
The upgraded features, which will be in-fj
m language.
language.
R
h It The
The machine
machine interacts
interacts’with
with the
the caller
caller and
and augurated on Wednesday, will help update &
t5 < guides him/her through various options. It the recorded information on treatment and g
also gives them the choice of recording spe- services now available. The number of g
.^ tcific questions on HIV/AIDS. The added ad- - channels will be doubled and the waiting
i'.4 vantage is that tire system has a toll-free time will be reduced so that a caller can >>
access
the answer
on option
5 without
number — 1097.
access
the answer
on option
5 without
go- |goi The fact that the helpline has received ing through the whole procedure a second F1
l-if 1,38,113 calls in the past five years, over time.
The computer will have a bank of FAQs
0 '■ 4,100 of them being anonymous calls, and
which
can
be
linked
and
the
playback
sys3,224 calls on its manual telephone couni selling sendees shows its growing impor- tern will be improved for clarity. Invalid
'
tance as a source of information and calls will be evaluated and the technology
fr- J
o.
wiU be further improved to match the sub- ft
t < anonymous counselling.
fj >
a) v>11
__ _
Then Ishelpline
and tolor
telephone counselling
headings with the number of calls. More S
Ii '’ service are office-based and need person- • disc space_will be available so that ±e » <

• J

J

R

HER.M-D

0 Jul dUda

if

pferdsftick of progress

Bps'
r
?f Al

hr
(I NEW DELHI, July 17 (PTI)

</

'

.1

Aids awareness march at Ramanagaram

£

camp. The second phase of the g

was
held
at $
' H—
E L' R'ClTiT camp
t/J
Bairamangala village in [>'
Ramanagaram taluk where 45
OTARY Club of Ramanagaram in
patients were screened and operated. The &
h
7 JL ^.Bangalore has recently construct- operation was done free of cost and the g
■'

a

'.I? “Horrified” over the shock­
in ing death of a HIV-infected
•IQ woman, Poonamma, in
C-Andhra Pradesh recently,
•3 National Commission for
5 Women
)men (NCW)
(.inuyv; today
touay hinted
lumeu JwU
|atipossibility of her having i]g
been burnt alive and i
6 claimed that the authorities ’ H
Edo not have any proof to '
K'ishow otherwise.
• Hl a
kf Quoting from the deposi- ijs!
rtion of officials, including U]
BArea Deputy Superinten-‘jg
g. dent of Police Kesava Raju, - <r who did not rule out the possibility of Poonamma being ; ;-j
| burnt alive, NCW Chair per- (.!$
E son Purnima Advani told re| porters “in the absence of a •
proof about the time of
g death, her team wondered 10
$ whether Poonamma. while |
' ? she was alive and battling 'ig
| for life, was bundled and j-d
transported to the cremation
f
1 ground.” "I can't say with
1 authority -that Poonamma .g <
g was dead when she was ere'*
I mated. I should have con- ‘ 3
p ducted the enquiry to ascer- • ri (t
tain whether Poonamma : U
was alive or dead at the time ,'3
she was cremated.” she said g H £
quoting Mr Raju. Ms Advani i.l,J
accused the state govern- tja
ment of having failed to ‘1g J
spread awareness about
. j AfflS. .— — ... •

I

■?.

?:
9.

I

‘HIV-hit 11
i
woman may
have been ■
® burnt alive’

!i

effort with Rotary Club

£ ed a bus shelter on the Bangalore-Mysore
y Road in Ramanagaram. Rotary Club of
>| Ramanagaram undertook the Bus
j*. Shelter project in response to the public
$ demand. As a road safety measure,
Rotary Club of Ramanagaram has put up
'j an electric signal light and traffic rails at
>7 Ramanagaram KSRTC Bus stand, which
has drastically brought down accidents
>*.here.
4 To further its community service,
g Rotary Club of Ramanagaram has
geared up to undertake various health
4-campaigns. In one of its initiatives to cre­
mate awareness on Polio and Aids amongst
^youngsters, the Club has designed
’(unique awareness programmes. One
s, such programme is an awareness march
■fto educate people about the dangers of
r* Aids. As many as 650 students from the
^.government college, Ramanagaram, took
Impart in the march. Students participated
Ji in various contests held on the subject
r^and were rewarded by the Rotary Club of
••P Ramanagaram. Similarly, Rotary club of
^Ramanagaram organised a rally to eradi£[cate polio, in which 3,000 students from
•Jjvarious schools of Ramanagaram particL
-------- ”
-- -rally was followed
‘ '
\
Hipated.
The
by a
Stmarathon
jLmarathon run.
J To eradicate blindness and to lend a
helping hand to needy patients suffering
H from various eye problems, Rotary Club
g of Ramanagaram conducted eye camps.
Krof
5 The first phase of the eye camp was con! | ducted at Ramanagara Rotary Hospital.
puticnts were operated in this

HERALD

H8 JUL ^3

patients were given medicine and specta- &

cles.

j

I

In addition, Rotary Club of |
Ramanagaram regularly holds general |
health check-up camps every, month at
the Rotary Hospital. Rotary District 3190 $
has
chosen ■ Rotary
Club
of 3
Ramanagaram for the Governor’s j
Citation Award for its services.
• J
Rotary club of Ramanagaram has ded- h
icated its sendees to the cause of education. It has adopted two schools in J
Ramagiri and has distributed 1,000 notebooks to children studying at Pavitra ;T
Vidyarthi Nilayam, a school for child :?
workers. The Club has awarded students |
who have achieved distinction in the 7th [
and 10th standard examinations. To ‘
extend its service to the underprivileged *
students, Rotary Club of Ramanagaram H
distribute
distributes frpp
free studv
study kits with nofpnote- 3
books and school uniforms. Apart from $
this, the club also conducts vocational |
training.
"
Forfurther details contact:
Rtn. A.N.Nagaraja. Ph: 9448167860

r
I
I
['

THE HISDUT
,

.

■ '

'' •r'

d

We invite service organisations in
Karnataka to send in details of
projects and activities undertaken
recently. Letters may be addressed
to: Spectrum c/o Deccan Herald,
75, M G Road, Bangalore -560001
or e-mail us at
editor^ deccanherald.co.in

[

c
s.

c

c
c
c
c

c*
r

I

.

.

.

.

■

d

R

gdi

5S-,—

3

Hhndlaya R&D centre all set to take on HIV virus

v;.

j
]

n
J

]
]
J

.^Bangalore, July 17: TheHimaiftaya Drug Company is conduct[.' ing research on herbal drugs for
Xropical diseases like malaria
\Vand dengue, allergies, cancer’(?• breast and ovarian etc. "But it
may take 8-10 years to complete
Xour studies," says S K Mitra, executive director (research & tec< hnical services).
HIV is yet another area where
• 'Himalaya “is Tes^chin’g. Mitra
skvs "We have achieved some
3 success But
But the
the problem
problem is
is the
the
'Sncubation periodI of the virus
'/which is anywhere between 6

& months to 20 years. It hence bec*-omes very difficult to evaluate
’ Whe products".
Fi Himalaya is well-known for
I'its.strict protocols in research.

cers
----------- B M-'

]■

]

of aa pivuwk
product is done. "SuppArch
Uli VI

y

1

The centre has 70 scientists,
>8
As for Himalaya’s competit- move forward and improve ourscientists,>j
Only after the doctors approve
Alic AX3
na *»*-*^^
ion, especially with the entry of OCIVCO..
selves.. The
Rs AW
100 VAVAC*
crore yiixj
plus «AiWOUAJ
mostly PhDs and
MDs working.^
of the. —drug,
launch takes
* -01 the -----------------------ose we were working on a prod- place. Otherwise it is back to the multinationals into the state-of-the-art facility would be It is focused primarily on basic fj
completely
export aoriented
and of
research.
says the isprocess
healthcare
he would
uct
^HbSSaTac^ntly hasaport- s
‘herbal
ays?We'
don’t’rare market,
about comalso include
completely
productMitra
development
time J
shortlist some available
c
consuming,
tedious
and
J slow
herbs based on folio of 35 pharma products, the petition. We are confident of our automated R&D centre to work
-____ t I., tn being Liv 52, products. TUtimofolv
"
Ultimately tho
the mictru
custo- nn
on hin.fprh
bio-tech nrndHrtQ
products."
process. But, he adds that this
most prominent
rese­ —
<'’<ima1aYa available
• the
• king
‘
Speaking about the Himalaya insistence on long term reseaand will decide
arch and liter­ which was launched in 1955 and mer is
rch has paid rich dividends '
ature, both tra­ is today a global leader in the which product he wants. He will R&D centre set up in 1990 in
ditional and scientific and some hepatoprotective-lipotropic seg- always buy the best product and Bangalore, Mitra said, “Ours is with more than a 90 percent suc-£
cess rate. "We usually spend!
not
go
by
the
outer
shell
of
the
not
just
a
commercial
research
other herbs which we feel can ment. It alone has accounted for
“ •
centre. LL
It is. a complete
8-10 years on research, but fori
be used. We work on them indi- Rs 60-65 crore of the company’s product.".
.amalga-;
“I welcome the
mation of traditional medicine items like shampoos, it would g,
"I
2— product 'launc—
vidually. Then 3-4 herbs are total turnover of Rs 300 crore
combined to give minimum pha- last year.
■
hes by MNCs. Only then will the and science. Nobody else ^does be less, something like 3-4 m
years
rmacological effect and more
Asked if there were products people come to know the quality as much research as we do.
j_. ”.
therapeutic
which could reach Liv 52’s level, and effectiveness of our produHe says that the success behIHe adds that Himalaya's
- - USPji
-:
therapeutic effect.
effect.
scie-J
"Some
ind Himalaya is the unlimited . is their blending of ancientt scie"Some animal
animal studies
studies are
are Mitra says the products, Himpla- cts," he adds.
nee
and
modem
science.
"Ourt;
done
On the company's future freedom, especially financially,
done to
to establish
establish safety
safety and
and toxtox­ sia, Rumaliaforte and Menosan,
.uvivBjicology. standards -of the compo­ introduced last year were doing plans, Himalaya is starting a given to the R&D centre. The in- products are researched and’ de--I
veloped
und. Clinical trials, which are very well in India and could be manufacturing facility in Egypt vestment in the centre keeps flu- —
,---J according
j;-~ to WTO and*
is planning soon, Mitra said. On the propo- ctuating
double blind randomised trials as_ Ibig. The company ...
--.-x— from year to year dep- international norms. They are|
as
good
as
allopathic
drugs with- 3
are conducted by research offi­ to launch these products abroad sed facility to come up at Bidadi ending on the products researc-

Mitra explains how the resea-

£ByThanujaB M

THE HRWU
V

vl 8 JUL 2003

1

ASDS victim died
I ; due to terminal illness 1
indicated that the woman had cident was that there was a need
died due to terminal illness axis- to focus more on enlarging the ’
[NEW DELHI, JULY IS. The National ing out of the advanced stage of facilities for providing palliati’
.
in collaboration with die
JiAIDS Control Organisation (NA- AIDS.
‘
care
d
and the ccmm;
commu•ICO)
They said detailed enquiries private sector tmd
■;fCO) under the Union Health
.-.l family
r—.-i..members,
------ u— —
:ty for
Ministry today refuted reports with,
neigh- "nity
for AIDS
AIDS victims
victims who
who were
were
o ther members of the -*'
at terminal
stages off!illness
and j
—---------"---------- that a 32-year-old woman sufsuf- bours and other
V feringfrom AIDS in Andhra Pra- community in the small town1 for whom no treatment was <
'. desh had been stoned to death clearly showed that only her possible.
The Centre has already taken
-i close relatives were aware that
i, and said .....
that........
the..................
NGO which
? had made the allegation had she was suffering from AIDS steps in this regard and has so
done so without verifying the and there was no question of far established about 160 comher being a victim of social stig- munity care centres in different
.5 facts.
facts,
parts of the country.
to reporters, mem- ma.
it Speaking
Spea:
But, as this case proved, the ’
Meenakshi Dutta Ghosh, Pro. Ibers of a three-member com. adequate
.
igmittee sent by NACO to probe ject Director of NACO, said arnumbers were hardly
--------- —
o------------ u---------said all evidences major lesson learnt from the in- to meet
the—
burgeoning
need. ’
^gthe incident
inc
-■—~
------ ■—
11 •;*j0W5>Ar The victim had to soend
spend he
her ;
last days in her house in great =
main,
as
the
nearest
care
centre
■
jwas about 100 km away.
•
I Ms. Ghosh also emphasised ‘
|the need for NGOs to be cir­
cumspect while dealing with
AIDS cases.
He said that considering the !
social stigma attached to the
L disease, all endeavour must be
t-taken to avoid spncafinmlism
'J By Our Special Correspondent

U --

4T\

VJ

u’

13
i ■

I ■■■

■1;

31 *

■ ra

$

i' Kalam lays
‘AIDS is a
I stress on need
peaceful virus’
■I for low-cost lb MAPUTO, July 13 (AFP)
Libyan leader Moamer Kad’?> medical care
hafi told statesmen at the s;

I

I

closing of an African Union ?
(AU) summit in Maputo that
AIDS was a “peaceful virus”.
“AIDS, AIDS, AIDS. W'e
hear about nothing, else.
This is 'terrorism. This is
psychological warfare. AIDS
is a peaceful virus. If you
stay clean, there is no prob­
lem,” Kadliafi said in an im­
promptu 45-minute speech
~- which was supposed to
have been a short and sweet
th;
thank-you address at the end ; .t
of the summit.
H
■ Kadhafi’s address sound- jrl
ed a discordant note with a
trial under way in Libya in
which six Bulgarians — five
nurses and one doctor — and I j
a Palestinian doctor are ac­
cused of spreading an AIDS
epidemic in the country.
Inhere.
The defendants worked at
He expressed hope that like
a hospital in Benghazi, east |]
STB, HR7AIDS would also be- g of Tripoli,, when they were H
come curable one day.
gj
arrested in 1998 on charges h
Apparently referring to un- M of infecting'393 Libyan chil- **
safe sex which is one of the main
dren with the HR’ virus that
causes for the^ spread of p causes AIDS, through taint­
g ArDS/'HTV, he said educated peo- if ed blood products.
yj pie should spread the message M
But the case did not seem
that the disease can be prevented ql to bother Kahafi who told
.-3 by having a "clean life".
the African Union summit H'
1 Stressing the need for teach- $4$ that AIDS and malaria'^esg H
ing moral science in schools, es-^lff “God’s . forces defending
Specially to junior college stu-’R] Africa”'from recolonisatior? |
tYvn D rnri rl
1
rr
S!
J^4 dents, the
President, V'rrr'o
recalling
by the Western powers.
I his student days where he was
——i■J taught the subject, said "inclu-ll?
HERALD
Vp sion of moral science in school g
syllabi would teach students to^
lead a clean life".
&
jUu
Appealing for preventing disdij
crimination of HIV positive chil-.
.f dren in school, he said efforts^;
should be
onuiuu
uc niduc
made to
tu iiicmc
make ouvn
suchf?
3 students part and parcel of the
school.
The President, while under- ?
lining the need for parents and J
p. teachers to realise that HIV was J
r!not contagious, said it was his«j
mission to prevent discrimina-jtu
'/ tion of HIV-infected students in H
’ ^school.
____________
M PANCHGANI (M’rashtra), May 28

1 V
j (PTQ.
§ Underscoring the need to pro-}
£ vide effective "low-cost vaccines
§ and medical equipment", Presi- .p^
F dent A P J Abdul Kalam today;
J said scientists, technologists
jt and industrialists should ensure; J
$ the indjgei^pus producHon of ’ |
<niuv
•'jiucmv ttfinsA
uy
iii the equipment in
in-orde?*to
r|
’■downjhe
dpwm^he health eare coicSjP.. ’.
<j'^emendous effgrts
‘ be- ’
ing-. jnade to find
for if
AH dlLc«oco
n- T?'
«; Iir«\
HIV/zAID3.
AIDS. AH
diseases axe
are g^nb erally curable bift sortie arq diffi- T*
?! cult to cure.'
6i
But with God^^race, ulti- H
?Smately a cure would bS’found for B
$ the dreaded disease in arcade's ft
'fj time," the President said while jl.
speaking at the 90th anniversary C
celebrations of Bel-Air hospiti

1

I

I

ij;

AAAX*

X 1VU1UV44U,

T» UllV

r

i

i

p
0I

f'

I

f

t-

c

(

c
t

t

»

D3CCAN HERALD
i

(i

c
f

f

•]

.. .

2...

-

, ; ..'222

Ai

3
-4 ________

T

-1.

’.4

has WcSwoiS
in NK to prostitHtion’
i
HyW|:CAN HERALI

J
rW

p
- J

?
PH News Service ‘Courts of Women’ in countries
portunities making people pl
around the globe, where they more vulnerable, explained
i , KOLAR, July 20
H
address
issues
concerning
Rukmini Rao, from Deccan De- M
; The prevailing drought in Earwomen
sex
workers.
velopment Society in I
r nataka has forced many women
Ms Seshu, who presented a
’ : from the economically weaker
paper
on
‘
Violence
&
Vulnera
­
Rao also pointed out that the*
' 'sections of North Karnataka to
! take up sex work in Maharash- bilities,’ alleged that the Kar- Andhra Pradesh government’
co
ms
meena
se•
"
a
J
aka
t
80ver
V
ment
had
fad
ed
I ■ tra, according to Ms Meena Sein its Vision 2020 plan intends' J
; shu, who is associated with San- nfties' in^HmX'^f0PP^tU' to modernize agriculture and §
■ gram, an organisation working ^‘ ueht hit
°f heS6 which will displace around 40 -1
-with sex workers in Sangli.
drought-hit areas.
million farmers.
I
This was
was rPVPaUA
He,nc®’ "’omen who were
“But where will these people 1
This
revealed at an na; tional workshop on the South mainly depending on agricul­ go? The government has no an- 3
■ Asia Court of Women on the Vi- ture for their survival, had been swer for that,” Rukmini Rao ]
to migrate to Maharash­ has said.
I
. olence of . Trafficking and forced
tra, it is said.
The ‘Courts of Women’ are S
HIV7AIDS was held here on
“
We
never
know
that
women
Saturday and Sunday as a
an attempt to define a new y
preparatory meet for the worn- trafficking had occurred until space for women where the Is
it
was
done,
”
said
Manjima
: en’s court to be held in Dhaka,
voices of the survivors and reBhattacharjee, a worker from sistors can be heard.
! between August 11 and 13.
Jagori,
an
NGO
in
New
Delhi.
So far, there have been
The discussion at the two'■> day workshop focussed on the She explained that the entire courts held in different counprocess
of
sex
work
has
wors
­
tries. These courts are set up to vj
’ violence and vulnerability
J faced by sex workers, the con- ened because of moral panic, hear the voices of the survivors 3
;;
I flation between prostitution vulnerability of the sex worker and the resistors.
“They are not public hear- ?
[1 and trafficking, legalities in- and the absence of appropriate
legal
definitions.
!^TnSS'
fags’ bu' ^ep lUtentogs', “2'd !
H volved with trafficking and a
«
1 .a'V..2Ie.m2 Cori™.e Kumar. ‘he coordta- S
H presentation on the ‘Courts of
Law
does
not
give
us
rights,
but
tor of the ‘Courts of Women.’ V
M Women’ held around the world,
ra The Asian Women’s Human creates a lot of wrongs,”
The workshop was a joint ef- '
stressed
Ms
Donna
Fernandes
fort of the Oxfam GB, AATWIN, (
rt Rights Council (AWHRC) and of Vimochana.
M several other voluntary organiboth from Nepal, IMADR, Sri -'i
flsations, have been "holding
globali- Lanka, LHRLA, Pakistan and
abad-

’

•I JUL 2033

u

>

a
1 ■■

.1:
i:
w

J

<

| From Delhi brothels to home, it’s a long way a
j

QLim/^rrn urnmnn

I
I

4

DECCAN HERALD

3 JUL ZuUJ

At

1 '

F

j_____________

,

i

11

j:’

of New Delhi and Mumbai.
tim’s poverty was evident. Peo- now leading a normal life with 21
This flesh trade preys on pov- pie had pushed the women into her family in Shimoga.
H
erty, ignorance and sometimes the flesh trade in the guise-of
Anecdotal evidence' like this M
even kidnapping. “In one insta­ helping them.” In one case, a pu­ is mounting and points to an org-11
nce," said Parashuram of Odan­ erperal woman had been sold, anised ring.of traffickers
_ ....
.. .. hr
based
adi, “the mother herself sold her and in another, the girl rescued in Shimoga city and Bhadravati 13
daughter." Quite tragically, of was found to be mentally retar­ town. The victims are mostly 13
the six who returned to their ded, he said.
from rural areas and slums, said
families on Tuesday, three have
Begam Akhtar (names chan­ Stanley. * '
fl
tested HIV-positive.
ged) had handed over her 14
On one occasion, four girls of
it was a poignant reunion for year-old daughter Naseema to a destitute family were whisked
the girls and their families who the charge of a trusted relative off from a temple in Shimoga
met
met after
after aa gap
gap of
ofseveral
several years,
years, and sent her to work in a casse- city
cityafteraftertheythey had
had been
meetlnf overshadowed
ovefshadowed by
by tra
to'­ tte, sh0P in New Delhi for Rs knocked
a3 meeting
knocked unconscious
unconscious with
uma
uma and
and guilt,
guilt, and
and awash
awash in
in 1,000 a month. spiked prasadam, said Parashufr the lasTone mnnth GHan tears.
T’th“While the parents expre­ • But who should Taslima, anot- ram. Odanadi. he added, k also
ssed their
their gratitude,
gratitude, they
they were
were her
in the last one month, Odan- ssed
herwoman
womanfrom
fromShimoga.
Shimoga. hap.
hap- engaged in tracing the trail back
also worried
worried about
about their
their childchild­ pen
adi has reintegrated 16 women also
pen toto meet
meet on
on aa visit
visit toto New
New to the racket’s overlords
ren’s’sfuture,
future,””he
hesaid.
said. .
y aged between 14 and 27, expos- ren
Delhi?
Odanadi would talk to the resDelhi? Who
Who else
else but
but Naseema
Naseema
n mg the tip of human trafficking
Odanadi founder-member Sta- who had been coerced into prospros­ cued victims and help them
nleysaid
saidthat
that ““inin most
mostof
ofthese
these titution.
jj on a massive scale from Shim- nley
titution.Luckily,
Luckily,Taslima
Taslimamanamana­ cope with the trauma, said Fathcases, exploitation
exploitation of
of the
the vicvic- ged
F °ga- dlstrict t0/he megapolises cases,
ged toto rescue
rescue Naseema
Naseema who
who isis ima, the NGO’s counsellor.
Shimoga, June 17: Six out of
20 women recently rescued from
brothels in New Delhi were rei­
f.w ntegrated
iKt^iaLcu with
wAui uieu
their lajiuiies
families ill
in
B the Bhadravati and Shimoga taiL uks by the NGO Odanadi early
on Tuesday on the directions of
a Delhi High Court order of
April
Apri! 22.
22.
*
Later in the day, Shimoga polhelp of the Mysoreice with the heip
nnSA2fTi5 d

j ;

T.-ri+l-.

NGO helps Shimoga women reunite with family, two suspects arrested
By Ramachandra V Gunari

1

r •’

1 OTP

?^>g<

T

.A

................

.....’7T

j AIDS patient may nave
, been cremated alive: NCW
treme example of stigma and
discrimination leading to a
new Delhi, JULY 17. The Nation- pathetic death in the backyard
al Commission for Women of her brother’s house, un­
nameu by
uy u.c
the nviguuvuu.wu
neighbourhood
■’(NCW) chairperson, Poornima wanted
? toy Advani told reporters' here
and society. The crematorium,
. . . ....
--.day that the 32-year-old HIV/ where tire last rites were P
p"er*
A1DS patient, Poonamma — formed does not maintain aa
who died under mysterious record of the dead.
circumstances at Kuppam vilA victim of poverty, social1
lage of Chittoor district in stigma, discrimmation and
Andhra Pradesh on July 3 — isolation, Poonamma was also
could have been cremated made a victim of "organised
j
carelessness” and was let
alive by her family.
The NCW team, which vis- dowm by individuals and instiited the village earlier tKis national structures, Ms. Adva­
week reached this conclusion ni said. Her death became a
after it found "no evidence to major controversy-after the loprove IPoonamma’s death", cal newspapers reported it
The possibility of a “live and and non-govemmental orgalingering" Poonamma having nisations alleged that she had
been cremated cannot be been “stoned to death” by the
mled out, Ms. Advani said. • /villagers. The allegations of
The Andhra Pradesh Chief her being “physically killed”
Minister, Chandrababu Nai- could not be,- substantiated,
du, represents the Kuppam but the NCW team concluded
that Poonamma was “driven
Assembly constituency’.
"There is no confirmation to death" by the withdrawal of
of death even when Poonam­ social and institutional sup­
ma reached the cremation port.
The team spoke to 28 per
ground," Ms. Advani said, de­
. ­’
i--'- -1;-~ police
—
and
scribing the.death as an ex­ sons, including

By Our Staff Correspondent

I AIDS &?ethics

medical officers, individually £
and interacted with 180 peo-^
pie during a public hearing atj?
the village. “In tire absence off'

K--

a ciear tjme of death, the team£

wondered whether Poonam-i-;
ma — while she was alive and j/
lingering — was bundled anV|
transported to the crematorf-f
um. The time of her death had?
not been established bv an in-Jj
dependent witness except forsi
the version of her mother and
brother. There is no corroboratjve evidence — not even z.,.
certificate by the doctor — tog
emphatically say whether sheB
jjgj1 at her house, during*!
transportation while being;!
•
■ crematorium orfl
taken
to the
on the pyre,” Ms. Advani said.y
Even worse was the fact thatil
she. yvas cremated1 at a placets
meant for the Scheduled;^
Castes. Her family refused to>;|
pick up the ashes fearing thew-4
would contract the “disease”.®
Poonamma tested positive?]
positive?!
for HJV/A1DS in June last year.-ii
yearAj
heigi
and came to stay with her
mnthor
and
brother
H
up
tO-JJ
mother
due tc|
Iack of medical facilities.
f

pgJUL ?0U3
....

c.

4■I

r*

r-

‘0^7-7%?^ H■
r
r^^^TheSSS
? year-old |

WHO chief
targets AIDS

Sir, There is a Global Business
Coalition (GBC) of over 100 in­
ternational businesses dedicat­
ed to combating the AIDS epi­
t geneva: The new Directordemic. GBC works with bodies j General of the World Health
Organisation, Jong Wook Lee
like CH in India, Asian Busi­
of South Korea, who took
ness Coalition and so on. But
office
on Monday, vowed to
the Indian companies are reluc
tant to adopt the ILO code of | provide three million HIV/
AIDS patients in poor
practice on HIV/AIDS in the
work place. ELO stipulates that j . countries with key anti­
all industries which have morel retroviral drugs within two
than 50 workers should adopt f years. Mr. Lee said in an
this code of practice. How cornu
come inaugural speech here that
mainr
nntL he wanted to strengthen the
major Indian rnmnanic^
companies rln
do not^
hnvp a writtpn
n0r^t? npolicy!
011C^i U.N. health agency’s role in
have
written C0r
corporate
its fight against the HIV/
f<j on HIV/ AIDS prevention, care‘ AIDS pandemic, with the
p and cure in the work niece
place?’
ifa “Three by Five” programme
:.a
Major companies like Infos- £ guiding most of its work,
M ys and Wipro have more than 66
WHO said in a statement.
q per cent young employees in p
N the age group of 25-35 and they®
|fl should adopt the ILO code witha
ft out any delay. Both Azim Pre- g
H mj i and Narayana Murthy are, S
m in fact, on the India board of H
L3 Bill & Melinda Gates Founda- R
i'l tion which has launched majors
A initiative to fight HTV/AIDS. d
MANU N KULKARNI
Bangalore
Vxl-A-

I

I

£

Lee also
§ aimed to H
t tackle theM
shortage
health can^
staff
w
■r v
worldwdderl
and shift il
more
resources away from WHO A
headquarters to areas where
people lack basic health carc%’
The former chief, Grol’
Harlem Brundtland, brought^
about sweeping changes at 7
the top of the health agency.sidelining David Heymann, t
the head of WHO’s
communicable diseases
L >
se c n o n. — AFP_____ ..l.iiiii—V?.
-

r

JUL

Dvr Sri

'Q2CCA N KER A L D

r-1 $ JUL 20U3

a

(

■■

€

I

____ j

1/ _J lllr, I I.M

J

'_.j'

------ ------

7

‘

‘

;

■

I

i MWwy
I
L

Staying owe
with Madiba
11 o

I

1

t

i

1

I

If you missed the great Nelson Mandela
last week on MTV, catch him again on
July 24, where he speaks on freedom, '
identity, and various issues that
concern humankind.

TSE SI23'^

0

JUL 033

r

A/TTV HOSTED the show
JLVJL Meeting Mandela: /A staying
Alive Special, celebrating the life
: of the great rights activist and
former President of South /Xfrica,
Nelson Mandela in honour of his '
85th birthday, on July 18.
The 60-minute special featured
Mandela’s responses to
controversial issues facing the
youth today and on matters
relating to HIV/AIDS awareness,
Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and
politics in Burma. This was the
first global!}' televised event on
Mandela.
The show was premiered on
■ MTV Networks India, on July 18, 2
p.m.. Doordarshan (DD) Metro
also telecast the special on July
18. There will, however, be a
repeat on July 24, 10.30 p.m..
Produced in association with
the Nelson Mandela Foundation,
UNAIDS, the World Bank, the
Kaiser Family Foundation &
Family Health International’s
YouthNet, the show marks the
2003 debut of the Staying Alive
HIV/AIDS awareness campaign
and premiered on MTV and other
■ ii ( broadcasters globally from July 18
to a potential audience'of more
than two billion people.
■ The show is being offered rights
free to all third part}’ broadcasters
.worldwide and many broadcasters
have signed up to air the show
including CCTV (China),
Doordarshan (India), SABC (South:
Afrcia), TV Africa (pan-African
network), Network Ten (Australia),
ICP (Israel), ERT (Greece), YTR
T (Yugoslavia), CCN TV6 (Trinand &
Tobago), and Channels 3 & 7
'■ (Guatemala), among others. For
y. 4 the second year in a row, the
s (| European Broadcasting Union
; • .’’. (EBU) will distribute the
■ j 1'campaign’s programming fre<;e via
®!?fe*’satellite to its 71-member
broadcasters in 52 countries in
Europe, North Africa, and the
UV} Middle East. _____

The show was also on air in the .z‘3U.S. on July 18, 8 p.m. (ET/PT), as
part of the network’s Emmy
t.
Award-winning Fight For Your
Rights: Protect Yourself Campaign, f
an ongoing effort to educate and
empower young people on their
sexual health.
Other elements of the campaign S
— which focuses on HIV/AIDS, , ■.
other STBs and unintended
pregnane.- — .include one of the
most comprehensive sexual health
web sites for young people;
. grassroots events and advocacy
opportunities nationwide; and an
extensive resource and referral
service (1-383-BE SAFE 1) that
connects viewers to local STD
testing climes, pregnancy
counselling, and a free sexual
health guide.
For other premiere dates on
MTV channels around the world,
visit wwwjtaying-alive.org.
"Young people face so many
difficult decisions to make in life
today,” Netson Mandela observed.
“It is impenant to talk openly
about subjects such as HIV/AIDS,
war, polin’ tai leadership, and
religion, so that young people can
make informed decisions about
these issues, and to understand
that they have the most vital role
to play in helping to shape the
future. It has been a pleasure.
meeting the young people
participating in MTV’s programme
because, uidmately, it is their lives
and futures we are all
celebrating.’
“Nelson Mandela is one of the
most important figures in history,”
said Ms. Knowles, “and I was
incredibly excited to host this
special on .'.FFV to celebrate his
extraordinary life. I hope
audiences around the world are
touched by the young people who
travelled so far to meet with
Nelson Mandela to share their
credible stories of hope and
compassion.’

t

I

I

Slii-liArrwaamEf

i

1

vaccine trialin India|
to begin in 2004
I------------ ■

■______ PH News Service

r-

~~
•---------- ’
3 A ?deterred by/16 faiJure of tbe world’s first antii Vnv?’Vaccine developed by a US-based company
fX^ ’TAerUSf^mTherion Biologic Corp^

I
I

-

■
random“d- double :-d. I
P^cebo-confron^^i^^^eSls
eorn^on. source^f^nZn^^S^

HeS'’6 MVI> tha‘ SUPPOrt£ thc trial toW -’’ian |
.
t-

J "A
3
*

I

SK

widely prevalent in India. Initially the tritds wdI be
B X L *" N.'umbai-puM ^810" in collaboration
With National Aids Research Institute (NAM)
I’ Pune.
;
Pune10

► :

tria? W0Ujd be conducted on between
v? heaJthy volunteers to evaluate the safety of
ne and t0 See *
enerate adequate
if il
it can S
generate

feuj^e reSP0nSe t0 fight 016 dreaded virus. Q

"-a

iu evaluate tne immune re-«

■ Volunt^rs^be sereened up to 4-6 weeb J
en„
n erS
“■'™ UP ‘0
w
SteXTi"' ““ WiU be followed for 12
J months^’
^ vaccination.
Indian
follows the failure nf
AIDS
vac-cintrial
’etoftb^W
°f.
i
m reoruary
The vaccine
vaccme although was safe for.hum;
for human u_- itS
NnrthOtAPrOteCt 1116 patients
hum^SiTil

ho^o^sr11 Europe thereby dashks M
____

DECCAN HERALD

’2 0 JUL Z0{]3
■ A

F
-

i

67

1
j

ta • ... 1 uc/i/ze, bgi but Uf bC& . .. ’ va

-1 ’k-/

j

!

A- C-+ XX

X. 'o’X

•—-HU

ib 1

I HIV affected 0
children
|

c

| Ill treatment .’of AIDS patients and ignorance V
g about the disease is widespread in the country I

he.brutal murder of Poonamma, a 32-year-old woman L
PH News Service
g
suffering from ’ HIV/AIDS, in a • village in Andhra £nJ BANGALORE,
July
20
&
x-AixurMJuvjriib, umy zu
cp
Pradesh should serve as a wake-up call to authorities ^Hundreds of employees, of belli
| and activists on the extent of ignorance that exists in this- Eftoday took to the road early to3
fl in a Champion road run foil
□ country with regard to
tn this disease.
disease While initial reports sug- ,&ay
.Igiay
fo$a
fehe
gested that Poonamma was stoned to death, an investigation igthe benefit of HIV
HIV positive chil3
chilj|
conducted by the National Commission for Women (NCW) ^ren
Freedom Foundation.|
has revealed that she might have been cremated alive. IJsSome
^ome 16
16 children
children from
from the
the Free^
Free^
- - ' ’
Whether or not Poonamma was alive when she was cremated, Pi’—Fof7
imda
^o?b we£e ti?n' /’ i
run-3
the fact remains that she was murdered because she suffered Igspot to
t0 flag
’g off
° the
e °off the
e run
$
li-mers. •
•
|
from
AIDS
and
her
existence
had
become
a
“
bother
”
for
her
'
.
.
v.l
!•
The runners were joined by|
family and others. Before the murder, she was also callously gjsports .celebs - commentator^
denied individual, societal and institutional help. for her -ill- ||Charu Sharma, former athlete^
gmess. .4-10
As the INV/Tf
NCW team
pointed out, iPoonamma
former
cri|i
lvcuij. has
iiwo p>oi44i.t.n
uuiiaiiima wa§
»va^ IgAshwini
IMAblBVUH Nachappa,
INaCllctpyd, 1U1
WC1 Cl
IS ;
| “driven to death” by the withdrawal of social and institution- ;:|cketer
KI
Icketer Syed Kirmani and Oly-p
Oly-g:
I support. The details of -the
torture and
that • ^mpian Hockey player Asbish^l
gaif-;;------------------- humiliation
SPoonamma
$Poonamma was
was subjected
subjected to
to in
in the
the weeks
weeks before
before her
her murder
murder DBallal.
Sare appalling and call for stern action against the people who 11 Freedom • Foundation was|
Sabetted the crime.
d presented with a cheque of Rs
H
T4.
uu
4.
xr
x
j•
-n
»
x
occasion.
d
It would be tempting for many to dismiss Poonamma s sto- ; lakh onwasthe
the sum
total ofThe4
J
Hry as an isolated mcident that took place m a remote rural g participation fee collected byi
h pocket. The truth is that the sort of ignorance that led to | Dell employees matched by anM
[J Poonamma’s killing is not a mere rural phenomenon. Such £ equal contribution by the com|l OHCCPrE HERALD
g,ignorance is widespread in cities as well, even among thefepany
'• > ; '
%
S very well educated. It is a fact that many, including doctors,
K‘-are unaware or the causes of HIV/AIDS and how it spreads. |j
\j vy
-7"
1

1

|

•2 n jol

.r.-- . -1-

i. ■

c
c
c:

A

41

A

A

A

_-v j-

*
h denied medical assistance in hospitals, thrown but of jobsM
"
”
•
7
|
^ and denied accommodation in residential areas. There have p Run to help HIV pOSltlVG kids
bi been innumerable examples of hospices for HIV/AIDS pa-f
The first Dell champion road run for the benefit of HTV Posi- §
r.tients being forced to close down.or shift under pressure by |
tive children of Freedom Foundation will be held on July 20. Th^
■s’ the residents of the neighbourhood. Unfortunately, in such |
‘leases, the Government has just looked the other way. The bat-1 run will begin at 8.30 am at the Police Parade Ground, M G RoadS
and pass through M G Road, Kamaraj Road and Cubbon Road beg
Htle against HIV/AIDS can be won only if ignorance sur-.g fore returning to the starting point.MrMohanSKharbanda “3
grounding the
the illness
illness is
is tackled
tackled first.
first. HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS patients
patients are g vice
yroundmg
Vice President and General Manager, Dell International Service^
victims of the worst forms of discrimination and often of illg win run along with sports celebrities including Ashwini
£
treatment. It is time the Government intervenes decisively on^
Nachappa, Syed Kirmani and Ashish Ballal.
fe
onNachappa,
gtheirbehalf,
J
.i
theirbehatf.
. |-f
7> W
(\ U. .._

A-

A

Ur

DECCAN HERALD

•2 0 JUL 2003

JUL 20J3
A

e
A

c
c
i

I

C

c

c
c

c
i

fc7

.......................... .....................

4,

j feme to sin

.- 4

0
J

V
“1

■»

x

1

]

*

1

|
I DEPLORE the proposal of
| the Karnataka State Women’s
i Commission to licence prostitu3 tion. On a heart to heart level, I
a have spoken and related with
1 ' enough and more prostitutes in
1 Kolkota who always longed for, a
•] new lease of life. When brothels
i are raided, the women are arrest3 ed, not the men!
3
My experience in Kolkota has
1 only strengthened my conviction
I that these women are victims of
q circumstances that society is to
i blame for. 1 have also grown with
i the conviction that no Indian
ij woman would opt for prostituJ tion even in the face of the worst
form of poverty. The mental
1 trauma of already allowing one's
g body to be abused will further be
aggravated and intensified if we
licence prostitution. We would
only be telling these already hap­
less women that they are no
more humans — they are only
"sex things". It also startled me to
realise that in this deeply reli­
gious country of ours, even pros­
titutes feel haunted by the idea of
SIN and the guilt attached to it
and have longed to make their
confession. Licence to prostitu­
tion or licence to sin?
Let the women's commission
dwell on rooting out the causes
leading to prostitution.
— Rev Fr Adolf Washington
Bangalore

I

V

and therefore legalising prostitu­
tion is a logical and mandatory
step in the current scenario.
— Vijayakumar
Narayanappa

Fiiliy jiistifieii

women need to be brought to jus­
tice.
So provisions of the
Immoral Traffic Control Act
need to be invested with more
teeth. What is needed is not
license for prostitution but the
will to end it by striking at the
very roots of the problem. And
the problems that drive women
into the immoral traffic — pover­
ty, hunger, ignorance, illiteracy
— also need'to be addressed on a
war footing. And also, the
women liberated from the broth­
els must be given financial assis­
tance to rebuild their shattered
lives, or alternatively, they must
be employed in village and cot­
tage industries.
— I3H Shanmukhappa,
Davanagere

THE need for licensing prosti­
tution, as suggested by the
Women’s Commission, is fully
justified. One must not forget
tliat this profession found accept­
ance from all cultures and civi­
lizations throughout the world.
Those who malign it as unethical
and cry hoarse must remember
that this profession flourished in
ancient times, in India also, in a
dignified way, as the system of
Devadasis or those serving the
Almighty. These Devadasis were
given a status in society as custo­
dians of fine arts, dance, drama
and music and were mostly asso•ciated with temples and even got
WHAT is a decent mode of
patronage from many kings.
7 “The apprehension of any dan­ livelihood? Any job in which our
ger in licensing the system is skills are well recognized, well
unfounded. There is nothing rewarded and our self-esteem
secretive or sinful about it, as boosted and any job that is not
everyone knows that this is looked down upon by any section
being practised clandestinely, in of the society is good enough. We
high societies, with impunity. should be able to carry out our
When we have high profile call jobs willingly with pride and our
girls, with hefty earnings, only children and family members
the poor, who have no other should also be able to respect our
means of livelihood and turn to jobs and us.
Prostitution cannot be includ­
. prostitution, are harassed by the
law of the land. It is the respon­ ed in the list of jobs that fulfill
sibility of society to protect the above features. Most often
these poor women. Licensing, prostitution is thrust on inno­
ensuring them proper medical
cent souls by compulsive circum­
care and educating them about stances. Prostitutes are looked
THE move by the State the hazards of unsafe sex can go down upon by society and the
Women's Commission to licence a long way in improving their children and family members cers will make huge profits at the
suffer a social ban. Neither are cost of society and this will go on
prostitution is bold and progres- standards of living.
The profiteers and politicians
the prostitutes happy and proud without any control. Then the
"sive. The sexual urge is a biologiwho are ruling and ruining our of their job. They are abused remedy will be worse that the
cal phenomenon. While other
land are more harmful to society physically and mentally and cure. At present, even in the best
species have an open opportunity to satisfy their urges it is reg­ than these poor prostitutes.
their self-esteem is shattered. In laboratory with the best workers
ulated in human society. While Licensing the profession can go a fact, a civilized society should and the best co-operating prosti­
dating is common th western long way to help those in it, with
work towards eradication of this tutes and their customers, a doc­
'countries, Indian culture is not social security, so long as we are profession and rehabilitation of tor cannot definitely say whether
open to it. Not all people can unable to rehabilitate them.
prostitutes to bring them into the a person is harbouring the AIDS
virus. If a person is declared as
— Kalyanraman V S mainstream.
afford -to set up a family and a
home. Naturally, in a country
The terrible health hazards in virus free by the best diagnosis,
the very next minute he or she
where 35% of people live below
this profession should awaken
the poverty line this is a luxury.
the society to unmediately put a can test positive due to a new sex­
They are naturally forced to visit
stop to this sale of body for banal ual contact.
Due to all these practical diffi­
IT IS unfortunate that the pleasures. The institution of
prostitutes secretly notwith­
State
Women’s marriage was very well thought culties. the busy prostitutes will
standing laws against it. In an Karnataka
unlicensed and secretive sex Commission has advocated the of and is the best solution to a sit at their shop and send their
trade regime, they become vic­ need for licensing prostitution to civilized way of living. Being papers to the specialists through
tims of AIDS and HIV and these ensure better health for sex aware of all the repercussions, if their agents or brokers for cer­
diseases may engulf the whole workers. Licensing an inhuman
we still want to recognize prosti­ tificates of fitness. Where is the
country unless steps are taken to system is unthinkable. It is an illtution as a profession and guarantee that the customers
licence the trade and carry out conceived and ill-advised propo­ legalise it, it only shows we lag will restrict their sexual activity
periodical medical check up. sition. You can’t conceive of far behind. Of course licensing to the so called 'safe methods'
Prudish people will always prostitution as a profession. It - will save prostitutes from being particularly when they are
would be naive to expect health harassed by greedy policemen or drunk? With the licensing of
oppose this on moral grounds.
This has to be overcome. I wish care in a system which degrades cons but will never solve their prostitution anti-social activities
the State Women's Commission the very womanhood by treating other problems like social rejec­ like drug trafficking, canvassing
them as tools of sex.
every success.
tion, mental torture, uncared for for political seats and many
Apart from degrading the dig- children, spread of dreadful dis­ other corrupt practices will
— M M Kotian.
Hebbal nity of the fair sex and leaving eases and finally increase in flourish side by side.
them traumatized for life, the crime rate because socially
Under the present circum­
flesh trade subjects women to rejected children will only turn. stances keeping in mind the
physical and mental torture, out to be vengeful criminals!
existing political and judicial
LEGALISING prostitution exposes them to hazardous and
— Sudha Narasimhachar, system, the correct remedy
would help to eliminate harass­ horrendous living conditions,
Bangalore towards eradicating prostitution
ment and torture of prostitutes and finally leaves them invari­
will be to educate the poor
by police and antisocial ele­ ably vulnerable to the demonia­
women-folk and empower them
ments. This would allow these cal AIDS.
. financially. Intensive propagan­
Prostitution is an evil that
women to live in dignity and
da and public health education
regain their lost morality Even needs to be eradicated from the
• about the ill effects of prostitu­
IF
WE
implement
this
new
the number of 'rape cases would face of the earth and not a civition will go a long way in eradi­
drastically come down thus help­ lized institution to be promoted. . idea, a very large number of cating superstition, poverty etc.
It is a negation of, and inimical applications will come up from thereby minimizing the problem.
ing society in a big way.
politically and economically well
Of course, the consequence of to, the institution of marriage,
-/IS Hamesh Chandra,
legalising would also have an whose importance and signifi­ off people with bogus names to
Bangalore
adverse impact on our youth
cance as a basic human need start prostitution rackets. The
with an easy access to sex and needs to be highlighted. Needless poor prostitute may not get any
chances of AIDS being spread to say, prostitution is an unmiti­ money but the official and non­
would increase unless proper gated shame on our civilization. official agents concerned with
measures are taken such as edu­ Forcing unsuspecting women, the oldest profession like the
IF YOU witness how cases’
whether adults or i.inors, into licensing authorities, public
cating masses about the pitfalls.
If we look at the pros and prostitution1 is a > ue, and the health saleguarding medical per­ against the poor sex workers are
--- 1 . anderpetrators
dealt with, you would immedi­
sons and other agents backed by
1
cons, there are definitely more middlemen
ately come to know that the ban
against the politicians and tainted offibenefits compared to drawbacks of the worst

Will not solve

ail [irelilems

| Progressive move
|
|
■
’
t
i
;
j
'

Strike at the roots

I

1:

Logical steji

!

Remedy mav
he worse

Licensing will
iitierate nrostitutes

........■

1

..............................................=

r9

M

.'^febWI.LIOIOUSWUE<jr MADAM... 6lGGL-£.~
WIU- WE HAVE TO GET

L6AKN6fi’5

FltoT?/
X<NCWG .

0 0

0 '□

o
0ooO°

crences are made towards prostilutes. Many efforts were made to
eradicate prostitution through
legislation at times imposing vio­
lent barbaric punishment. All
these efforts were in vain. It will
remain as long as society exists.
Whether it is licensed or not,
it will continue to exist. Under
these circumstances it is better
to legalise prostitution. If it is
legalised, it has got certain
advantages. At one level, you can
stop harassment, we can bring
an end to exploitation by the
middle men. police personnel
etc. Once their profession gets
legalised prostitutes can demand
better amenities and they can
hope to improve their lifestyle.
They can demand medical bene­
fits. Their social outlook gets a
facelift.
— Inanular Ramchandra,
Bangalore

Shouklnothe
legalised
.

I !

.

PROSTITUTION is a stigma
for any country or society. It is
ironical that we celebrated the

The conlrailiciion
LICENSING of prostitution
is a must in the present day situ­
ation of HIV/ AIDS epidemic. In
the absence of licensing also one
cannot stop this practice for rea­
sons known. The contradiction
is that the activists will become
promoters of law breakers if
they openly distribute condoms
to this section (to those who prac­
tice prostitution).
There is more danger in not
licensing. Chances of corruption
creeping in among those who
have the power to punish (police
and politicians) are great,
in getting
""There: is noJdanger
~
labelled as those who are shy of
getting labelled will secretly
practice it any way. The living
condition of these sex workers
will definitely improve as they
will have easy access to health­
care and they don't have to part
with part of their income to
those who exploit them, (pimps
and corrupt officials).
The stigma attached may go
off in the long run. Those who
feel that it is morally wrong and
the medical community who has
to educate this section can easily
identify them and do tlieir part.

Our readers are divided on Karnataka Women’s Commission ^men^wermau wmr last
— Dr Hema
chief’s suggestion to license prostitution. While many have
iris^he
....^..t
of
shamelessness
that
assailed it as morally repugnant as it will promote permissive- height"
this is being advocated by a Eternal social
women's organ isat ion
institution
ness, a vocal section hails the suggestion as a logical step
1 wonder what the proponents
THE GREAT Maharshi
of
'legalizing'
prostitution
would
which can result in a better lite tor the much maligned sex
•
i is a
feel if they get into a brothel and Kaiwe said that prostitution
permanent social institution and
see
their
own
daughter
or
sister
workers. Here are some of the responses
or a close relative selling her it can never be rooted out from

our social system. It is a neces­
flesh for money?
on prostitution is only a farce. own interest as well as the cus­
Legalizing prostitution has sary social evil. The Karnataka
You will see those detained and tomers for whom they render both positive as well as negative Women's Commission has right­
fined are always those employed their 'service.' Further, those implications. The negative impli- ly said that prostitution has to be
an outlet can approach
and not those who exploit them. who want
wiuivui .ecu v. —j
— cation is that it encourages men licensed. But it is said that some
These exploiters are the real cul­ them without fear of any kind.
Presently,
a person is drawn into to look at women only as objects. NCOS are against the licence.
prits. as they are the elements
Prostitutes have raised their
The positive implication is that
who force them into the illegal the profession by deliberate foul the licensing effort can benefit voice and claimed that any
trade. And immediately after the methods; we can expect this the sex-workers with healthcare attempt to abolish this institu­
once pros­
trial, the fine is paid by the practice also waning
is a violation of human
.ovm, —
as those who assistance and educational sup- tion
exploiters and lo, those who are titution is licensed,
.This is their source of liv­
and
consenting (port
for tlieir children from the rights.
die
nunitb
. .................................. c
------willing
t
punished for the illegal practice are
ing and the government cannot
would
only
get
into
the
profesgovernment
directly.
However.
are back to continue it!
do away with this. Prostitution
' ...iii u- i.c™ic always
altvnvc a
n threat
threat for
for
Hcensing is
It would be a mere folly to sion. There will be salvation for women themselves, men as well has prevailed in all the countries
raise objections to licensing this ailment also, once prostitu­ as family and society. Moreover, for centuries. There was no fear
prostitution in the name of safe­ tion is licensed under proper­ the law should be more proscrip­ of HIV/A1DS till recently. There
guarding our tradition and cul­ medicare and strict legal terms.
— Malarniannan, tive rather than pragmatic, since are areas like Kamatipura in
ture because, whetlrer we admit
Bangalore legalization will only encourage Mumbai and also in other cities
it or not. it has been the world's
prostitution and it would lead to generally called red light areas.
oldest profession in every known
an ever more permissive society. Customers include scientists,
civilisation from time immemo­
We should try to find out why professors, officers, business
rial. It would continue to be so
some women choose prostitution people and young as well as old
whether we wish to curtail it or
as
their profession and if it is people. The fear of the govern­
SHOULD we or not license
not. Prostitution is run by the
ment is the rapidly spreading
- ele— prostitution? There is not a sin- due to poverty try and put an end HIV/AIDS. This has to be viewed
underworld and -anti social
ments wherever it is banned and gle girl who will enter this pro- to their misery
Legalizing the sex trade will very seriously.
sadly, the most exploited in the fession for mere pleasure for her­ bring about a whole gamut of
No doubt there is religious
trade are the unfortunate souls, self. It is a plain truth that only new social problems, especially sanction against this. But who
who are driven to undertake that economical grounds force her health related ones. In a country bothers today. about religious
profession. The middlemen/ into this profession. She needs to with an alarming growth rate of scriptures and sanctions.^ I here
women grab the lion's share of be give,en all possible health care AIDS it's ridiculous toeven think are various reasons which com­
the booty while those who are leading
*!- to a better living condi­ of legitimizing prostitution.
pel men to take recourse to pros­
instrumental for income-genera­ tion. This is possible only
Instead of advocating licens­ titution.
tion go half-fed, half clothed and through licensing the profession ing and elevating sex as an
In my book 'Street girls and
untreated. The future of a sex with all the seriousness it niuusu
6—----- - Immoral Traffic I have narrated
industry,J. women'so v.
organisations
worker is in gloom as she grows deserves. When you cannot think should partner with NGOs who the prevalence of prostitu ion
old. There is no social security or of eliminating it. it is only pru­ are against the flesh-trade and even
among college eirls.
girls, burkah
pvoh nmnne
guarantee for her to face 'rainy dent to license it.
do something beneficial for clad women. 13 year old girls and
—
V
Jayakumar.
days.'
50 year old women, irrespective
Bangalore them.
There is also no proper health
It's not a profession, which of religion and caste. They want
care when she is 'productive.' A
gives you a ’pride. It's a kind of money and men want flesh.
sex \worker is miserably at the
Thus, since no government
stigma for a person, for a civi­
clutches of criminals through­
can prevent prostitution, all that
PROSTITUTION is as old as lized society as well as a country is necessary is to prevent
out her career, as she cannot take
like India which claims to be cul­
the risk of operating independ­ man himself. Throughout the turally sound. And for the sake of Hl V/AIDS. There should be peri­
ently in the absence of legal ages we have glorified and pro- a few sexually frustrated people I odical check ups and the result
sauuuvu for m
.v trade.
... Licensing tected prostitution in one or the
sanction
the
should be recorded and the cer­
prostitution will in fact liberate other form. During Vedic period. am completely against sacrific­ tificate be available at any point
those poor souls from the nexiiji prostitutes received education in ing those innocent lives.
An open question for those of time. Licence should be
of criminals
and
law the form of music, dance and who are advocating licensing: If issued. NGOs should play a more
were
looked
in
high
esteem.
In
makers/enforcers. It will enable
is legalized, will you let your helpful role in ensuring posses­
them to fully derive the benefits some parts of Southern India, it
or daughter or wife to sion of valid licences by the pros­
from what they earn. Licensing prostitutes were considered as sister
titutes.
will also ensure regular and good omen, and they were invit­ ''practice-' this trade?
— Mumtaz Ali Khan.
— Smiti Bharti,
Bangalore
proper health care for them, ed to marriage ceremonies. Even
Bangalore
Mahabharata, positive refwhich is most essential in their in the
----- -•
*---- - X

Prudent to license

i

Good idea

0

-

_.!_____

"'■-9

burden to
From D Ravi Kanth

DH News Service
V GENEVA. July 21

As Dr Lee Jong-Wook — a public health
. specialist from South Korea and a leading
flight in polio eradication — takes over of• 'fi'ice on Monday as Director-General of the
•IWorld Health Organization, hopes are
..fpinned on his leadership to tackle the es- calating disease burden in poor cotmtries.
«? Unlike his high-profile predecessor and
.-former Norwegian prime minister Gro
xHarlem Brundtland. Dr Lee is a WHO-in\sider with strong public health creden■ ‘ tials. His election to WHO’s top job was a
■I tough race in which he won the final lap
by just one vote.
.1 Dr Lee told Deccan Herald last week
hat he was fully involved in the polio
• iradication campaign and has visited
J Bangalore and Hyderabad several times to
* n ersee the eradication programme.
I "If I could succeed in polio-eradication,
! vhy can’t I bring measurable results in
J ackling- HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and
J nalaria?’.’ he asked.

Dr Lee was involved in his country’s Lee said he would not wait for "one sec­
leprosy programme and, subsequently, ond" to impose such a ban if required.
moved to the WHO to look after polio erad­
Dr Lee concedes that there have been
ication.
failings in accomplishing the public
His motto is guided by three princi­ health' goals set out in the Alma Mata decples: "We must do the right things. We laration some 25 years ago: "Health for all
must do them in the right places. And we by 2000.”
must do them the right way”
He says there is urgent need to revisit
He promised to issue a new global plan the declaration all over again.
by December 1 to address HIV/AIDS.
Similarly he agrees that trade-related
"HIV/AIDS will be given a renewed em­ intellectual property right provisions of
phasis as one of WHO’s priority pro­ the World Trade Organization should not
grammes, particularly focusing on the tar­ come in the way of addressing public
get of providing three million people in health problems.
developing countries with antiretroviral
And he also disagrees sharply with the
drugs by the end of 2005 (the “Three by criticism levied on the private sector for
Five” goal),” Dr Lee said.
not engaging seriously in the health sec­
Similarly, he says he will strengthen tor, and asserts that if proper partner­
the global surveillance division to track ships are designed with the private sector
down communicable diseases such as the they can deliver results.
recent SARS (Serious Acute Respiratory
He argues that there is room for an ac­
Syndrome) that hit Asian countries par­ tive role for pharmaceutical companies in
ticularly hard.
the public health projects.
In response to a question on whether he
Dr Lee will be assisted by 11 health ex­
would choose the practice of declaring perts largely drawn from rich countries to
travel bans
- . on countries that face serious
- deliver results in the ambitious agenda
Dr^ ; ttohefoUhenextijve^

H

years.
They include Denis Aitken from the
United Kingdom, Jack Chow from the
United States to look after HIV/AIDS, TB
and malaria, Tim Evans from Canada for
information policy, Catherine Le Gales- V,
Camus from France to look after noncom- f
municable diseases and mental health,
Kerstin Leitner from Germany for sus- ls’tainable development and healthy envi- t
ronments, Anders Nordstrom from Swe- t
den for general management, and
Vladimir Lepakhin from Russia for tech­
nology and pharmaceuticals.
Only four health experts from develop­
ing countries — Anarfi Asamoa-Baah
from Ghana, Kazem Behbehani from
Kuwait, Liu PeHong from China, and Joy
Phumaphi from Botswana — are included
in Dr Lee’s cabinet.
£
But several developing countries ex­
pressed utter amazement over Dr Lee’s se­
lection of public health experts in his cab­
inet from rich countries that are not the
epicentre for dkease-burden, particularly s
HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria.

I
i

I

i

DECCAN HERALD

si. 9 ’i.li ?0Q3

•xa' —

5
■I

4

*

<

'

I

I

India, China new battlegrounds | AIDS: Tackle I-!
stigma,
in fight against AIDS
| India
told

3<

n
i; LONDON, July 24 (Reuters)

India, China and Indonesia are
tlie new battlegrounds in the
■ fight against AIDS but have a
j unique chance to combat the dis•i ease by preparing early, an expert said on Thursday.
They may also, paradoxically,
'■ have been helped in the struggle
by the grim example of the SARS
epidemic, according to Dr Peter
• Piot.
“These three countries are
; highly vulnerable,” said Piot, the
■'i head of UNAIDS which is spearJ heading the global battle against
i HIV/AIDS.
With more than four million
people living with HIV/AIDS, In­
dia is already vying with, and
may have surpassed, South
Africa for
dubious distinc­
tion of having the highest num­
ber of sufferers in the world.
And the inunense populations
in China and Indonesia mean
even a small jump in the percentage of infections could be disastrous.
But Piot is hoping that India’s
first National Convention of the
Forum
on
fl Parliamentary
Forum
on
HTV/AIDS, on July 26-27, will be

PARIS. July 25 (AFP)
a blueprint for other Asian na­ country they are not available
tions to follow so tlie continent for tlie people who need them.
The United Nations' top official
Heterosexual transmission on AIDS has bluntly told India
does not suffer the same fate as
and intravenous drug injections tliat if it wants to skirt a catas­ »
sub-Saharan Africa.
“It is time for India to wake up are the main modes of transmis­ trophe, it must pump money into !
and to act now because other­ sion of HIV in the country. In distributing condoms, tackle
wise the price will be much, some areas up to five per cent of stigma and smash a wall of si­
| lence about sex.
much higher,” Piot said in an in­ pregnant women are infected.
Most healthcare in India is ;
India, with its huge contrasts
terview.
The main aims of the meeting provided by the private sector of wealth and poverty, "is a land
of 1,500 politicians from all par­ but many people rely on the pub-: of castes, of stigmatisations,
not____
makties and levels of government in lie sector which is under-funded. . and conservativism is __
“This will require some subsi- ing it easy to promote condom !
tlie nation is to allocate budgets
a inc Executive Direcuse," tew
UNAIDS
to fight HTV/AIDS and enact leg­ dies from tlie government and i neo"
islation to remove the stigma at­ that is why this type of leader­ j -tor Peter Piot said ahead of In­
ship meeting is so important,” he dia's biggest-ever forum on the
tached to it.
f
__
;.j rxLMO
Il you cannot Ta
IK
AIDS ciioia.
crisis. "If
talk
“Up to now...It has not been a said.
The AIDS epidemic in Asia is about sex, you cannot attack
cause that has been embraced by
still uiuueu
hidden auu
and uevioiuii-nicuYcio
decision-makers ’. AIDS. Distributing condoms has
the elected representatives of the Sim
people from all parties,” Piot are reluctant to allocate money to be part of the prevention
to fight it.
■ strategy." "India has more than
said.
But in their favour, Asian ; four million people with HIV. It
“That is important. Every sin­
in­
gle party is now participating - it countries have human re- : probably has more infected inis extremely rare that all parties sources, money and infrastruc- .j habitants than South Africa,"
(in India) gather together around tures which are much scarcer in,44 ?iot said. "It has to act now be''j1 ore tlie epidemic infects tens of
one theme with one agenda.” African nations.
Piot believes the human, polit- | tiillionsof people.”.
Piot believes the real challenge
2
in battling AIDS in India and oth- ical and economic costs of the ■-....—r—5
er Asian countries is at the local outbreak of the- flu-like SABS
epidemic in Asia raised aware­
level.
rei.
■>•A particular problem in India ness of the dire consequences of
is that although generic antianti­ epidemics and the importance of .AIDS drugs are produced in the prevention.
■.
*

'T Hospitals turn away ........................... ~ ”
a

-<

?■

■•spi-

»-

HIV positive woman
in labour

• ROURkela, aug. 2. A woman in la­
bour, suspected of being HIV
positive, was turned away by
several hospitals and nursing „
homes before she gave birth to a fl
baby boy here on July 28. The : ’
woman was admitted to the
Rourkela Government Hospital
before delivering the baby, hos­
pital sources said. ‘
‘‘Though we were told that ■
she was HIV positive, we could .
not refuse admission to anyone '
in such a condition,” the’ chief
medical officer in-charge, B.
Padhi, said.
■!
■She was taken to the Ispat
' General Hospital and the Vesaj !|
Patel Hospita'iftnd a few nursing
homes where she was turned I
away,her relatives said. A press I
release issued later by the Vesaj
Patel Hospital said the woman
had undergone the Elisa test
and was found HIV positive.
• ‘‘We thought that it would be
j better if she went to the Ispat
General Hospital which has an
’• AIDS cell and other required in' frastructure to ensure the safety’ ;
J of the patient,” it said. — PTI ■

DECCAN HERALD

DECCAN HERALD

'25 JOL 20U3

A

TO

PIL.
..

■

.
.
.
.
.
.

'5

" ' 'Hiy^Aip£Epy5EMic7wHY^ISU^mAYi^,^KSS^

Let. os fight the stigma, says Vajpayee

By Our Special Correspondent

I

Wi!

are the only major countrv to
NEW DELHI, JULY 2G. Setting aside have tin’s dubious distinction
■
"i
political differences, the Prime Should we not be making a beMinister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, ginning." she asked.
and the Leader
... Gandhi also called for ef’ ■J" of
*rthe
‘’ Opposi-rr->
Ms.
tion. Sonia Gandhi, today forts to ensure that the official
shared a common platform to estimates of HIV/AIDS carried a
launch a nationwide effort led greater conviction and credibil­
by the political leadership to ity. “While we al! accept the oincombatthe
oal oclinintn
estinm.e o74
for_ ..he
of < nXn f-.
U combut
the
IHIV/A1DS
------epidemic.
number of unHIV infections, we tf
He was inaugurating the first- must acknowledge that doubts F
ever national convention of the have been expressed bo'h in In- a
elected representatives on HIV/ dia and abroad on whether we ’
AIDS. The two-day meet has are underplaying the graxitv of
been organised by the recently the epidemic".
formed n
Parliamentarians
—1
r-Fo­
The fight against AIDS should
rum on HIV/ AIDS in collabora­ not be at the cost of traditional
tion with the Union Health public health concerns like tu­
; Ministry and UNAIDS.
berculosis and malaria, she said
Describing the epidemic as and called for the expansion of
“daunting", Mr. Vajpayee said tiie coverage of health insur­
‘ the challenge could be, howev- ance, considering that now,
r. met easily if there was more over three-fourths of spending
openness in the community’ on health in the country was bv
and the youth were empowered individuals.
through education with the
Pointing out that expansion
knowledge to protect them­ of health insurance coverage
selves and the community ' was one of the conditions on
against the disease.
. which she had extended the
All the countries that had sueceeded tareve^e^f
£
the ep.dem.c had been open dustry four years ago she
'
about the epidemic. Likewise, pressed
dismay 8?ha j ex- The Leader of the Opposite
Ion in the Lok Sabha, Sonia Gandhi,, lighting the lamp as the Prime
the expenence of AIDS control progress
progress on
the
issue had h the
Minister, Atal ~Behari Vajpayee, watches during the inaugural session of the National
on the issue had been
in other countries had shown
«’
Convention of Elected Representatives on HIV/AIDS, at Vlgyan Bhawan in New Delhi
very slow.
that success
educationofwas
to’
.hecrucial
sj^i?
The Lok Sabha Speaker. Maon Saturday. — Photo: V. Suders han
the $•------r ■
mv/niuo
i
on HIV/AIDS
in Lok dia’s socio-cultural milieu. It unhealthy and highly risky. This
1st the epidemic.
said ho •
-3 oter the U1Icussioriagainst
" |l
^e!.Lka.'? he
d soon,t2ke Sabha if MPs so desired.
The Prime Minister, in partic­ up with the committee on MP’s
had to be pan of a larger mess- lesson must be heeded”.
""
Jhe Deputy Prime Minister, age about leading*
ular. called upon the elected
The Union Health Minister,
‘Z’
” ja responsible
Local Area Development Fund L.K. Advani, emphasised that -------personal’ and family lifa^We Sushma Swaraj, and the UN­
representatives at various levels the issue of allocating part of re­
though spreading of the mess- must not forge/tharTfiv/AIDS AIDS Executive Director, Peter
’o lead HIV/AIDS awareness.
sources for
f putting
•,
m up
r infras----- age of “safe sex" was necessary,
is essentially a lifestyle. It is a Piot. emphasised the need for
mpaigns and emphasised th, • ,
tructure for the treatment and it was not enough
’
■ ir
..ccd to remove the stigma at reaction to a cenain lifestyle special efforts to address the
■
to ensur.j
problem of stigma and discrimi­
would
not
go
down
well
in
Inthat there was no prejudice to - ________________ bB
nation faced by HIV patients.
wards those affected by the dis ease.
.
Ms. Gandhi, who delivere d
the keynote address, called for
efforts to provide AIDS educ aBy Our Special Correspondent
The new trends in the HIX' scenario are HIV cases ■, the survey has found that the
tion to adolescent girls, bo th
annual--survey conducted proportio n of cases due to sexual transschool-going and those ont, of NEW DELHI, JULY 25. There is some good and ,revealed in
. the-----------aU°na*
Control Organisation mission h as gone up from 80.3 per cent in
school and for measures r>!' "n- not so good news on the HIV/AIDS front.
(NACO)
under
the
Union Health Ministry. 1999 to I )4-3 per cent, and that due to
clude drug therapy as part if t he
The good new£ The epidemic seems to
national AIDS control
r0. have reached a plateau in Tamil Nadu, Iurv^^c
,,^ccordinB to the survey, the number 1of transmiss don from mother to child has
gramme.
,
J
Across the country there has been a deend °.f D^ember last ye;jar gone up f rom 033 per cent inT999 to 2.61
“I Kfind
—’
thee country
ran^
it paradoxical that cline in the number of cases that are due to for
forz^
country was
was in.
m. the
th------------'
age of' 3.82
per cent.
I while
Indian companies ;ire
;are transmission through blood and blood ™
ile fnd.on
million
- ,0
to 4
4.58
’58
million
°n “
— a „.
big
jump from
from
—mi,li
b jump
The rat tio of cases due to transmission .
the December 2001 figure of 3.31 million through t >lood and blood products, on the
world leaders in the manufac­ products.
to
3.97
million.
ture of anti-AlDS drugs and
other
han id, has come down from 6.07 per
The bad news: Last year the number of
supply such drugs to many oihDe­ cent in 1! 999 to 2.99 per cent.
aih- HIX' cases went up sharply along with a
The difference between the figure in DeAs rega jds the problem of transmission
i er countries, India does riot significant increase in the proportion of member 20°I and the year before (3.25 mili have drug therapy as part of »1 ier cases u.._
...
. linn
fin mm:
—i wris not
among in ijecting drug users, which is the '
lion tn
to 3.86
million)
not significant
significant.
due ----------to transmission
through sexual
AIDS control programme.. \Ve and
fourth
mi ijor cause of disease, the trend is
mother-to-child
As
regards
break
up
of
the
causes
for
---------------routes.
a mixed 1 »ag of

S... .

i

r-\.'''

IB

•0

v
vx/

•..1

Good news, bad news

I

’L. sec'”

---- ,
73

I

> am li
sm'Ino -■

;■ ; O'

inn

ot )[

-r u

the HUJD77

•A? jul iem’

' j •-'yh f|m-

-----—J

71

pWz

,a!

. x:

■ii

■“

y

A. ••■•.

-li 1

IfirtL
cJsifiia!
srf
.

/Mhanv-^SJ^
* •■’'

’’

to/

v

'.'W
' - -V'
■<</

’.;XX

L_

••■*■

■a'’s

v ~

I
*

-<■-■.

% * A-

i (From right) Former India goalkeeper Ashish Ballal, cricket legend Syed Kirmani, athletics ace Ash- |
( wini Nachappa and sports commentator Charu Sharma have a go at the Dell Champion Roa'drun, i
,.|
! organised to help HIV-positive children at the Freedom Foundation, in Bangalore on Sunday.
|
— Express photo by KeshavVitla
► Another pic, page 5 J
— •'.'-8--ZUw^

v-i

■

India developmg
- AIDS vaccine
b India is developing an AIDS

’•
'* ■
■

-rr-^aj-y: M« , | | n,-

■

z:t

issia« AIDS victim wasn't stoned: Police 1

vaccine, a prototype of which is
iready for preclinical studies,
Tirupati: The National Commission for Women (NCW) |
jthe Government informed the
chairperson Poomima Advani grilled pie police officials
Rajya Sabha on Friday.
.at the Kuppam village in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday,
“A prototype of theVandi- .
over-the alleged stoning of a female AIDS patient to
date Vaccine for AIDS is under
death a few days ago. The NCW had come to the village :
development under the Nation' al Jai Vigyan Science & Technology Mission of on a fact-finding mission, following the revelation made
, the Department of Biotechnology. The vaccine • by
uy a luVcU
yuihcu ’asuuuauveo>
local NGO, wuno
WINS^
(Women
Initiatives)vu
on uic
theuiuxuincid- i
? based on plasmid DNA and MVA approaches. ; ent, pOiice sources said. Among those who deposed beThe vaccine candidate is ready for preclinical fore
ccfmmission
DSP of Kuppam, who rep-" £
?
j enceS^h R^t" "nrepfy : ortedly^jected aUegations of lynching, y £ t

-- -

ytoaquestion.

SECCAN HERALD

X? JUL

W-^

I

r

•SS„'3^.

.,.„..."...".a~.jxirtsc«r*«3!£B:^'

Krishna to attend convention

About 200 street childresi
aiwually’

PM to
2-day
I on AID
I

w

p
•
By Our Staff Reporter
change by providing information. M
~
.
o------- Mere knowl-U
was a dan
danger
illness or death!
! BANGALORE, july 22. According to a rough esti- edge that there Was
8er of i,lne;
was not enough:
mate, 200 to 250 boys living on the streets and in
t Dr. Seshadri said street children, being treated,'*
--,,w„
.
ano loutn incentives of Netherlands say. - tion'’------- thC abscnce of 8uidance and educa-Tl
Their decisions were guided by harassment!
The two organisations are organising a fourday conference on sexual development and sex­
and
torture easy access to high-risk sexual activ-?■1’
ual health in teenage street and slum children in
iry, sexual abuse by peers, and the fact that they 1
India here for developing an easy intervention were
unsupervised.
3 :i
model for volunteers dealing with vulnerable
Those who wanted to help them would have to K
children from Tuesday.
DH News Service
They pointed out that sex was an escape fui accept their sexuality which included their emoJjNEW
DELHI, July 25
?norhjps With peers> self-awareness, 4
••
, - these boys from the stress and hazards of living
; In a bid to encourage political leadership including grassroot Pa. on
streets.
uvu,o and the kind of consent they gave to sexual 1
’
.' chayat members to build up a national network and motivate them • Many street’children, aged around 15 engaged abuse.
The challenge was to enable them to handle J
jbring about policy changes for combating HIV/AIDS a national co: in sexual activities several times a week with their
iwention will be held in the capital from July 26.
male or female peers as well as sex workers Shek- peer pressure and make them learn to manage !
The two-day convention jointly organised by the Parliamentary-R har Seshadri, Additional Professor, Department .their emotions.
An easy way of dealing with their se.xualiw had T
■ rum on HIV/AIDS and UNAIDS will be inaugurated by Prime Mini:(of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry' National In'
'ter Atal Behari Vajpayee. Karnataka Chief Minister S M Krishnstitute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences to be found at the earliest.
Sixty' organisations from South India, barring I
along witli his counterparts from other high-prevalence states incluc(NlMHANS), told the conference that street chil;ing Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh will participate in the converflren got early exposure to “high-risk” sexual ac- Kerala, are taking part in the efforts to design a
tion to chalk out a common strategy to tackle the deadly infection, tivity-. What complicated matters was that one nght model for volunteers who want to make T
bScu^"
|
! Besides, about 500 MPs and MLAs and Panchayat leaders will par:0Llld not motivate them for a< 'behavioural
’
:j ticipate in the convention.
While giving estimates about the status of HTWAIDS infection a
the
•- Meenakshi Dutta Ghosh, Project Director of National AIDS Control
j Organisation (NACO), said even though Jndia has recorded a fall u
• transmission of HIV/AIDS through contaminated blood and in
I jectable drug use, there has been a rise in transmission of the'infec
'• tion through sexual and peri-natal routes involving mother-to-chih
• transmission.
She, however, said Government was planning to expand the pre !
; gramme of providing free anti-retroviral drugs to HIV/infected pre?
nant women. Currently such drugs are being provided in 220 medice
colleges and district hospitals in states where the prevalence c
In fact, the Centre faced an
HIV/AIDS is high.
R Prasad Rao.
DH Nev/s Service
The total number of infections rose from 3.86 million in 2000 to 4.5 f
. A large number of parliamen­ embarrassing situation at the in­
million in 2002. About 61.5 per cent of the infected persons were mal i NEW DELHI, July 27
tarians had demanded the spe­ augural function on Saturday,
and 76.8 per cent were from urban areas, she said.
j parliament may hold a special cial session on the lines of the when a representative of People
Reacting to a projection last year by a US intelligence agency th: j session on AIDS to hammer out a United Nations General Assem­ Living With HIV/AIDS today
about 25 million people would be infected by HIV/AIDS by 2010, M| new legislation for ensuring that bly Special Session on AIDS, publicly informed the Prime
. Ghosh said NACO was not aware of the basis of such projections an; AIDS-patients are not denied held in New York two years back Minister. Congress president So­
the then Health Minister had challenged the figures.
where Congress President Sonia nia Gandhi, Health Minister
treatment.
Sushma Swaraj and Lok Sabha
N’.ACO had also asked that agency for the methodology followed b
“The Prime Minister has said Gandhi represented India.
them to make the projections. “We were told that the figure was base that there is a possibility of hold­
However. Lok Sabha Speaker Speaker Monahar Joshi, that a
on the consensus by experts. But we were not told of who these e? ing a special session of Parlia­ Manohar Joshi had refused to governmental promise of pro­
pens were.” she said.
ment on HIV/AIDS. The session make any promise on the special viding medicines to the affected
Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Pn will be important
_
to chart out a session at the moment, though at a cheaper rate has not been re­
gramme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said UNAIDS in collaboration wit legislation^ deal with the rights he had assured the MPs that a alised so far.
Former Health Minister Shathe World Health Organisation (WHO) was working on a plan to -o of HIX7-infected
'
' people
' so
prolonged
discussion . on
that
out anti retro-viral drug therapy so that treatment could be equally ; they are not discriminated HIV/AIDS would not be a prob­ trughan Sinha had made the
promise eight months back at a
J against,” Mr Oscar Fernandes, lem.
r cessible to both rich and poor.
Several MPs had also demand- function in the Presidential
*'l convenor of the Parliamentary
Forum on AIDS, said today at the ed withdrawal of various tax and House in presence of President
concluding session of the two- duties on AIDS drugs to make A P J Abdul Kalam.
But the medicine never
I day meeting of the elected repre- the medicines affordable to the
DECCAN HERALD
reached us and some of us died,
poorer sections of the society.
| sentatives on AIDS.
“If the duties are withdrawn, president of1 the network Ms P
The legislation, being drafted
j by the Health Ministry', would the cost is likely to come down to Kaushalya said.
“Right now the drug costs Rs
’ make it mandatory for doctors to Rs 1000 per month and the manu­
I treat AIDS patients as there are facturers have assured that if the 2400 per month. Since we require
: many instances in which doctors government cuts the duty, they the medicine throughout the life,
• refuse treatment to AIDS pa- too will lower the selling-price,” we want it at an affordable rate,”
she added.
J tients, said Health Secretanjl V said BJP MP Kirit Somaiya.

1

JUL ^3

Bent session

to frame A

i

§6 JUt-

I

DECCZN HERALD

2-8 JUL 2003

73

-

■

1

4

n

■l‘'

‘•■Jl

I Focus on healthcare: PM f

Dealing with AIDS
The discovery that HIV virus is developing
resistance to drugs is ominous

,1

5

I

study of 1600 patients across Europe has found that tlie

c

c.
: Ci.C

already on medication and carry-

igSSssssS j
PH News Service

>

■

. KEW DELHI. July 26

A mid a UN warning that In•• /\ dia must act to avoid an1
i XXAids catastrophe, Prime:
mmisiei nimvcucu.
.^,-3
’• Minister
Atal Behari Vajapyee
■ today said the situation demand■ ed
ed'an
an “effective and undelayed
response" with political parties
fai’ greater
requiring to pay far
greater atat­
of healthcare
tention to issues cf
' than they do now.
Aumiumg
umi. LxdLL
;
Admitting that
India’s rere'• spouse to the epidemic — tliat af' fects nearly four million Indian
men
children —
men, women
women and
and children
— had
had
. been
been ““somewhat
somewhat belated
belated””,, Mr
Mr
' Vajpayee
said, "HIV/Aids
is not
^"a'grave^obal
challenge,
it
nniv a crave global challenge,
it

the spread and prevalence of
HIV in his or her constituency
and should demand to know
(from the government) what is (
being done about it,’ he said,
sharing the dais with Congress

-SSSiiSSaS;!

A

President Sonia Gandhi and Lok

; cause me drugs 101 uic
——
Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi.
Uuchlonge^o±^s=«
India should be more open
and prejudices towards affected• ' • a hid^to tackle the problem of resistance. New approaches (
persons must be eschewed, Mr
Vajpayee said, adding that, at the
local level, leadership should be
provided by doctors, industry
captains, administrators, politicians and religious leaders.
In the presence of a large
number
of politicians including
:
eight chief
of MPs and NLAs at the meet­
: is also a national concern, one ing, Ms Gandhi revealed some *
;: that demands effective and unde- flaws in the Centre’s Aids campaign.
v laved response."
It is paradoxical, she pomted
•
Opening a two-day National
i Convention of Parliamentary out, that while Indian companies
j Forum on HIV/Aids, the prime are global leaders in the manu­
! minister said public health is- facture of anti-HIV drugs, pro­
.
; sues were not finding their place viding the medicine to the afflict­ - a panic.
of the anti-Aids
i on the political agenda in the ed is not a part
3
7- - Though
currency
1 country and this needed to be ad- Programme*
there are 3.82 to 4.58 million HIV l
■ dressed.
;
“In India, issues pertaining to infected, there are doubts abroad
D2CCZ: ?:.3IU\LD
!■; public health do not normally that India is underplaying the
find a place on the nation's polit- gravity of the epidemic, she said, I
' ical agenda. This is not so in oth­ clearly expressing doubts about
l
er democracies where, some- the official HTV estimate.
UNAIDS Executive Director |
• times, even elections are won or Peter Piot said the national legis- i
<1 lost on the basis of health is­
lation being drafted by the healtfi ■
sues," he said.
“Every elected representative ministry’ would go a long way in i,
curbing the social stigma.
J
must be fully acquainted with

A

.Bsss’-ESSSeEs; ?

0- 7 J

1

t

A

- ---- - --------

DECCAN HERALD

2 7 JUL

-?q-

R.WV.aWU'tM* JKHTii II «■»m*•*«***-

A

■

n
0

C3

^.w^j.'^.-’.-^--.:

v'
jucunvu.M^ eJ
’>X

*

State seeks help I
an govt r;
»_-</> »<•

<-■ A ». ;

, 1 .

t'J

prevalence of 1.63 per cent in the •
' Urging tlie Centre to come to ante natal population as report- ■1
; Karnataka’s aid to help fight ed in the sentinel surveillance
: AIDS, Chief Minister SMKrish- 2002, we are striving to arrest the
» na today disclosed that the State spread of tlie epidemic through
;
f has approached the German gov- multi-pronged strategies."
On the efforts made by the >
ehiment for assistance in social
State to combat the disease, Mr •
-y marketing of condoms.
’
“As condom availability in the Krishna said that in the last one ( j
State is low, we have approached year, Karnataka has made con- (’
; the German government for as- siderable progress in expanding M
j sistance specifically for setting the delivery of services in a sys­
; up a state-wide network for so- tematic manner. “We have
1 cial marketing of condoms.espe- opened 33 voluntary counselling
;• cially in the rural areas and for and testing centers in all district 'j
scaling up services for preven- centres and some sub-district lo: tion, diagnosis and treatment of cations. These centres are pro- J
viding adequate counselling and J
AIDS,” he said.
Mr Krishna, whose speech testing services. We have also •
• was read out in his absence at scaled up the prevention of par- .'
the convention of the Parliamen- ent to child transmission centres
• tary Forum on HIV/AIDS here in all the districts. We now have ■, •
’: by Health Minister Kagodu 39 centres in the State providing ’
■ • Thimmappa, said as chairman of counselling, testing and preven- .
the Karnataka State AIDS Pre- tive treatment to pregnant moth- '■'
‘ vention • Society, he has ap- ers to prevent transmissionof
- proached the Bill and Melinda HIV'from mother to child.”
Gates Foundation for providing ■ j As part of improving delivery
resources to scale up. interven- sf services, the State has mod. tions in the State. He has also al­ ernised 34 sexually transmitted
ready sent a proposal to the disease clinics in the State. A to- ?
tai of 62 blood banks have been •
Foundation.
With about.5.3 crore popula­ modernised with the Union gov­
tion and an estimated Five lakh ernment’s assistance. On the po­
:HTV positive persons in the litical front, K'lr Krishna said, a iState, a budgetary allocation of legislators’ forum on AIDS/STD ’>
;Rs 12.4 crore during 2003-04 was has been set up in the State cut- '.
' too meagre.. “Although we had ting across political lines. “We
requested for a budgetary alloca­ are determined to work as one in !
tion of Rs 31 crore which is ex­ coming up with solutions, practi­
tremely essential to combat the cal solutions that can bring
epidemic in the State, we have about change.” The government
been allocated only Rs 12.4 has already conducted sensitisa­
: .crore.” He said the epidemic has tion programmes for zilla pan• transcended the high risk chayat and taluk panchayat
members. Efforts were being
j groups and bridge population
5 Sid now reached the general made to jnvolve gram panchayat
median
population. “With
J NEW DELHI, July 26 (DHNS)

0
0

v
O

-3
0
M1

-J
"J1

■3

r

•32CCAN H22ALD
s»
41

t-

u aKe or r Km or v s i u $

1

. l’

HIV/AIDS. The guidelines will j
include do’s and dont’s for doctors
and nurses and also for the modi- ,
cine manufacturers.

r r.tt/ f :

} I ERE are reports that
y betwee
between 1 per cent to 2
per cent of the adult
population
in
Karnataka are already
infected with HIV/AIDS. This sug­
gests that there may be as many as
five lakh persons already infected,
which will have substantial impli­
cations for the healthcare system
in the coming years. Dr Peter Piot,
who took over as the first
•.Executive Director of UNAIDS
and Assistant Secretary General of
: the United Nations in 1995, spoke
■ to Shruba Mukherjee about-his
! concerns and priorities about
; India in general and Karnataka in
‘ particular.

H

......

/

■

■

■ '

.

£ ..

r

\ a

>/

How can we fight the stigma
associated with HIV/AIDS?
I
Famous people have to speak
out against sigma and discrimina­
tion to which the infected people
are subjected. On our part UNAIDS ji
always gives space to HIV-positive ’.
people to come out, talk openly
about their demands and aspirations. But there is also need for •
legal protection.
Lawmakers should work on
passing anti-discriminatory legislation protecting the interests of
the infected persons. All the coun­
tries including India, which were £
present in the special session of [
, ,;V General Assembly on HIV/AIDS,
agreed to bring about such legisla- .
' ' tion. Cambodia, Philippines and
I Brazil have already enacted such a j
a ox
law- 1 hope Indian legislators will :
i:-^s
,,,J..--ZtAXalso take a positive step in this j
direction. Apart from these, contin- i
uous awareness programmes using :
mass media should be undertaken to ;
sensitise people about how the infec- ,
tion spreads and its treatment. School !
AIDS programme, which has already I
started in several states like Andhra 1
Pradesh and Karnataka, can be very j
it is only available to men with power helpful in providing correct informa- j
and money. It is high time that public tion to the adolescents. For those chil- :
sector should become more active in dren and adolescents, who are not in ;
this field so that prices of anti-retro school, the powerful media of music jj
and sports can be used.
viral drugs
- come down. I . know
, n it, is
Soap operas showing how AIDS ■!
• ’ ~
not possible to start overnight,
butt a
beginning can be made from some­ can be tackled and big bill boards
where - may be from a programme to with messages like ‘AIDS Kills" can :
prevent mother-to-child transmis­ be put up at important places. '
sion. The authorities have to take UNAIDS has tied up with MTV for $
care of the patients’ right to treat­ various awareness programmes.
ment as well as limited resources.
Has there been any progress in J
Has UNAIDS made any efforts the field of AIDS vaccine?
It’s not likely to be developed with­
to make treatment accessible to
in
the next 10 years. In fact, it takes
the poor?
We have negotiated with the big four-to-five years to check the efficacy
manufacturing companies to bring of the vaccine. We should not count
down the prices of the anti retrovial on it now.
drugs and due to our efforts prices
Do you have any new plan for
have been slashed by 90 per cent in
the world market. Several manufac­ India?
At present we are reviewing the
turers of generic medicines in India
have come forward in this sector and National AIDS Control Programme
we hope patients will benefit. with NACO and we do have plans to.
UNAIDS is also working with World extend the programme. We want to.
Health Organisation to draw up cover the low-prevalence states
of undertheprogramme. .
guidelines
on
treatment

r

Asr-- J
'.r •. V

»

■

•
Karnataka is one of the high .
I prevalence states in terms of
HIV/AIDS infection. You had
visited the state to launch the ■[
State Legislative Forum on •.
HIV/AIDS. What are your com- ■-?
ments on the prevention pro- $
grammes, which are being
undertaken in the state?
The launching of the first-ever
State Legislative Forum under the
leadership of Chief Minister S M
Krishna marks a crucial step in coor­
dinating a clear and effective
response to HIV/AIDS. Political leadership is a vital tool in fighting the
epidemic. The Forum aims to play an
active role in increasing access to
information on HIV/AIDS and reduc­
ing stigma and discrimination associ­
ated with HIV.
The objectives should be translated into action and for that political
will is required. I met Government
officials and representatives from the
voluntary sector and appreciated
their positive approach in spreading
awareness about the infection.
It is my sincere hope that other
states will follow Karnataka s leader­
ship example and strengthen preven­
tion programmes, especially those
targeting young people, as well as
scale up comprehensive care and sup­
port programmes for those living
with HIV.

You said the challenge now is to
ensure that AIDS treatment is
widely accessible to people living
with HIV/AIDS. What should be
the strategy?
Since only the private sector is
associated with the treatment for HIV

i... -....—.........-

wifi

.

■■■■■

■

A

A

g

J

OSCCAN HExALD

>

7C
p

patients are being -■
simply left to die: PIL

3

treatment aspect under the
fold of its AIDS policy.
5 NEW DELHI, Aug 4 •
With the administration of
. A public .interest litigation the ARV drugs, an HIV posi­
’ (PIL) today drew the attention tive person could now have a
of the Supreme Court towards remarkably enhanced lifes­
the plight of 55 lakh HIV af­ pan, the PIL said, adding that
fected victims, most of them the UN and Word Bank have
poor, who are being denied projected that by the year
treatment by government hos­ 2015, India is likely to have
pitals and are simply being the dubious distinction of be­
left to die.
ing the HIV/AIDS capital of
The PIL filed by the Voun- the world with an infected
;tary Health Association of population of 350 lakh.
Punjab sought direction from
Referring to emergency
• the apex court to the Centre treatment measures taken by
and all the state governments various third world countries
_ to recognise and implement like Brazil to reduce their pro­
the right of AIDS patients to jected AIDS patients by half,
■ treatment and health as their the petitioner said India has
fundamental right and pro- the pharmaceutical edge over
j vide free and equitable access all these countries. Out of 12
! to Anti Retro Viral (ARV) drugs recommended by the
' treatment to the HIV positive WHO, 10 are being manufac­
patients.
tured by Indian companies.
Warning that almost every- Due to the absence of demand
one is at risk of contracting for these drugs from governAIDS, the petitioner said the ment hospitals, Indian compa-’
government must take up nies are on the verge of aban'

5

V
t.S

V

3

-3
'■0

DH News Service

n;
. n

■

doning their research for anti­
AIDS medicines.
A bench comprising Chief
Justice V N Khare and Mr Jus-A
tice S B Sinha issued notices"
to the Centre, all state govern­ •V<1 c
ments, Union territories and
National AIDS Control Organ­
isation.
As on June 30 this year,
there were as many as 53171
full blown cases of AIDS, in­
cluding 1707 from Karnataka. I
The issue of reduction of j;
AIDS medicine prices is hang- 'i
ing fire in the Ministry of Fi- •!
nance because the industry?:
wants considerable reduction’
in various taxes imposed on.1
ARV as well as the manufac- ‘
turing process.
The Centre is planning to
enact a law which will make it
mandatory for all hospitals to ■’
admit all AIDS infected per-i<
_________
sons and
that the medical fa-1
cilities cannot refupse to admitij
them.

J

eachiag out to HIV positive.

; BANGALORE, Aug 2 (DHNS)

■ V

0

and financial support of Medi­ vulnerable position since the in- j
. In an effort to sensitise the incare, which dedicates one per cidence of the virus in the age 1
" dustry on the growing prevacent of its sales to such activities. group of 18-35 risks the most pro■ lence of HIV/AIDS cases in In­
In a sunilar initiative to sensi­ ductive section of our human re-1
dia, the Medicare Foundation,
tise the industry on the increas­
an independent, non-profit, non­ ing incidence of HTV/AIDS at sources,” said M Upendra BhideJ
government organisation dedi­ workplace, Larsen & Toubro-Ko- Manager, L&T-Komatsu Ltd.
He added his organisation did:
cated to the cause, has taken sev­ matsu Ltd, one of the first few’
not discriminate on known or
eral initiatives to help create a
corporate companies in India to HIV or suspected status, provid-J
supportive environment for HIV
launch AIDS initiatives and des­ ed treatment of opportunistic in-1
positive people.
tigmatise HIV status in their fections and covered children of*
These activities are spread
workplace, recently made a pres­ deceased employees under its ed-!
among all sections of the society
entation on “HIV/AIDS - a work­ ucation scheme.
y,
and include school and college
place issue” to the members of
Our healthcare profession- °
going adolescents, industrial
managing committee, industries
workers, sex workers and Medi­ and associations of the Federal als follow universal precautions i
to prevent the spread of the dis-'
care consultants.
tion of Karnataka Chambers of ease. We provide counselling5
The employees of Medicare
Commerce & Industry here.
services to our employees and.i
are first sensitised to the social
L&T initiatives have recently their family members on issues/
issue before they reach out to
been documented by the Interna­ related to HIV/.AIDS. We havek
others. Under its iModVol pro­ tional Labour Organisation.
also installed condom vending^
gramme, the foundation has set
“We recognise that HIV/AIDS ------machines at 25 workplaces,” said r
up social units in the form of
* T“ 'r’hidp,
1- - ’________________ r
--wl^.>P_aced the pr-iv-at_
in__ Mr.B
Medicare Foundation Clubs in^
all the cities where the company
has its operations.
'r
The project has been success-£

fully implemented in Hyder- f
■ abad, Kanpur, Kolkata, Banga-S
lore, Mumbai and Varanasi andp
more than 10,000 volunteers have i
, been mobilised so far. The pro­
grammes and services of Modicare Foundation are supported !
by its members, associates from
, the public and private sectors.------------------ -----

•Z!

■r^

a

77

r;

J

Ulnar ministers, IVUlAs
\to undergo HIV test

■PH News Service
PATNA, Aug 8

!• Bihar minister’s and legislatj tors will undergo an HIV test.
I. But there is nothing more to it
^■except the fact that it’s just anh; other drive to spread AIDS
iij awareness among the masses.
;
The elected representatives
agreed after a New Delhi
f based NGO approached them
•4 and Rashtriya Janata Dal
chief Laloo Prasad Yadav exj tended’his support for the proposal. The test will be conduct•: ed on October 1 at the AIDS

awareness programme organised by the NGO — Helping
Hand Foundation. Prior to
this, in September the state
government will hold a meet­
ing in Patna to educate the
ministers
and legislators
about the deadly disease.
This would be for the first
time in the world that elected
representatives would under­
go an HIV test to create AIDS
awareness. “The ministers
and legislators will set an ex­
ample by voluntarily agreeing
for such a test,” Tarun Kumar
Director of the NGO said.

.^ECCAN HBR ■L

“We are ready for such ah
test if it helps to spread awareness about the killer disease^6which is fast spreading in In- i..:
dia and other parts of the f;
world,” pointed out Health r
Minister Shakuni Chowdhury, w
who will inaugurate the pro- f
gramme.
Both the ruling party andji
the Opposition are united inp
this programme. Extendingij
his full support, Leader of the.1
Opposition Sushil Kumaii
Modi said he was the first tc:;
put the proposal before assem-xbly Speaker Sadanand Singh, k
AAVUkJ

U4

V« V

tliv

IkAAAVA.

J

Girls rescued fromi Mumbai
’flesh trade to be rehabilitated
'r

DH News Service

JRAICHUR, August 3 .

■Young women burdened with
poverty, personal problems, fam.ily tensions are increasingly
falling prey to false promises of
jobs and money end up in Mum­
bai’s red light area. Many women
have tried to come out of this by
running away, but in vain. And
women who succeeded, are con; stantly gripped by the fear and
.insecurity about whether or not
the society would accept them.
. Mumbai police had recently
raided some buildings and res­
cued 450 girls, three fourths of
whom were from Karnataka and
most of them are less than 18
years old and have been lured
into this business by force.
About 37 girls have been
. brought back to Raichur after it
: was known that they belonged to
« the State. Ten more girls are bei' ing interrogated, 15 girls have
i'i been sent for a medical test.

About 28 girls are suspected to be
HIV infected and arrangements
of rehabilitation and treatment
have been made.
There are many girls from
Andhra
Pradesh,
Madhya
Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and also girls from
neighbouring countries like
Myanmar, Nepal who are
brought into the flesh trade,
Every year thousands of
young girls who have not even
reached the age of puberty are
lured into Mumbai’s red light ar­
eas. And the Mumbai police res­
cues these girls and sends them
back to their families.
A police official from Mumbai
who had rescued many girls is of
the opinion that in many cases it
is some person who is close to the
family of these girls who takes
advantage of their poverty
In Kolar Bangtdore, Bijapur
there is a vast network which
sends about 100 girls every year
into the business most of whom
“

•'

•

•

f

Vy > ,

£
!

are within the age group of 8 to £
12. These girls cost Rs 40,000-Rs p
60,000 where as girls of tlie age 20 !?
years cost Rs 30.000 and women Kabove that age cost Rs 15,000 to f?
Rs 20,000. A woman police offi­
cial opines that young girls are
more in demand in foreign coun­
tries. All the girls who arrived in
Raichur rescued by the Mumbai j?
police are presently under the p
protection of district police and
will be sent back to their families
soon.
Deputy commissioner G N .
Naik said that the issue was sen- ,
sitive and the responsibility will .
be carried on carefully.
_
The girls whom Mumbai po- b
lice rescued in November 2002 .
and February 2003 have the same i
fear of whether their families;
will accept them or not.
Six of these 37 girls are mar-h
ried and three have been sent to'j;
their families, while two of themz?
are working in Bangalore and,*;
have forgotten the dark past.
g-,

!?

[ AIDS vaccine
r Visakhapatnam: The Coun■' cil for Scientific and Indust1' rial Research has developed a ,
“HIV cocktail” of three vacc- >
ines to combat AIDS and is]available to the public. The^
vaccine cost $350 as against
$10,000 charged by MNCs

I

£

V; \ AUG ZuYi

78

fc.
Mr*-'

-

a

)

i

I

>—

'j

’OHANNESBUHO,

AUO.

io. The
South African Presider
ent, Thabo
Mbeki, has finally bowed
L_............
to
.mounting
public
pressure
and
....... ’ig public pressure and
his Government's
on t

d©es a O-tyra
- j oai treaftmeest for HOV/ASDS

tion Campaign,
. .. . which has
waged a civil
civil disobedience
campaign again*’
mcin^co^gmtulatcd'Mr
1
nuv.t. congrau.;...

-s—:::. esse= »
S=ss sssg? I'^
®' ,-wj.

. .. special meeting of f----the Cabinet to discuss AIDS I
treatment. ‘Government shares I
die impatience of many South
A.ncans on the need to strersircne’- | ‘
of then the* nation's armoury m | .
:viousthe fight against
gainst AIDS.
AIDS."” the ' F /
case seen ns a growing threat to
sis bo
statement• —
said.
.id. -Cabinet will
economic and social stability.
has
therefore ensnm
,i._ _
I
Some sufferers remain scep­ maining ensure that the reof
tical Last night Rose Thamae, dressed_ ' challenges are ad- ...
dct.iilwith urgency and dial p
• who has been infected with HIV
: • ■s when and_ how anti-retrovi- sign of hope."
for 10 years, said she would not the final product guarantees a L
: ral drugs will be made available
celebrate the Government's programme that is effective and
. to half a million infected South Caveats
sustainable."
= tfricans. The news was wclchange of heart 'until I
Though the President has
: corned by camj...,
ipaigners and pa- asKed iliac the plans be drawn anti-rctrovirals in my c.'i
' ’.tents who said
aid Mr. Mbeki's up Within weeks, the announce- before" a
b'-turn was Ion]
,ng’ overdue but ment came with carefully word- hear ther
■ :ha: they hadI been
t.
let down ed caveats that "if and when" a am r ;.em ogam, she said. -J lala-Msimang. recently n o
am not■Sorng to get my hopes posed treating J IV/A IDS whh
I before.
decision was made to introduce high ’^oToSk
on h
tr';di,ional nwdicin^1^ a *
ohag.’
h crucial national elec- a national drug programme, it
ment to
to go
o___
_ on „
lVH „
U!U suit, anti-rctrovirals - the only
."
only months awav, howI
back
their
word.
could take up to nine months
"l am sure that the elections known effective drugs — nave p ?*.v
' ever, Mr. Mbeki could risk for the
medication to reach the coming up have something
: fosses at the polls if he fails now
............................ 3 <0
_________________ V«V*UHI51VC
been
available almost exclusive4■■
estimated 50O.CQ0 South Afri­ do with this
annoimccme.u Iv
• to act. .
2" afflJrd Pn’
•■P’.L’-''
cans who need it.
f."OA.XC
ivr
’en‘ ‘y tn
,0 thn<A
",OSC i.-k«
"h0 ^can
I
Specialists from the Clinton
now. I voted forr,a?tr.c
the
AX
’C neovgovvnrn
H
The -------------------vote___________________
treatment.
•
ornmn^r
k-t
v
,
ncyer
: Foundation AIDS Initiative
The abn
brupt U-turn came after
’ up by the former I------- a week cof mounting pressure
inlrt lr\
in rtrte
.. ..
* u r,u
U5LU DV DOflliriAnC Irt t»ii
; : .ii Clinton, will help
to draw .u"
UH h’*11
imnie. including the
» -■■e plan, along
w with South
------- -/Vrijri- bill,ity of the dnt;
workers and academics at
| can experts. Zackic Achmat. cour1— •
South African AIDS conference
.
I ..-.airman of the Treatment Ac­ whct..„
^‘^J^uld develop a. drugs would be introduced (m Durban. — ^Telegraph
Grouit Ltinited. London. 2003

‘nungii. n cot

.....

v

'THEirnnTjiT

tl 1 AUG

x»

ECninese couple with
SAIDS marry

'DURBAN. AUO. 3.

; partners m southwest China's Sichuan province'
PTI reports from Beijing. The bridegroom. Cao ’
^ue,'n«-37' and hts Jl-yearoid bride. Wang Daivng. both from Gongmin town of Zizhong countv
tn the province, took the pioneering step on be- ’

FriSXan Of feU0W SU/Terer5 m the courI
I

I

3

I

DECCAN HERALD
■ !!■■.

■' "a

4

.■.-■> .y.

’

.................................

: .J.'

.

A South .

African AIDS lobby group !
‘said today it would take the I
i Government to court for its >
i failure to provide anti- *
AIDS drugs in a country j
where nearly 1,000 people j
die every day from the dis■ case.
‘
j.
■ "Treatment Action Cam- !1
: paign (TAG) will pursue li- j?
ligation for a national 1
; treatment and prevention
12
programme," a TAG spon
’­’ '?
keswoman said. — AFP

i

i

THE HlTlFi.f

0

0

S AIDS lobby group
; to sue S.A. Govt.

.4:

tr_-1__

S3"

. -... K

KT^T

‘V <’ AUG

j

0
0
3

3

5
)

>

!

Slash ma » calll to oak® health schemes a success
ancfe scheme’in which a family;
will be given an insurance cover1!
up to Hs. 30,000. She distributedinsurance policies to some ben­
eficiaries.
i
■ Speaking about the impor-t
tance of health, Mr. Thiminappa said the State Government i

ij By Our Staff Correspondent

HhELLARY, AUG. 9. Sushma Swaraj,
hlUnion Minister for Health and
y*Family Welfare, today urged ju./
iHnior women health workers to
^strive for the implementation of
V health schemes effectively.
NJ
U Inaugurating a conference of
/
< scheme where
jj, junior health workers of Bellary,
.
J .
cooperative societies and their!
jeKoppal,
Kopp al, Chitradurga, and Da-.
'
family members were eligible :
(Ivangerc.
£vange
r'' districts at Dr. Jolada- .
'■i for a health insurance cover u[
x1 rashi
Doddanagowda
~ to Rs. 1 lakh.
. (
i*' '
aj Rangamandir here, she said
J
f-they had a vital role to play in k
ZJ
4®. s -.-j Project for Bellary
nroteenne the health of women
Ay
protecting
Later, addressing pressper- ■
^!and children in rural areas.
’ sons, Ms. Swaraj said the Union
».i Lauding the services of health ‘ 1
< Ministry for Health and Family
d workers, Ms. Swaraj said the
Welfare would come out with a .
- •
Llsuccess of government health
project to make Bellary HIV/ 1
[.programmes depended on
AIDS free in the next five years
^them.-" Kagodu Thimmappa,
She said that she was painec
Minister for Health and Family
to know Bellary was among the I
j: Welfare, endorsed the views- of
45 districts in tlie country where 1
j-iMs. Swaraj, and exhorted the
the prevalence of HIV/AIDS war
j
I 4 lit
At- • ■
,y health workers to reside in plac- .
high.
1
es where they worked. The GovSushma Swaraj, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, inaugurating the Junior
"I will personally monitor tlie j
ernment had plans to pay their
Health Workers' Conference at Dr. Joladarashi Doddanagowda Rangamandir
implementation of the projec'
;V.house rent, he said, and urged
in Bellary on Saturday. Sashll Namoshi, MLC (from left), Kagodu Thimmappa,
and ensure that die district is .
he Centre to extend assistance
Minister for Health and Family Welfare, G. Padmavatl, Bellary Municipality President,
free from AIDS in the next five 1
m this regard. He said the Govand S.N.Jayaram, Deputy Commissioner, are seen.
years," she added.
’
ernment also had plans to give
She said Bellary' was one c
of police of tlie three-day health mela at the people was taken care of. Med!■: promotions to health workers. perintendents
]
Municipal School Ground here. ical experts would examine pa- the two districts in the country I
!• Regarding complaints by them respective districts directly.
’ " a. U.N.-aided
Addressing the gathering, she . tients, and medicines would be where "Charaka",
U.N.-aided ’
J that they were being harassed
. .
.
.
said the mela was of a different distributed to them free of cost, project to combat AIDS was be
§ while at work, Mr. Thimmappa ucaim 1
,.>hirh thp hpalrh nf rhp . Shn la.mrhod a-ho-jih Jncur- jneimplemented._______
£ told them to approach the. --------- ‘1
TUESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2003
3
~

7 XW^' -

r

■

J&j

''

:

Jil® - ■

V-—n DECCAN HB&AW
deccan ITERALL)j’AIDS
THE PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGE j
!r

■j

AFRICA HAS taken a historic decision
4 0 AUG ® ; SOUTH
to begin treatment in public hospitals of the five

million citizens who are infected with HIV. Now
that the country with the world’s largest HIV
. population has decided to provide medical care
jfor tlie affected, can there be hope that India,
1 which has the world's second largest populai tion infected with the virus, will follow in the
i leader’s footsteps? AIDS treatment in the form
| of active retroviral therapy (ART) offers no cure
! for the disease. Prevention is the only way to
t- contain the spread of the virus that causes
[ AIDS. India is doing poorly in prevention, with
j' the recent estimates by the National AIDS Control Organisation showing a 15 per cent in; crease in just one year in the number of new
infections. Much more has to be done in the
i area of prevention. However, society also has a
r responsibility to care for those infected with
I HIV. ART provides the infected with an opporJ tunity to lead a normal life, delays tlie onset of
• full-blown AIDS, and reduces the transmission
; of HIV, especially by infected mothers. The only
| AIDS care now available in India is in private
X hospitals. The irony is that while Indian pharmaceutical companies caused an upheaval in
•i the global market by offering anti-AIDS generic
? drugs at just 3.5 per cent of global prices ($350
versus $10,000 for a year), tlie Government has
1 refused to take advantage of the achievements
J of Indian industry.
Three kinds of arguments are advanced
j against the provision of ART through public
p health programmes. None of them can stand
.-j critical scrutiny. One argument is that AIDS
q care requires adherence to a difficult regimen of
intake of toxic drugs and this is not possible in a
4 poor country'. The best answer to this objection
is provided by the success story of Brazil. In the

mid-1990s, this developing country' put in place A
a universal, free AIDS care programme, backed "J
by community programmes that monitored
drug consumption. The result has been ex- •<
tremely good standards of adherence, which ‘
have led to a stabilisation of the HIV/AIDS pop- 1
ulation at half a million, a dramatic reduction in ;
AIDS-related deaths, and a control of transmis- !
sions. A second argument is that a poor country 1
cannot afford universal care. ART is expensive :
and tlie cost of drugs, testing and monitoring
can go up to Rs. 35,000 a year for a patient. The
answer to diis is that at any point only 20 to 30 *
per cent of tlie infected need treatment. This ;
means that universal care in India would not j
cost more than Rs. 4,000 crores a year. This is f
equivalent to 0.5 per cent of annual GDP and is j:
by no means unaffordable. The third argument j
against State-provided care is that AIDS is not j
the only public health priority in India. The -j
number of Indians suffering from and not re- G.
ceiving treatment for tuberculosis, malaria and
diabetes is many times the number affected by
HIV/AIDS. These populations cannot be ignored.
|<.
AIDS cannot be the only illness receiving close I
attention, but the absence of a cure makes it a
unique kind of challenge today. What is re­
quired is public health action of a kind that has
been lacking: Government provision of medical
services that care for Indians suffering from all
the major illnesses. The Government of South
Africa has decided to provide medical care for its
HIV population after maintaining for years that .
ART would not make a difference. The Government of India has been involved in denial of a
different kind; it has simply refused to acknowl­
edge that it is confronted with a major public I
health crisis. This cannot (continue any longer. ■

SI

a coMragmos
:' rew role

A

st

?v-i J?,

AIDS bbmEticIangiiOTfgf5^
By K. Raka Sudhakar Rao

(■'

be done only when the in­
mates give writ ten cons­
ent. "We cannot take up ehmasse screening,” says
Deputy Inspector General
(pi isons) B. Mahender Reddy;
-------- by the
ulc spurt, in
Alarmed
HIV positive cases the crison administration has

Confirmed AIDS patie- V,
nts arc put on medical diet I*
RikJahmundry,
Aug
10:
By Dlvya Sreedharan
hard work because clients
which includes extra dose.§
can get nasty and beat them r AIDS bomb is ticking in
of milk, fruits and food.'f.i
5 bangalore, AUG. 10. A quiet, U|).
f the Rajahmundry Central
The Central Jail has one b
? but brave, transformation is
Poverty has driven most f-, Jail. ■
deputy civil surgeon, two T
jj taking place in one of the lit- women to this profession, fl • Ten of the 13 inmates
assistant civil- surgeons, I>b
£ tic lanes in Kalasipalyam "Some girls have studiedin f who died last year were
...
male nurses, two pharma- \
j; here. The change is happen- colleges.
colleges." Dowry
Dowry is
is another
another q AIDS patients and among
cists, a lab technician and
5 ing at an office, where a cause. And many girls have Vi those serving imprisonent
>, thrcc-ycar-old organisation become
two male nurses. All the
h called the Vijaya Mahila
convicts are given health
a
ds
...........
.......
The women relate ...with J-. |m
d by U beaded and counselling
oroeramr. Sangha,
meets.
Its..v.o
members
and counselling
program­ screening cards on enter­
mes in a big way. A novel ing the jail.
1 hold annual days and general sadness the story of a 16- i''.J
3, -isease.
“
yes,
AIDS
is
a
serious
A> body
bod.y meetings.......................... year-old from Bellary who
£.es*
‘Partners
in ' Sexual
UIC
How successful is -the
They
lhey arc courageous wom
worn-­ came to Bangalore with a \ »Problem among the inma- HealUi’ (PSH) programme PSH? According to Reddy
en who have homes, chil- man. He is said to have left b tes- Several convicts cont- has been taken up where ., counseUing
counselling helps keep up
v'p
£$ dren, parents, but belong to her at the city bus stand : act..............
the disease and are convicts are enlightened ■'
• of- the victims..
the-morale
£ that category of those practis- where she was allegedly ! HIV positive by the time about AIDS and told how
.J
"the ”'world's
£ ing
nrnr.-^inn
worltl s oldest raped. She died of a sexually 3 they come here,” says jai- to live with it. “We tell He. cited the example of a
fA profession."
nm
*transmitted
.-..-.ij
..
................... ..
convict who completed the
disease.
; ler U.. Visweswar
Rao.
them that there is no need prison term. After counsel­
. .
. The sangha members
--- is --Alcoholism
rife among 5 ) p
But
detection
of
AIDS
pato
panic.
We
counsel
them
«< make candles, shawls and
-J the sex workers. "Mwou
ling, he has decided not to
“Most gido
girls Jtients ?
1 a™?eC°nie. * bi.g mat
patients can have sex with his wife apd
p clothes, which they sell at the drink before
going tn
to Mt.nrc
clients. •<I !problem
Toro nnin,
Though
mi.normal life,” the thus prevented her from
KR Market. And they also ex- They say it is to forget what ’•
. cel at being "peer educators" they do. Others cannot sleep son has HTV kits, tests can DIG said.
contracting AIDS.
A
.........
...
jf
thcy
are
sober
„
Bu(
(he
|
< for other sex workers. In this
H role, they hold health camps, sangha members are more G1
p focussed on HIV/AlDs and confident now. "We feel bold H
IhcCAN HERALD
k sexually transmitted diseases, enoughh to ..j,...
w. uu.
fight ,for
our ’•
The Society for People’s rights," they, say.
This
has
,:...D
i, Action for Development, a helped
’ ' ’ them
'
to face the ponon-government organisa- lice too.
£ lion working with commer»U3 ?
By Our Special
When the sangha was
facturer,” she said. The phase 1!,
Correspondent
cial sex workers and truck iviniuu,
formed, the
Society lor
for reoPoo- J
mu ouciciy
clinical trials of the vaccine
[ drivers, trained the women pie’s Action took the women
were
' and helped them form the to police stations for interne- ’' bangalore. AUG. 12. The search 2004. likely to be held in earhb
sangha.
—
o-—
tion.
or aa vacc
*ne ,n
vaccine
to immnnico
immunise peo­
tion. "Occasionally,
“Occasionally, police
police. ‘for
In the final phase, the vac-j!
Sex workers and truck driv- harass us, but they generally '■ ple against the "subtype C" HIV cine would be tried on "nor- J
i ers are at high-risk from these leave us alone,"
'
" they
'
say. —
The s virus prevalent in India is reac­ mal” and "high-risk" groups.
. debilitating illnesses because women visit the Stale Worn- Z hing a definitive phase.
ft commercial sex workers arc en’s Remand Home, near'
Vijay Mehra, Programme Di­ The results should be encou-lj
usually unable to insist on NIMHANS, every week. “We i rector, Applied Vaccine Re­ raging before commercial use;i
I ? safe. sex. Once infected, a want to try and get our HIVG' search, International AIDS can be thought of, she said. !.{
Bangalore will see a State-|-r
commercial sex worker can positive girls married or at-.: Vaccine Initiative (1AVI), said
level interaction on August 13
sj quickly
it on -to others.
least bget
them juuj
jobs.. /um
And wej)
■
j pass
>
----------------vi mtin
WLV' the research leading to the vac­
and 14 between the National]
The sangha wants to break want to expand our candle-rf cine was a joint programme of i\iB^-.^0.ntr0‘ ^r8an’sahon, the
this vicious cycle but it is making unit," the women say.(”
"■p-l:

d^ed

tix*;ar

I

>

■'Riesel reF onHiV'
vaccine progressing, n AUG 7.003

I ,

i

X

A

6

A

A

A

aid Al DS > i

Vaccine Initiative, medical ex-!?

THE HTEIW

? AUG 2003

will be associated with the cc
sultation termed "Working
gether for an AIDS Vaccine ...,
India: A partnership of science iA for commercial use, the licence and
society”.
1
fcwill be transferred to the Union
Similar consultations were l<
^.Government. It will, in turn, held
earlier in Maharashtra, Ta- $
3 transfer *t to an Indian manu- mil Nadu, and the North East.

’yn e ii in on'
3 AUG 7003

M

t;
I-

t(S

e
c-C:

o

o
Q-

fr- ■

•

...

-

...........................................................................................................

.

■

'

""

------------ - --------------------- -- —\

Understanding the killer virus

____ inn nnH
tears,
breast »^iilh
milk, nr
urine,
and ’
vaginal secretion of the victim’
HIV-affected blood and semen
a

IDS or Acquired
Immuno-Deficiency
Syndrome is a pan­
demic disease cutting
across
barriers,
ll affecting members of both devel2oped and developing countries
? in the world. The magnitude of
1 the disease has increased over
hundred-fold ever since it was
■> discovered in 1981 and reached
new communities and countries,
it HIV or Human Immuno-defi!■ ciency Virus is the cause for the
dreadful disease. The HIV infec-

_

■ Wf • ■-A 11111|
S—Ur
.
•... ’ ' ■ JfW ' Wfe-'• ■
i PeT™SesoftranX
.

.

.

■

T

'WA

. j

is estimated that 75 per cent of
persons develop
AIDS by the end of the tenth

'4te^^BycarorBettinBi“
Diagnosis of AIDS

' The symptoms are as follows:' :
* Presence of fever for more than,
AIDS is a secondary immuno-deficiency caused by HIV
a month.
* Continuation of loose bowels
infection. Dr ASIM RANJAN DAS describes the disease
and recurrent cough for more
order
such
as
AIDS,
which
is
than a month.
•• tion breaks down the immune- bacteria and the toxic sub­ caused due to HIV infection.
stances
produced
by
them.
There
'•! system of the victim making
The HIV virus that causes * 10 per cent loss in normal body
are
five
’
types
of
immuno
globujj him vulnerable to various lifeAIDS is capable of making a weight.
threatening diseases such as lins, among which the IgG is the DNA copy of its RNA-genome. It * Chronic uncelrative herpes
most
important
group
producing
■ '■
il pneumonia and encephalitis.
then integrates into the chromo­ simplex.
il
The natural defence mecha- a majority of antibodies.
somes of the host's T-cells. They
T-lymphocytes
or
T-cells
are
d nism of an individual is strucinvade the T-ceUs, destroy them Control of AIDS
J-' tured as follows: The human responsible for cellular immuni­ and cause a gross reduction in * Safe sex should be practiced, jj
ty.
The
committed
stem
cells
of
. blood contains blood plasma and
the host's cellular immunity. The * Only pre-sterilised disposable "T
1 formed elements like Red Blood tlie bone marrow migrate to the victim ultimately succumbs to syringes and needles should be ;
cortex
of
the
Thymus
gland
and
’!
i Corpuscles (RBC), White Blood
trivial antigenic challenges. As used.
! Corpuscles (WBC) and platelets. multiply. The newly formed cells the cellular immunity in the * Blood sought from blood banks ,i
mature
to
become
immunologi---should
be
thoroughly
checked
,
' The WBC or leucocytes are of cally potent T-cells. Both T-cells body of the victim reduces due
before using.
\ J
. various types. One of them is the and B-cells must undergo special to
HIV-infection,
various
The Government should also }
• lymphocytes which is again processing to act upon foreign microbes of the surrounding
HIV/AIDS awareness^,
divided into two - B-lymphocytes b0(jjcs
environment become pathogenic organise
programmes and provide proper^
' ■ and T-lymphocytes.
There are two types of leading to attacks of pneumonia, counseling services. Enacting / •
. The B-lymphocytes or B-cells
encephalitis, tuberculosis and
J get converted into plasma-cells immuno-deficiencies: Primary various other disorders. The laws in hospitals, nursing*
immuno-deficiency
that
is
either
homes, clinics and health cenin
that produce immuno-globulins,
HIV-virus is mostly found in the
:' essential for humoral immunity. inherited or not associated to blood, semen and cerebrospinal tres that help in preventing
mt
of^
The plasma-protein on the other any other disease such as thymic fluid of the victim in high con- blood-borne
““dAbo1 “ m infections
alfso ‘ a . longl
aplasia,
and
secondary
immuno
­
HIV/AIDS
will
also
go
a
lon^
hand carries gamma globulin,
centration.
It
is
also
found
in
low
™
11
the
disease
' an antibody that fights diseases. deficiency that is directly or .concentration in the saliva,, way .n condoling the disease.^
(• Immuno-globulin neutralises indirectly caused by anQthecdis- .

l
4

-X

1 ►

'A 3 AUG

I

First clinical trial of Aids
vaccine to begin in 2004
OH News Service

‘ A

Vr

3

'4 BANGALORE, Aug 17
A India is on the threshold of the
! j first clinical trial of a preventive
. Aids vaccine. Addressing their
’ first interactive meeting with
’■, various representatives of the
I. society here, Mr Mark Chataway,
! team leader, International Aids
'• Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), India
; Chapter, said the vaccine, would
undergo its first clinical trial of
' j Phase-I in the beginning of 2004,
• i in Pune.
1[
Developed by Therion Biolog!' ics of Cambridge, Massachu; setts, The. National Aids Research Institute, Pune, and the
! National Institute of Cholera
j’ and Enteric Studies. Kolkata, the
l vaccine is the result of a triparI tile memorandum of underI standing between National Aids
’ Control Organisation (NACO),
. the Indian Council of Medical

Research (ICMR) and IAVI in De­ dience that comprised academi- R
cember 2000. he informed. The cians, scientists, representatives B
vaccine will focus on HIV strain of NGOs working in the field of (
C, the subtype of the virus most HIV/Aids and the general pub- h
common in India, added Mr lie.
While 'Giving the Project' Di­
Chataway.
The meeting ‘Working to­ rector, Karnataka State Aids Pre­
wards for an Aids vaccine in In­ vention Society (KSAPS). Van- !
dia: A partnership of science dana Gurnani talked about the
and society.’ was held in partner­ State scenario and the various
intervention
programmes, , V
ship with
---- the Sir Dorabji Tata
Ashok Rau of Freedom Founda­ *
Centre for Research in Tropical
Diseases, IISc and Freedom tion spoke about the need to ;
strengthen linkages between sci­
Foundation.
It focussed on the scientific ence and community.
cnuneuKuo
'To be successful, the vaccine, ;
challenges v.
of vaccine development, protection of the rights of though developed by science, has ;
thp
the vulnerable erouns
groups and ethiethi­ to be a community agenda he
said. Earlier, giving the trends of -,
cal and human rights concerns.
Questions like ‘Who could be various vaccine initiatives in In- ;
‘What were the dia, Gen D Raghunath, principal
a volunteer?,'
-------executive. Sir Dorabji Tata Cen­
_
rights
an^,r®isP_ 0^........
bJ,ltli<;^°t.fa
i
volunteer?,
’ ‘What if the vaccine tre for Research in Tropical Dis­
’
did not work?,' ‘What is the ethi­ eases. IISc, said India had the po­
cal framework for such a vac­ tential to work towards develop- I
jj
cine?’ etc., were raised by the au- ing an AIDS vaccine.

8 AUG

t-

33

... ...

.

X w. “ G E u

I

E;•

ABL

X ■- Xz

x

\

' °uc

.

.. V

i

. A

■

\ -IL J J

?' I ... . X‘ z “Xx
2 ’ ";
- ■'

'

.

4 AUG
Aids victim I;
ends life
I

'v\

H A - X, '

t

•.' ■

-................ i?

^BRUSSELS: Drugs used to fight the AIDS virus and Hepatilis|
. i-can help eradicate a disease affecting banana and plantains
, . ^plants in the Third World, according to a study by Belgian 'J
' •
/'■ • i researchers. "Bananas and plantains constitute the basic n
j foodstuffs of over 400 million people in Africa, Asia and
d
f Latin America," said one of the authors of the study, Prof. <]
G Philippe Lepoivre of the University of Gembloux in southern
Belgium. Such plants are often affected by the banana streal
• virus (BSV), which uses the same enzyme to replicate itself..
.■ i
! as Hepatitis-B or AIDS. The study reveals that adefovir Jnd'j
• t “a.-I i tenofovir, two anti-111V drugs discovered by researchers-at J
' Belgium’s University of Leuven, are effective in eradicating j‘|
BSV in bananas. He hopes that the drugs can be used ■
'■ a^msy^e banana,disease .within .mnnth«^’;CTW***-’

■L

h

M . ■ .. ...........................

...................

drugs for plants

1

;; '

..

'

AIDS patient
‘stoned to death’

1

J ; BANGALORE, July 26(DHNS)
1}
'I
A 38-year-old married man com-H
1
;L miffed suicide after being diag-p
' NEW DELHI, JULY 9. An HIV-infect- 1
'4
nosed
as having
AID .Ulf
.The victim,-'
i
V > “
vo^aoiiavn
1K«j£y
VIULUH.K
60 woman
WOllian in
ID Kuppam
KUppam of
Of ChitCllit- ;
,n ed
_' l
t
1 e f’rt
i
o
- - .1^ ’
; g Devi Prasad, a resident of Dom-p"
toor district
was
stoned to Jdeath
i-V
his^ on JJj.
/ lur
1— Layout, cut a nerve on hisp
cHiein tuuay,
July 4. L,
In a oleU
statement
today, ■
V if neck on July 10 after coming to J Brian Hail, president of theAusknow that he was suffering fromi j Iralian • AIDS Fund
Inc. „„.J
said j
---- ---■ '■ Aids. He was admitted to a pri-i "such horror is not acceptable 4
0
■
/
....................
r
; 3 vate hospital in the City where hef in any society in the world and G
j H died today. He leaves behind wife* must be condemned in the r
• ? and six-year-old child. Ulsoor po-- strongest possible and public
manner." He has written to the '
,... ...
1 L lice have booked a case.
President,
Abdul ...
Kalam, and
■.'..'A'' ’
: MURDER: A 25-year-old
woman'
„ ,the,
kX ‘
' • '. X ’
was hacked to death by her hus-' Andhra I radesh Chief Minister,
ster, r
'
>
>nd in Jeevanbeema Nagar~ PTI
. 1 ?f Police limits tonight.
•
• X .
(
\
X.' X
X'Gz
The deceased is Sati and the I
J HE HINDTK
•■' .^'accused Hariram (30), residents;
,
. <
L of HAL II Stage, 17th Main. The ' .^7 Q
/
couPle were'construction work-, •»
ers. Sati leaves behind four-yearVibha Shrivastava, 14, performs the last rites of her father at a--’
• cremation ground in Bhopal on Monday. Vibha’s father Rajeshr. i
Shrivastava died of AIDS on August 8 and she had also lost herJ DECCAN irpp aj j)
mother Savita Shrivastava to AIDS in April. It is uncommon L
amongst Hindus for a woman to perform the last rites.
•i

hi

. '•>A.-,
A
x.
.*

x... . J.
.. i

. VvM r •

■ XX
XA

KwlL

-----

CL

JUL

_ ___________________________ _

.

------------------------ T

—T------------------------ - ------- :

DECCAN HERALD

:

T

:—~• .■

.

• /A*

JUL Z’J'ls

i!t 3 aug znoa
1

By Our Staff Reporter
bangalore, aug. 13. H. Sudar• shan, Director (Vigilance), Lo. kayukta, said on Wednesday
5
id to
that there was a need
to ensure
ensure
! that the AIDS vaccine, when dej vclopcd, was made accessible
and affordable to the poor.
Speaking at a State-level interactive session on "Working
j together for an AIDS vaccine for
[ India: A partnership of science
. and society'', organised here by
•' the National AIDS Control Orl ganisation (NACO), the Indian
|: Council for Medical Research,
f and the International AIDS Vac< cine Initiative (IAVI), Dr. Sudarshan said: “As long as trials on
'< human beings for the developJ ment of an AIDS vaccine are
v ethical, they can be conductr. ed.” There was a danger that
'• private organisations or multi■' national companies might mo4 nopolise the process, which
v
should not happen, he added.
. Trials on human beings were
ncccssar)' for the development
of an AIDS vaccine, Jean-Louis

1.: i

uxcicr, iviemcai
Exclcr,
Medical unieciui
Director ui
of inv.,
IAVI, type C prevalent in the country,
said. The reactions, immune re- The approval process may also
sponses, and vaccine protection prove a challenge as the plan
should be tested specifically evolved to test the vaccine has
among human beings, he add- to be submitted to national reg­
ed.
ulatory authorities before it
Dr. Exclcr said one of the ma- moves into the first stage of
jor challenges in India as far as- trials on human beings.
_i:.
— concerned
Giving an overview of the
clinical
trials were
was the recruitment of volun- global scenario, Dr. Excler said
than 10,000 HIV-infected
teers for the tests. I he Phase I
J. .. part
r t in
'at volunteers had taken
trial required healthy people
clinical trials going on in varilow risk of HIV infection.
The
meeting is aimed
r"'
J at OUS parts of the world. HIV prebuilding a sustained long-term ventive vaccine trials were
partnership with society on going on in developing coun­
community-based
prepared­ tries, including China, Thailand,
ness for the development of an Brazil, Uganda, Kenya, Cuba,
and Botswana, he added.
AIDS vaccine.
Vijay Mehra, Programme Di­
The first vaccine planned for
tests in the country is a Mod­ rector, Applied Vaccine Reified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) search, sa'id the AIDS vaccine
vector-based vaccine through a had to be safe, affordable, acmemorandum of understand­ cessible, and effective against
ing signed between IAVI and the all HIV subtypes, though the
Centre. The Phase I clinical one being developed here was
trials will commence at the Na- to combat the HIV subtype C.
The overall AIDS
tional AIDS Research Institute
— vaccine
------- - dc—
(NARI),
Pune, by, the first quarvclopment process, including
.
.
’’I clinical trials from Phase 1 to
ter of' 2004.
This vaccine will
counter the strain of HIV sub- Phase III, might take seven to 10
•

-

_l

*.?_!_

•

...

years before accessibility could
be ensured. The Phase II would
generate safety data and whelher the vaccine induces the ap­
propriate immune response,
while Phase III would be an effi­
cacy trial, he added.
Speaking on the AIDS scene
in Karnataka, Vandana Gurnani, Project Director, Karnataka
State AIDS Prevention Society
(KSAPS), said there were plans
for target interventions specifically in North Karnataka and rural
ra! areas. The State Government
would increase the number of
H1V/AIDS surveillance sites
from 18 to 66 by December end
for better data on the preva­
lence of AIDS in the country.
Social marketing of condoms
would be launched this year.
North and coastal areas,
apart from Bangalore and My­
sore, had high prevalence of
H1V/AIDS in the State, she add­
ed.
Ashok Rau of the Freedom
Foundation spoke on the comniunitylevel
levelresponses
responsesto HIV/
munity
AIDS in the Slate.

G

5

■!

J
J

84- O«

i
t
►

Al

___ -____
____
eminent organisation work­

have come here to earn and
should not indulge in sex out
ing in this field for more than
of wedlock. We tell them to
five years no\v.
fulfill their desires through
Although, at the moment
AI.ANG, Aug 20
“self-sex”," says Mahesh Jani,
only some 35 HIV positive pa­
Hazards to the environment
project officer. Initially the
tients are under treatment,
,-id health of workers during
workers were not receptive,
BBB chairman Dr Niloo
'.nip breaking at Alang, the
but now they are trying to lis­
Vaishnav fears that the num­
' world's biggest ship breaking
ten to advice. “We recom­
bers could be much more for
>ard, may well be issues in
mend that only as a last re­
these are only self-reported
. public knowledge, but there
sort .they should have sex
cases. A senior official of the
is yet another cause for conwhen they are away from
organisation told Deccan Her­
-^ern - the vulnerability of
home and that too not with- ’ '
ald that two persons - a work­
■ the 30,000 odd workers to Sexout using condom", the offi­
J ually Transmitted Diseases
er and a woman from nearby
cer further points out.
i^md 111V/AIDS.
village - have died in the re­
To reduce the possibilities
cent past due to AIDS.
T > To say the workers at
• of the workers acquiring HIV,
These workers, who come
Alang are sitting on a volcano
BBB has opened 50 condom
from Orissa, Bihar, Uttar
^Xwould not be an understatedepots in the yard. These de­
iPradesh and other places of
.. snent considering that every
pots Are at places easily acces­
S week about 45 to 55 new_cases the country, go to their native
sible to them. Considering the
Hof STDs are reported
reporte ‘ at Bhav-1 places once in a year or two.
seriousness of the problem.
We tell
tell the
the workers
workers that
thatthe.
they
'‘ magar Blood nonV
Bank, aa nnn-p'ovnon-gov- ' ““We
. rm TXT) „ ATHC

From Nandini Oza
PH News Service

bi

women from neighbouring
Dr Vaishnav is planning to
' villages come to Alang on the
map migrant population and
pretext of selling vegetables.
nearby villages. Another
Some of these women are
project is to carry out bio-eco­
compelled to indulge in com­
nomic study of 12 villages in
mercial sex due to poverty,
the vicinity. However, for un­
another BBB worker says.
dertaking HIV test, the BBB
“It is serious. I am con­
will first have to take the per­
cerned that the prevalence of
mission of the Indian Council
HIV/AIDS, which is 0.3 per
for Medical Research.
\
cent in Bhavnagar district,
,
The fears of those working
can increase”, Dr Vaishnav
in the
BBB’s- project
funded
—
says, concluding that so far
by the Gujarat StateAids
no scientific surveillance of
Control Society are not un­
HIV in Alang has been done. .
founded. Preliminary surveys
As for the Gujarat Mar­
by the organisation have re­
itime Board that manages the
vealed that some 10-odd
yard, no major initiative has .
women from neighbouring
been taken. All that it has
villages, who have come in
done is support either the Red
contact with the migrant
Cross Society or BBB from
workers, have also acquired
time to time in some study.
STDs. Mr Jani-savs that the .

thrive in TN’s AIDS epicentre j

"lAECCA'S herald
*'

*

F

o a«g bs

been unable to go ahead scheduled diseases under |
o of measu- the Magical Remedies Act, |
with any c
package
Chennai, Aug 24: People
to p^uteta quacks
Ute Drugs ConUol Director^•
While Health Minister ate - the enforcing author- a
W*ith Hiv/AIDS are dying a
ity - says it is difficult to |
rslow and painful death in iThalavai Sundaram avoi­
&amakkal, Tamil Nadu. ded answering any questi­ prosecute quacks for want a
evidence. '"There Js5 no a
Hrhe quacks are making a ons on the issue, Health Sec- of
printed matter, no pamphl- 1
^killing but the Government retary.GirijaVaidliyanath[lisUcluele7s7as'" h doesn't an bluntly refused to speak ets or booklets when they 8
make a false claim or prom- T
Mseem to have a quick-fix sol­ to reporters. But everyone ise of a magic cure for HIV/ |
who
counts
for
anything
in
ution to the menace. Days
AIDS. The claims are onlyg
lafter an expose in the health department circles
spread by word of mouth g
Umedia about the problems admit that the problem
Hand
by the quacks is spin- leaving them in the clear d
Mand threats
threats posed
posed by
by the
the posed
p..
jquacks in the epicentre of ming out of control.
away from the -reach. of the|
•hhe HIV/AIDS scourge, the
Though
Though HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS has
has law says a drug inspector £
, the
Shealth authorities have been included in tlie list of in the Directorate.
g
have

u.. ....... . .

^Buddhist leaders meet
Ito tackle AIDS
8 Thai capital from Monday to review the reliM gion’s approach to tackling the HIV/AIDS crisis
| • ravaging parts of Asia, according to AFP from

X f. AUG

/ks 10 lakh a month on |
' Saudi AIDS
ASDS patients
patients
0

- Saudi Arabia has allocated over Rs 20 crore ||

lUf UCcllUlb

- a

DECCAN ITER AT.1)

IBy Pushpa Narayan

VSy -- ------------------ ---

.

cost Rs 10 lakh a month to take care of just H
one AIDS patient in the Kingdom, PTI report^

fr°Tarek Madani, adviser to the Health Minis! j

D Bangkok.
.
....
C'UIAifive-day seminar sponsored by the United
H Nations
G
r
p
Nations Children's
Children's Fund
Fund and
and governments
governments of
of
i five Asian countries will gather GO monks, nuns $ and government officials to hash out ways to
of A
h stem the HIV tide and reduce the suffering
brought on by the disease. •
triirmr
“
r-i
“The five countries involved are all at diilci H ent stages of accepting that clergy and religious
H leaders have a very important role to play.
d UNICEF’s regional advisor on HIV/AIDS Robei t

^ni
mcdicine for thc treatment
patients in Riyadh. Jeddah and
Patiuu
J

DECC.'; N'’’'

a-G AUG

DECCAN HERALD

0

■2 5 AUG 2003
f-

$5

r-

4^-

F’wto drutf LUSTCb/
f
Muslim
clerics help
cuts funding!
ttAo’o
F deal tails | for Asian AIDS j fight against
agaillSt A1DSJ«
AIDSJ

R GENEVA, Auk 29 (Al’/AEP)
|
131'021’^1111136
[World Trade Organisation^.
to
H (VVTO) diplomats failed to reachy Washington. Aug 2i) (AP)

O
’j! R
y
S
akyasen
By Sakyasen M
Miura
ittra
by oaky a

O

•
.
H ('3
the
issue
among
impoveris-M
t..w .................. ..
j>
hed, uneducated
uneducated Muslims^
Muslims^/,
m‘-''

..............................................

-**-*'' ■

c

<

Kolkata, Sept 2: Influent­
ial Muslim clerics arc help­ has about 150,000 people infing neaim
m West ected with HIV. Of these
health uuiuku
officials^ in
Bengal to spread awareness 1,800 have m
HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuber- ~___ j J—i about
Relieious leaders have.^
about AIDS.
AIDS. The
The West
West BenBcnj culosis.
X ooi
"Following manv hours of in- JV tions and sterilisation ir.
in ch;.,,
China.?}
gal sjfatp
State AIDS
AIDS Prevention
Prevention been helping with the polio qj
awareness
drive many une- .-j
/. —
State Department spokesman j and Control Society turned .. •> tensive consultation, there is a ;!i Philip
Reeker said yesterday! to the clerics for help beca-. ducated people believe
•1 problem with respect to inter-G
‘J’ “cekcr s"lcl
polio vaccine
’■
’--‘ rfundS
undc •”crc °offered
vaccine could
could cause
cause
q pretation. There is no deal. We i ithat
ffered to
tOdob:
SLX °otl: use of the latter's ability to nnhn
■'need more time," said WT0 \ seven groups that received
recetved mon4
monj; mould opinion in the Mus- impotence. The superstit- J
ion, widespread in rural be- „
)m the department
’s Bui?
from
departments
nil-‘ iim community. ■
>*, spokesman Keith Rockwell. niut}cy
reaU of
of PnnitloHnn
Population, Pnfn
Refugees.’ Health volunteers were Its, has caused thousands of ?, Ly-J
was now,:™"un- i and Migration.
;;i! Rockwell said itltwasnow
T'T'"‘ •
.seeing limited success with parents to keep their child-. j
J!
be Ki But
Rut the
the consortium
COns
’L11. y t,iat a decision could ucp.
ot
of groups;
groups^ their projects jn fighting ren away from government '
taken before meeting of trade^ turned down
down the
the fnndinn
funding afl
after
Pr|j
which made them
efforts to eradicate polio. ’;
J
■ ministers
ministers from
from WTO
WTO’’ss 146
146 mem-*?
mem-’'J the department excluded the;. turn to the clerics, who had The
The misconception had. ;go
. ber countries in Cancun, Mexi-J seventh group, Marie Stopes In-3
taken seed because some ig' )
}Z
: co, opening on September 10. International.
J similarly been roped in for norant clerics had in the
T
WTO’s intellectual property ^
“We offered this funding to; a successfully polio awaren- past propagated the idea of
. panel earlier adopted document six of them, in order to continue? ess drive. Suresh Kumar, the polio vaccine causing r
first proposed last December,'}- supporting the good work'thatJ
Wuin. uwi. the
-- AIDS control society
. , ’s impotency, says Moham- r
and* director, says many of
■.] that will let developing coun-** they’ve done on prevention
pr
med Mursalim, a teacher Itlie
in?; cierics
clerics in
i
.f tries ignore some patent rules in t|. response to HIV/AIDS
ini;
u.c city-’s
HIV/AIDS i-.|
I importing drugs from cheaper refugee settings,"’ Mr Reeker
Reeker* mosques are now making it with the Madrassa Islamia y;
warn> people
after Arabia Mojaherul Uloom.
> generic manufactiturers.
IV said. "It was the Cconsortium's.'!
viuul dum jh a point to
--------- •
Chief clerics of mosques i
.*
Tho rlnnl urnr* ♦
The deal was to facilitate ac-!'* decision not to accept the fund-fi Friday prayers about AIDSwere
thennrequested
cess to generic drugs for poor
111 ing.
ing."” Marie Stopesinternational?
----------9<5<!-J to ann•■.cess
poor';
Stopes International? and its dangers.
This week 10 such clerics ounce before and alter m s «
V countries struggling to fight dis- > was excluded because of its part-il
part-id
A THO
i
•
—- ^.4
«of <1
a nnrnr
eases such as AIDS
and1 .malaria.
____
_*<1’ nership iin China with the Unit-}.J .met
to discuss
a more COH"
con- pTHyCVS tllC irnpOFtOXlCC 01 4:
}
Thn
noronmont in principle .'*1 nH
%
The agreement
ed KTntinnc
Nations Pnnnlntinn
Population Pimd
Fund. 13 certed jnethod to address the polio vaccine. V)
| was
of
is reached at a meeting
meetint? * nf
WTO committee called TRIPS | '
v council and was to have been M
ratified by the General Council. ?(
,,
However when WTO called a Washington,’ Aug 28: The Uni- after the US refused another ause it assists the United Nati- •
meetlnS of body s general coun- ted states has ended financing group working in the consort­ ons fund for population activity s
cil, to give final approval, differ- of an AIDS programme for refu­ ium. (UNFPA), which participates in (
ences began to emerge.
g gees in Africa and Asia because
"We offered this funding to China’s programme of coercive r
j/ Despite hours of closed-doors 0 it believes one of the groups inv­ six of them in order to continue abortion and is banned under *
■I negotiating, agreement proved olved supports forced abortion supporting the good work that United States law from recciv-1
15 impossible.
B
and sterilisation in China, the tliey have done on prevention ing government money, Reekenf
L
state department said Wednes­ and response to hiv/aids in refu­ said.
"The Marie Stopes Organisat^
gee settings,” Reeker said. "It
day.DECCAN HERALD
State department spokesman was the consortium’s decision ion is a major implementing par^
tner for the United Nations popf
p Philip Reeker on Wednesday not to accept the funding."
y said that the group of six organi- • The United States would not ulation fund in China," he saidgt
Asations involved in the progra- fund the seventh organisation, adding that the decision wajffi
fimme declined to take US money Marie Stopes International, bec- consistent with US policy • DPA |

Is-’x-'xsys SSSWTSKri
h=s:s.=:,is.s
i? •
. ______

?• <

t

•*

w*vi V

AllW CAI AK

WVZ

"■ “ “ss
5?

a
(rr

£

c

I | dUlC '

4UV111 LULU

»W W

-----------

c.

».

c.
£

n ■■■.!■■ II ■»

><Z;- •

US cuts funding for AIDS scheme

A ,

'i “ AUG 03

I'ASDS awareness at
Ganesh mandaSs

____ —
i
j

M 9 Kolhapur District Collector H R Pawar has de ,
'J dared cash awards for Ganesh niandals that
| will promote AIDS awareness and ’prabodhan’
j during the Ganpati festival scheduled to start ot
.-i August 31, reports UNI. Informing this to re- j
porters in Kolhapur on Wednesday, Mr Pawar i'
said this was being done to create awareness
I among the people about the dreaded disease. ’
Awards are instituted for the best Ganesh
.< mandal portraying the theme as part of cam- ‘
^paigning against AKSJ-^) I'l - &

:

—

.». -v

-t

I llJZ H1HW
)

DECCAN HERALD

'f p.HG

S6

t.

o
fi, n Add

- feC

c

<7

-J

/■J

Deccan herald
l oor nations can now

F?

From D Ravi Kanth .
' PH News Service

ii ii

:

sue compulsory licences to manufacture
Until now, generic companies in Ir
patented medicines at affordable prices
4®^.( a range of safeguards.
A''
for millions of HIV/A1DS, tuberculosis
” / v W dra™ haSr c^S that some of^e ' o“XZl"ablC t0
Geneva, Aug so .
.... ... )‘Uf*®
•IRanbaxy, Cipla, Reddy Labs, and Shanti and malaria patients.
conditions listed in the latest agreement ’ '■ wn..ia comPulsory 1 censing route thaThe four countries said they will use jf
rV''
wouid '‘necessarily have a c0=
'
jjBiotech among others would benefit
this
mechanism
that
provides
legal
clargk
■
,'
::
.
'ifrom a World Trade Organisation (W'l’O)
1
,
i
:
dimension
since
it
involves
buying
and
'
'
-•
0
,
r
and
^nsfer
them
to
.
Tlandmark" agreement today that paves ity to use compulsory licensing, a politi- Ol '-'V/"*'
' ^neJ'lc Producer who is willing to man
'
'‘MS ■' selling of products”.
Jthe way for generic drug producers to cnlly-sensitive step that governments rI u’ ■A
ufacture
supply at..................
affordable prices.
"
J/LU
I
T
,ia
Saifi
k
W0l,Id
"
ex
P°
ct
that
lh
e
” In theand
found
it
difficult
Io
implement
in
the
jlsupply cheap copies of patented drugs al past because of arm-twisting
past, the United States had
-.--o by ....
the ,
A. «’ *< » a . -■
results accruing from this mechanism
((affordable prices to patients in India and United States administration.
are not neSated by the creation of cum- threatened India with trade retaliatorx
pother poor countries in Africa suffering
After months of wrangling and fierce
t ; bersome systems that would lead to measures if New Delhi resorted to com
•’.from— IIIV/A1DS, ‘ tuberculosis, and opposition
’
, J huge delays in reaching across medi- npulsory
• • licensing’ through
~ its patent bill.
by the United States and its
ijmalaria.
cmes at reasonable cost to those that Be^lnning from January 1, 2005, India
pharmaceutical producers, WTO mem­
:
146 WTO members agreed on a frame- bers had agreed on a statement prepared
or discourage Members from will have to
' provide what are called
j work - to implement, the crucial para- by the chairman of the TRIPS Council Significantly, “it proves once and for all using the system for the benefit of the product patents that would not allow
; graph six mechanism of the Doha Ambassador Vanu Gopala Menon of that the Organisation can handle hu­ people.
generic drug producers in India to man­
; TRIPS and Public Health Agreement Singapore that underscores the need to manitarian as well as trade concerns”.
In order to make this system success- Picture patented medicines,
The final agreement based on the ful, sincere collective effort is required
, that lets developing countries
with
in­ use this mechanism solely for public
”The
” only way the generic companies
x
— ...
sufficient or •ino manufacturing
capacity ■, health goals without pursuing industri- chairman of the TRIPS Council Ain- on the part of all Members and the en­ can override the patent rules is through
basssador Vanu Monon’s statement tire pharmaceutical industry.”
to transfer • compulsory licences to al or commercial policy objectives:
’
compulsory licence to address public
along with the 16 December 2002 agree­
The Indian ambassador urged “phar- health concerns,
A jubilant WTO chief Dr Supachai ment sets out stringent conditionalities
i generic producers in a third country for
supplying latest medicines at affordable Panitchpakdi told journalists “this is a
maceutical companies in all parts of the
It is in this context, the Indian gener­
. .
to safeguard diversion of drugs manu­
i prices.
historic agreement for the WTO" as it al­ factured under this mechanism from world to contribute to this noble cause ic producers can be competitive players
Trade
envoys
of India'
South Airica,
Africa, lows “poorer countries to make full use
•*
w,.
v/o vi
inuid, DUUUI
by paring their costs and making avail­ to provide cheap copies of patented
tj Brazil, and Kenya jointly declared that of the flexibilities in the WTO's intellec- poorer countries to rich countries.
able pharmaceutical products at the drugs to poor patients in India and ’
Besides, it asks both the exporting.

c°st t0 our ailm8

ft
/

V

Africa. ■

I-

'

r-

1

€£>

o

J

o

f

o_

4^’

Hi Vs

THE

I

I AUG M3

!

I

'i

f

I
!

- -O'r'r.V-

■ '■'O’ ‘-'O'- <j>

saccfcSa tC

o

<>

0-0

I

o

<>

o

I

drags imperative

The good news is that India already I*
cannot win
win the
die battle,"
battle," Mr.
Mr. Teixeira
Teixeira
li
YEARS since Its d.s- ' less than half the total-predicted by cannot
fonncd by 11IV
H nr-IWEWrY
WENTY YEARS since its dis­
noted.
•I r fl 1 co very the virus has killed some ‘ international agencies a few n0
^d.
infccted people be- fcctcd people. The National AIDS Con-■•
covery
the
virus
has
killed
BrazU
the
inrected
peop.e
beIn protagonists.
I*,...They
------- helped
■
■ break trol Organisation (NACO) has realised
If
] near? 26 million people. Of years ago " Ibis is in spite of the f.
Organisation (NACO) nas realise.u
came
They
helped
break1 troi
b> JL diis nearly 95 per cent arc dial Braz.il has approximately six .
U1C
si|cprotagonists.
nce and create
their
own orgathe power they
(hey wield and is lookau
looking at .1
the silence and create their own orga­
' ■' from the developing countries. That is HIV positive people.
nizations
and
networks.
They
lobbied
them as major stakeholders to mobilmobil­
nizations
and
networks.
They
lobbied
i not all The fate of about 45 million
Recent estimates ndiaitc he HIV n z^l^
net
c^ninuni. isc
ise poli(ical
political supporl
support for treatment and
communi--- dw scientific
catalysts to
'■ people who arc presently infected with prcvaicnce rate In hu^
a‘rcport
and pharmaceutical companies and prevention and1 serve as catalysis
a staggenng
stappenng percent
population, nut a repnCe mobilised
y , h ( public
(1;_ opinion
. .
nholnfWfl
mnhilise
mobilise die
' t may not very'. ,i;n>.r».nt
different. A
percent of
of its
itsXe
and helped
helped .-mobilise
die oul
public too.
public opinion
and
from the CIA’s National Intelligence mobilised
mo......
—
In
spite
of
the
success
of die pro­
i._:__ ________
^.-.a nlntinl nntirips,”
Council projects that the number of to design
national and_^bajpohc^
gramme, Brazilians have dicir own
noted
Fernando
Hcnrique
Cardoso
people infected with HIV in India will
of problems.
Though they got
Brazil. broke lhc share
|-We”sXSX^Tivcn us power- funrp1 to
» M-K
fo?hcscPresident
’1tarcc!cdof
O people
llX taj
pharniacculicalco.npanics
20-25 million by 2010. "Pre­ former
These infected | .'
vention is important but what use is
shackles and voiced their protest to manufacture generic drugs, the act
required to manufac­
ihemwhcreidsneededUremost-sa.d yondII
■ i£ end lhey succeeded lo Sive polili- ture them arc still being imported from
! former South African President Nelson cd by HIV? a ked Mr ^®tatoaa problem-J--..
dial was ini­ India and China. This may not be pos•Mandela at the 2nd IAS conference on
to®» to dntgs
bally considered to affect a small sible post 2005
India
is in a different
league
the J
■ XSJ ^rSopins mo^XSc^bi^-dskpoups number
ol
ha(i a rip ■ ca“
^^
ufacture
t&tRSwith
indigenumber of
people.
■ world and India in particular can take a nfnrosdtutes
The people s movement
j
J„
ch/Ac a nialfpr
of prostitutes and intravenous drug usnously/As
matter of fact it does ex- J
port diem to many African countries. •,
' ’ leaf or two from die success achieved
Can the people in India look forward to b
t by certain developing countries, Brazil
Infected people in Brazil became protagonists.
the day when (free) access to ARV |1
: in particular, in fighting the ravaging
v
They mobilised' political antcl public support for drugs becomes a non-issue?
; ’ disease. ’
Por this to happen people infected a
' • As early as in 1981 the Brazil Govern­ free access'to drugs. Over one lakh patients have
with HIV have to first come out of their 4
ment put in place a national coordinat­
shells and die government has to realreal­ ]t
ing structure to fight AIDS. And in 1996
access, :□
to medicines and the government saves
iso that subsidising ARV drugs pays in
ise
! a special legislation passed by the gov­
nearly
the
same
amount
it
spends.
the long run. Brazil for instance spends
ernment ensured the (people's) right to
--------- nearly $500 million a year on its profree and universal access to antiviral
and stands to benefit an
drugs. This stellar decision by Brazil
' made it the first developing country to
bcfomenl
and econo, n!c ben»
make universal' free access to 1...
derived from people
man rights and dus in turn encouraged clits
c
■ • living
- a -proii . a. v
>i»vwH’iC to come forward for voluntary ductivc life.
. .
...
I cd
"I am greatly concerned about India, ■!l
tipd confidential testing. The net result
* lions have plunged by 75 per cent. Be- comes the issue of transmission (ol in x^is access to free drugs which helped China and Russia which have rapidly
■ tween 1997 and 2001 Brazil saved more fccdon) to more people tfiroug ign HIV infected people improve their evolving epidemics. 1 lie results will be
calamitous if they follow the trends of
: I ; dian $2 billion.
•
^e.
’ t^en'by the quality oTlife” Mr. Cardoso said.
But
cltrrP„ ih
. ' ■ "Presently more dian
man one lakh pa— win not me
- steps
•
•states
•
=in
The biggest success
theR variou
various or- Africa," Mr. Mandela warned. "These
j : dents receive free andretroviral (ARV)
lhc mass'dMIIV ganizadons of people living with HIV countries should learn from the mis­
: 7 : medication and support on a regular paiucu ar to cdu
ic m s co^ "long wilh NGOs and scientific com- takes already committed by African
;. basis. The average survival tr.uC of af- Pr^n“ 1 P Y
had was jn making d g.S. countries and also from those coun' i fcctcd people has nsen^ from six
w*11, b
y
persons chain- withdraw die chargest agamst the Bra- tries that have taken steps to contain
d ' mon dis to nearly five years, said Paulo pact
pg rf
or HIV
HIV iniect p
^ ...
------------ mni
t in nfwninimn
2001 of violation die epidemic.”
7 i Teixeira, Director of National .STD/ Phoning the
of the Trade Related Intellectual Propasad 6
• R. Prasad
7 ',A1DS programme, Ministry of Health,
recently in Paris M
?''\Brazil. "And the .number of deaths widiout involving die affected people pace of dings.
[caused by AIDS now stands at a level of

i

I

I

IJ

4

)

I

“i

’<

-

11

- —-

I
I

>

r

2S .......-

I3

THE HINDU, Sunday, October 12, 2003

----------------------- tf;/--—----- ———---- —~

India to’conduct clinical
trials for HIV vaccine

3

2
J O

n
.J

I New

j

3

aV strain emerging |

that same is going to happen in one variety of HIV. “But to reach:'
India also,” Dr Ganguly said, that step we have to test the sin-:
adding that in such case, the sci­ gle-strain specific viruses like1,
the one which will be tried at Na-J
entists have to try a new vaccine
NEW DELHI. Oct 12 •tional AIDS Research Institute. ,
that
would
give
protections
to
; Even as the preparation is in full
(NARI) at Pune," Dr Jean Louis ,
.; steam for the first trial of an both C and Thai-B types.
Contemplating the future pos­ Excler, medical director at IAVI,,.
'! AIDS vaccine in India next year,
J emergence of a new human im- sibility, ICMR plans to try one told Deccan Herald.
Phase-I trial of the vaccine;
'! munodeficiency virus (HIV) such combination available with developed by US-based Therion
International
AIDS
Vaccine
Ini
­
j strain may block the availability
Biologic Corporation jointly,,! of an AIDS vaccine to more than tiative (IAVI) — in a new vaccine with Dr Shekhar Chakraborty at
'i: four million AIDS-affected Indi­ trial site in the north east, where •
one of the major causes of AIDS National Institute of Choleraans.
and Enteric Disease (NICED) in .
7
The experimental vaccine is is intravenous drug abuse.
Initially the Thai-B type was be­ Kolkata, is likely to begin in the
J intended to the predominant
second quarter of 2004 by which?
• HIV C sub type in India. But a lieved to be associated with AIDS ICMR hopes to get requisite reg­
: new strain “Thai B” is emerging caused due to drug abuse, though ulatory permissions. “The trial
in many parts in Bihar and east- ■ later scientists have spotted this will be to find out mainly the
■ ern Uttar Pradesh, Director Gen- particular type in other AIDS cases. safety of the vaccine though the
Currently 1.7 per cent cases in
1 eral of Indian Council, of Medkind of immune response it gen­
I ical Research (ICMR) Dr N. K Thailand are caused by Thai-B erates” will be observed," said y
sub-type.
Even
IAVI
feels
that
the
' Ganguly has warned..
Dr Sanjay Mahendele, deputy dL .
“Thai-B is prevalent in Thai- future of AIDS vaccine lies in a rector at NARI who is looking afi
land. Over the last 10 years it has combination product that would
ter the trial.
i
established itself in China. I tear be effective against more than

i-

'A

1

ternationaj AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). first undergo Phase-I clinical trial in the K
1
Other areas would later be Chennai and country of origin.
Although the India-specific vaccine has f .
t new Delhi, oct. 11. India is preparing to go the north east.
The Union Government would control been developed with the involvement of!
- in for Phase-I clinical trials in March next
,I year for a preventive HIV vaccine devel- the .pse of the vaccine if and when devel­ the scientist, Shekhar Chakravorty, of f
H oped by a scientist of the National Insti- oped. Three vaccine manufacturers have NICED and the U.S. Biotech Company, I
■ lute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases been shortlisted,’ though the Phasc-1 trial Therion Biologic Corporation in the U.S., |
|' (NICED), Kolkata, in collaboration with a vaccine has been manufactured by The- there has been no Phase I clinical trials ,
(
rion. About Rs. 17 crores has been invested with this vaccine in that country’.
; U.S.-based biotechnology company.
According to Mark Chataway of the IA- •
global • by ICMR so far. IAVI is looking at an inWith this, India would join the givLal
j effort ip finding a vaccine that would pre-- vestment of $100 million till the marketing VI, all HIV laboratory research in vaccine
development has to be uniform for global
{vent healthy, unaffected people from be- of a vaccine.
. ' arc on 'in parts
The Phase-I would determine the safety, acceptability, though bound by the regu­
j ing infected....................
with HIV. Trials
i of the world with no breakthrough yet. In- immunogenicity (ability to induce strong latory requirements of each country.
He hoped the Drugs Controller of India I
| dia is estimated to have about four million immune responses in the person to fight
I people afflicted with HIV at the end of HIV) of the intramuscular vaccine, prelim- would accept the validity of the ongoing ■
?2002.
’ inary dose requirement and schedules for preclinical and toxicology studies on ani­
! The Phase-I trial, involving administra- immunisation. This phase is expected to mals (mice) under way at the Therion Cor- *
potation.
' .jtion of the MVA (Modified Vaccinia Anka- last two years.
The current status of the trial in India is'
. , HIV-1 subtype
---- ---------r__ for c
— first Participating in a media workshop here
rra)
C vaccine
the
that a new vaccine trial centre and immu-'
on be
Friday,
Director-General
of ICMR,
i ;tiine to humans in India would
con- tlie. .......
-..j,------------------------------ducted with 13 healthy volunteers in the N.K. Ganguli, and NACO experts ex­ nology dedicated laboratory and staff is,
cage group of 18-50 to determine tlie effica- pressed the
‘Kz' confidence
—fi-’—- that the
ofkiz-nl
ethical being set up at NARI. Efforts are on to en- •
■ {cy of the vaccine. It would be conducted at and regulatory clearances on safety and rol volunteers who are likely to be from 5
'.the National AIDS Research Institute (NA- toxicology and pre-clinical studies will groups of high-risk sex workers, truck driv- a
ers, health care workers and adolescents. V.
,RI) Pune, under a tripartite agreement be- come before March.
There was no clarity’, however, on the The scientists said there would be suffi-y!
.'tween the National AIDS Control
■ ,Organisation (NACO), the Indian Council norm that a vaccine developed in another cient safeguards for the volunteers to cov—.-.-r
k
i)of Medical Research (ICMR) and the In- country — in this case the U.S. — should er riskstt--— .-~t
7
r‘
"*C -.
V. K' *A.
By Gargi Parsai

From Kalyan Ray
PH News Service

wjk—

J

H ? SEP p:G3

K/irc\ .

’-J
■j

Vatican’s views
on AIDS

Pl

■^2

1

1

O The Vatican is telling its millions of followers ,
that—-contrary to scientific advice—condoms
cannot stop the transmission of AIDS, Reuters re­
ports from London quoting a BBC Panorama pro­
gramme "Sex and the Holy City" that will be aired (
in Britain on Sunday night. If condoms cannot be >
absolutely guaranteed to block sperm, they stand '
even less charvce of stopping the much smaller _
virus, the argument runs.

ii

j
'] *

SI

J

/

<J • <i

I

<>

4J

<7

ij

(j

?

7 “■"7 "" f -

7— ?•

o O 0 0 6 a b

b

V
rr
E3
'trafficked' to India from Nepal. Another
estimate puts the figure at much more ?
than 200,000 women, 'trafficked' within 1or outside the country. But the NGOsi;
estimate are much low — a little more''
than 12000.
f
Mondal was a lovely
Trafficking
is
not
I Ey H girl 'from the Kumari vilMany key NGOs themselves agree V
I
lage °f Nadia district, West
that it’s totally impossible to abolish ’•
trafficking but are reluctant to part
|
YA Bengal. When she was 14, an isolated
\^®her neighbour Bibhash
with exact data. They tend, to give
2Mondal lured the Mondals with a mar- phenomenon, it
‘guesstimates’ instead of estimates, ••
triage proposal for Rita. The groom was
using words like "nearly" or "approxi- -•
ffrom UP. He had no demand, and even
mately". Swapan Mukherjee of the
I’offered Rs 5000 for the marriage. Rita’s coexists with
Centre for Community Development "
where he has been working for two |
J poor father gladly accepted the proposal
decades, covering in Murshidabad, <;
and arranged the marriage. Rita went to migration. Between
her in-laws’ place cheerfully But, within
North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas,
jia year she came to visit her parents, 1992 and 1996,
Nadia, Midnapore and Maldah dis- T
u never to go back.
tricts, says trafficking and prostitution (
are the issues his project addresses.
|
In the same manner, within two
14000
women
and
■f; years, four girls of the same village got
The root cause of trafficking is I
*5 married to grooms from different
poverty, the different perception due to i
lack of education and attitude to life [
i regions and had been missing. All the 13, 000 children
Q girls were young and lovely They came
notwithstanding. Without social devel- ji
off poor families and had dreamt of a were trafficked
opment, it is not possible to overcome d
Chappy life with their "princes" . But,
the situation. The CCD believes that y
; their dream turned into a 'mirage. No from Bangladesh to
without the support of administration, ■
. one in the village now has any clue as to
it is not possible to work properly in j
combating trafficking but it is lacking, f
what happened to them or where they
Indian brothels.
When a UNICEF team visited f
;' had gone. ■
Murshidabad district recently and iden-1
• Charulata from Basanti in South 24
i Parganas district also faced a similar Every year, on an
tified it as a trafficking- prone area, it i
t fate. The only difference is that she manought to have noted the socio-economic $
' aged to escape with her child and return average, 5000
condition of the district and demo-^
. to her father’s place. She narrated her
graphic indicators like population*
, horrible experience to the villagers. The
growth, sex - ratio , infant mortality *
persons
are
rate and literacy rate as also child mar-1
person Charulata was married to had
four more wives. They managed the
riage, status of women in the society $
household work, cultivation etc. Even trafficked to India
and status poverty alleviation schemes. *
Why blame the UNICEF, even CCD is J
r; they had to give, company to other men,
sometimes close or distant in-laws and from Nepal
confused s about social development, m
at times her husband's pals. Without the social welfare such as edu-.^
• That is the pattern of forced migra-. ' especially Murshidabad, Nadia, North
cation, health, other social services, its j
the
middlemen
involved
in
sex-trade
only
girls,
but
boys
too,
forced
to
work
as
impossible to eradicate trafficking, the !
tion and trafficking. Prostitution or sex­ 24 Parganas, Burdwan, Birbhum, South:
and are 'trafficked' out into West Asian farm labour, f:ani"l Jockey?-., and b<-g <,(,!) ngir*-'-., bnl tliejr jabnaiy focus isl
trade is not the only objective. Beggary, ■trafficked. R is not that Ute places
|
to
24
Parganas,
are
the
resource
base
of
states via Mumbai or Delhi.
i j free or extremely low-paid and tortuous
gars. These boys are 'trafficked' to West on trafficking, other social services are4
.I-. __ s are
There are many organised rackets Asia, the Persian Gulf States.
3 labour too are imposed on the poor and
. secondary.
$
-------------~
}
in
far-flung
districts.
North
and
South
24
According to an estimate, between
* the innocent. Poor villagers
are trapped Parganas are adjacent to Kolkata which that are engaged in selling children as
Trafficking is not an isolated phe-J
hr *
. • m many ways, not marriage
deals alone. is the convenient transit point for traf­ domestic servants, low-paid workers 1992 and 1996, 14000 women and 13, 000 nomenon. It coexists with migration.^,
■ 2 Poverty-dwarfed villagers sell, their.:'
and prostitutes. Even the annual children were 'trafficked' from
fickers who ship poor hapless girls from Sonepur cattle fair in Bihar, weekly . Bangladesh to Indian brothels. In the which happens due to joblessness or?
ii' near ones, even daughters or sons to the
economic debility.
J'
i- buyers for money But actually they are West Bengal as well as from Bangladesh rural mandis in Punjab and Uttar 1990s, 200,000 women were 'trafficked'
for
onward
transfer
to
New
Delhi,
Pradesh villages are venues for illegal from Bangladesh to Pakistan. Every
pushed into tunnels of uncertainty
Prajnaparamita Dutta Rayl 9^
Several districts of West Bengal, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh and West Asia. • trafficking. Sometimes victims are not year, on an average, 5000 persons are . .
_
C udh‘-':j
They are high-profit cammed:iI''s fc
Az"
«=. ~~
~~t

"TV A ;«• ♦tX’

r

fis«t» it

iiir
HfH

■BH

Ifeot-a

■ill

Woi

“

■’

f .

3 <2

II
3
J

3

>?

E
r’

i"
Tj

'>

J «>

J

3

F

a
J

4^ ' -

J •■

fin u-

LUWMtt

Dream

■r^IlERE was a certain
;■
amount of dignity with
which they carried
;i
themselves.
Their
demeanour,
though
conscious of others’ presence,
did not betray the greyness in
their lives. These women are
commercial sex workers from
^different parts of Bangalore,
who had come on a routine visit
to the office of the NGO they are
working with, in its HIV/AIDS
f? initiative. When they talked
about the programme they were
H working for in return of an honfjorarium, they were different
K-- people with an identity that was
h socially acceptable.
H “We have an office where we
M sit and do our work. Very often,
we also go to lodges and STD
p clinics to distribute condoms.
B Our work involves disseminatd ing information about HIV/
O AIDS to commercial sex workers
and insisting upon the usage of
p condoms with our clients.'The
d work, apart from being responsiH ble. has given some meaning to
H our lives,” says 25-year-old
Shanti. “We are now in a better
W position to negotiate with our
H clients. We make them under­
Ji stand that precaution can help in
keeping any infection, including
HIV/AIDS, at bay. Most of the
times they agree with us,” says
N 35-year-old Shaheen. But when it
ha comes to talking about themM selves they are not the same peopie. They want no names or idenP tification, not because they are
ashamed of their work, but
fj ‘because they want to protect
[3 their children. “Any identifica|.;J tion will undo every tiling for our
p families, especially our children.” they say.
H
While some of the women say
that because of the remunera­
tion they receive from the NGO,
they are now thinking of giving
up their ‘trade’, there are others

I

II

Il - -

maintain our families,” they say
Take, for- instance, the case. of
Kusum, a 25-year-old from Coorg.
Her husband used to work as a
driver for a travel agency in
I leihnnt Ktnnnr N
Chikmagalur. The couple had to
,1
leave their hometown after he
lost
his job and incurred huge !
>;V
debts. When they came to
Bangalore,
o------Kusum fell tJLK.J
prey to g
-----men who used her in return for a ft
;
job to her husband. “My hus- |K
band knew about it but he did d
i.
not do anything. In fact, 'he S
•I
encouraged them because they g
■J
were paying him and with that $
money he could pay off his cred­
itors. He has cleared his debts
and is now working for another !
travel agency. He expects me to
bring home a certain amount of
money every month,” she says.
Kusum says she has lost respect
for her husband and for society,
in general. “I spend my income
/c:Cx
on my daughter’s education. I
have also opened a savings bank
Some commercial sex workers from
account in her name, which will
help in educating her and getting
Bangalore are working on a H1V/AIDS
her married. My husband does
not give me any money to run
initiative that seeks to disseminate
the house," she adds.
Ruksana’s story is no differ- P
information about the disease.
ent. Married at the age of 16, she f;
BALA CHAUHAN meets them
became a mother before she &
could turn 17. She turned to the K
who adinit they have to continue band brought another woman trade to keep the home fires &
for economic reasons. “We get home and threw her out with her burning. With a 14-year-old son |
nearly Rs 1000 a month from the three young children. “I started studying in Class VIII, she finds !
organisation. It is not enough to my life afresh and began work­ herself at the crossroads of life.
meet the expenses of our chil­ ing as a housemaid. My employ- ’ "If this is what destiny had in [
dren and look after ageing par­ er, a middle-aged man, raped me store for me, so be it. At least I 'J
ents. Then there is the rent to be and threatened to sack me if I have the consolation that I am ■y
paid, groceries to be bought,” told anyone. I tried telling a few not stealing someone’s money," I
says Rehana.
people, but no one believed me. I she says.
They inhabit a world of face­ had no option but to go to the job
Their stories are many, each
less and nameless people. till one day a friend asked me to different and heart-rending.
"Please do not include my name come along with her. She prom­ Each one of them lives a dual
and the name of the voluntary ised me that I would get good life. Layered with garish make-^
organisation we work for. I have money. She took me to a brothel up and loud lipstick, they bar-fc
told my family that I work for an in the Majestic area, and since gain for more money from theirB
HIV/AIDS programme. Any that day I’ve been doing this clients, and in their other role.fa
more information about the work,” says Rani. She earns they wake up in the’morning.fj
NGO will prove to be harmful to between Rs 200 and Rs 300 every­ cook for the family, pack the dhil-|l
me and for my family, especially day.
dren’s lunch boxes before settindn
for my eldest son, who is doing a
Money plays a dominant role off to work to the NGO.
j
professional course,” says 45- in these women’s lives. “If we
(The names of the sex uwA'er.TJ
year-old Rani. She entered the were to work as house maids, we have been changed, to protect Z/2ehh|
sex trade after her alcoholic hus- would not get enough money to identity)
!i

I
I

I

........ W'' |

fe' -■

I

<

ffli:
”, bSs .

sS”s5'

H-

3 2.
P

-r

DH.
*]

K

.-A. ■l.—.

|

2.

l!!h!W!f
ill 11

F-OS

teryiih'
Im

st
-4

a
M V

Q

' CD
ZD
O

| g O' S-S’ -■•'”'\CD
issa: 5 1 .

os
o

w51
•>3 O S

J

11

•i i V ■

n

Mie campaign bvl an etasive goal
against ostracism
1

-

: PARIS,Sept23(AFP)'

An HIV-killing barrier cream,
used like a spermicidal con-,
UxSP1
Sj traceptive gel, is one of the
n
into the school. "The -President
j most important yet also most 3
From R Gopakumar
assured us that everything will f elusive goals in the fight
DH News Service
be done to help us. The President r against AIDS, a top scientist '
J THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Sept 27
also wanted a photograph to be ‘ said here today.
Benson and Bensy, the HlV-in- taken along with the children,” j
Given that an HIV vaccine
i fected siblings who met the Pres- he said. Dr Kalam had sum­ r “is certainly many years
. )
NEW YORK. Sept 23 (IANS)
1 ident, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, in moned the Health Secretary Mr J away,” the quest is on to find a
Eating fruit and vegetables
I Kochi yesterday as part of their r Ramamurthy in April follow- j microbicide to xprovide v
___
protec-daily may offer protection
>' continuing campaign against the ing the media reports of the , ‘j tion during intercourse, said . against stroke, advises the
•
’
’
■
•
■
’
*
I
Mr
Mark
Wainberg,
director
social ostracism they are suffer- social ostracism that the chil­ ? Mr Mark Wainberg, director
Journal of the American
i' of McGill University’s AIDS
ding are now coming to terms dren faced.
Heart Association.
1
Centre
in
Montreal,
Canada.
!• with a special school and a GOVT STEPS: Bendon is now in ;
There are two major types
The right formula would
’ teacher that the Government has second standard, and his sister ; ;
of strokes. Haemorrhagic .
arranged for them.
Bensy in third standard. "A J deliver a body blow to AIDS,
strokes occur when a blood
J The school is located in the lo- teacher has been 'appointed spe- ,7 especially in Africa, where
vessel ruptures within the
•ij
women
are
often
coerced
by
>Jcal library building outside the ' cially for Benson and Bensy. He I
brain. An ischemic stroke or
I;
their
partners
into
having
unis
attached
to
the
EPS,
”
Mr
[
U Kaithakuzhy ■ Lower Primary
cerebral infarction, results
protected
sex,
he
told
the
conSchool, about 40 km from here, Geevarghese said. Before the I
when a blood clot blocks a
jj
ference
on
the
African
AIDS
'(from where they had to shift in protests at Kaithakuzhy LP ,
blood vessel bringing oxygen
crisis.
and nutrients to the brain.
,4 March following a mass protest school against the admission
.7
•
The
ideal
microbicide
Fruit and vegetables protect
' from parents of the other chilto the .siblings, the chU- |
against both kinds of strokes,
• J dren. State Health Secretary R dren had been shovm the door . tabolism, such as a chemical,
said Catherine Sauvaget, MD, u
1}Ramamurthy told Deccan Her-' from three other schools m year J tQ make jt wQrk n would be
PhD, research scientist at the l>:
. aid that there has been a gradual 1 because of fears that other chil- -jj stable
stable inside
and
nntsir1p
thp
inside
and
outside
the
Radiation Effects Research
, I change in the outlook of the peo- dren also stood a chance of con­ F vaginal cavity and would not
Foundation in Hiroshima,
' pie towards the children.
tracting- the
_ disease.
,
■'require refrigeration, he said.
Japan.
1
Mr Ramamurthy said the
The UDF Government has J J ■ But the hunt for it has been
The‘Life Span Study’
President
wanted
the now taken steps for the chilc..i. jjhampered by scientific settracked the health of 120,321
. Government and the media to dren’s welfare. It is met■eting
"
the J. •. backs, by the wily shapesurvivors of the atomic bomb­
play a positive role in helping medical expenses of the5 children
7h’iHrPn P changing nature of the Huings at Hiroshima and Na­
out the children.‘Dr Kalam told now."We got "Rs 35,000 in April
man Immunodeficiency Virus
gasaki since 1950.
‘'him yesterday that there was an for the medicines,” Mr Gee- ' (HIV),
element of sensationalism in varghese said.
some of the media reports that
Mr K Ramamoorthy said that
z 1 ; ‘ i L.
• he had seen at that time. Mr steps were being taken to sensih OLf fuU.'J
Ramamoorthy said that the State tise the local people against the |
‘Government was charting out a stigma surrounding AIDS.
n
3 policy to prevent discrimination himself was visiting the chil!
'll against HIV-infected children. dren every alternate Sunday and
if
j!"We are aware of around 50 chil- walking with the children.
■
J ■
ldren studying in various schools
Both children are still conA Vj *'4H
s
1
:[in Kerala who have the infec- suiting a reputable pulmonolo...i
•ition,” he said.
gist here. When contacted, the ’
.
As reported
in these columns pulmonologist who sought A!DS-affected against
t
..jin
jlllXVlUlL.il
JJClliUU U11U
xMarch,, Benson
and JJUUOJ
Bensy CA4V
are anonymity said that treatment
t!
looked after by tlieir maternal was being given to reduce side­
i.
!’;grandparents after both their effects of the "viral load”.
KOCHI, SEPT. 18. Around 130 HIV/A1DS^•parents died of AIDS last year.
"Now no medicines are given affected people from across,the country .
-----ograndfather,
--------,
girlvu because
at present ixiauiu
wiiTcall
‘2-Their
Mr. for thevcxit
vxiv
..SI wJl on the
>.*
Chief Justice of Kerala ■
Geevarghese, who accompanied the sideeffects are low for her. tomorrow to ur-^him to order a'bah on
’them to meet the President told' However, the medication is being 'immuno QR,' claimed to be a magic —
cure* 1
^Deccan Herald over the phone continued for the boy. What we for HIV/AIDS. Under the' banner of the
uDeccan
«today that the President gave a are doing is continuously moni- Indian Network for People Living with
ilpatient hearing to his plea for toring their health. But there is HIV/AIDS (INP+), they will present him a
memorandum
— detailing how the drug
>Treadmitting his grandchildren no cure,” the doctor said.
manufacturer has cheated the AIDS
’■patients. V H
cb

I

y

4
»!
j

a

Eating fruits may
ureuent stroke

c

}
0

£

e.
a

e
a

4

A

magic cure’

'2 G SEP ?U03

fl

'n^nrr-TXTa
hihw

:-l ■) SEP ?G03

A

12.

&

.

J

.

..

■...............................................................................

4

]

I :

J

3
I
I ;
Bs

I ’

i:
i ■■

a:
B ”
B ’
3 “

I

3■ iW Wwr!
<
]

J Union Health Minister Sushma Swaraj with two HIV posiA tive children during her visit
J to Thiruvananthapuram on
Sunday. See also Page 6

Soshma’s
■ 5_____ DH News Service

ITHIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Sept 28

'■After their meeting with the
. President of India in Kochi last
jFriday, eight-year-old Bensy and
'her kid brother Benson had a
■ rendezvous with yet another VIP
•jtoday when Union Minister for
/Health and Family Welfare Sush•ma Swaraj hugged the HlV-in’•fected kids and kissed them in
front of the media here. “My pic­
ture along with these children is
a good campaign material to cre­
ate an awareness among the peo•' pie against AIDS,” she said at the
i Press Club here.
’ The occasion was the anJ nouncement of a five-year treatj ment scheme by the public sector
;3 condom makers Hindustan La-

DBCCAN HERALO

< 5Er ?0j3

I
i'

Vl'l

tex Ltd for the siblings who lost
their parents to AIDS and are
looked after by their grandpar­
ents. Mr Geevarghese, the grand­
father, claims that the medical
expenses of the children add up
to Rs 5000 a month. As reported
in these columns, the children
were shown, the door from three
schools in a year because of
their disease and is now being
taught separately by a teacher
appointed specially by the State
government.
Speaking on the occasion, the
Union Minister revealed that the
Centre would conduct a survey
of children infected by HIV at
birth itself and anti-viral drug
would be given to them through
the national health care system
under the second-phase of Na-

F

tional AIDS Control Programme.
“It will be costly. But the govern­ •'5
ment will bear this responsibility,” she said. The minister said ;
that like HLL, corporate houses j
j
should come forward to help
those infected by AIDS. M
Mr (
Swaraj said she had held discus­
sions with the State Education
and . Health Secretaries for get- f
tingBenson and Bensy admitted ;
to a regular school.
i
Mr Geevarghese Johny, the ;
grandfather, painted a grim pic- ,4
ture of the social isolation that '
they were being subjected to i
back home in Kaithakuzhy in i
Kollam district. “Nobody visits .j
us, not even relatives. The chil- I
dren are unable to play with oth- * ■
er children. They are denied
normal childhood,” he said.

'Care for HIV affected ■

j

- ... r- ------

T!16 e,xte,nded Premises of the Seva Free
r
;lCimic which caters mainly to those affected by!
HIV/AIDS
was inaugurTted
J J?
v/.was
inaugurated by^cMah^
by cricketer Rahul
f Dravid on Thursday Started in 1997, the clinic P
in association with Samraksha, a NGO, 5J m
j
•presently serves about 4,800 people living wit) M
j-j HIV Seva is located at 37, St Johns Road. For J

DECCAN HERALD

^12 SEP ?009

4

4

i

:

(
8

■

)

!

i-'

i
f

j AIDS funerals big’Business in S Africai'

; I KHUTSONG (South Africa), Sept 20 (AFP)-

i In South Africa, where a proper burial is
i considered the last decent thing you can
I do for a person, poor families often
| spend up to six months’ wages to bury
Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome
\ (AIDS) victims.
In Khutsong, a dusty township near
Johannesburg, surrounded by some of
the richest gold mines in the country,
i $270 will get you a basic funeral - a cofi fin, a grave, a hearse, a car to transport
J family a tent at the grave site and a

, portable toilet, but no headstone. “But
.most of our clients don’t go for the
cheapest option”, said Ms Gloria Lckgari, a 33-year-old funeral parlour assis­
tant.
J ■ “In our culture, a funeral is the last
thing you can do for a person, so you
want to give them the best, ” Ms Lckgari
told AFP.
Lekgari estimated that a “proper”
burial, which included the ritual slaugh­
ter of a cow and goats, could cost a fami­
ly as much as $2,000.

y.-aiiiiiirrngiimiMWii-ninirtfi-arrrLjii.n.--

i Tr

The-average income for a person liv- , ;
ingin Khutsong, a mining community, is - *■
around 2,500 a month.
: : <! v’
In the last few years, Lekgari said, >..-U
the body count has risen dramatically asJ t
the townsliip slowly came to grips with .J,
the AIDS pandemic in a country where '■ A
one in five adults is HIV-positive or has j *
full-blown AIDS.
In 2001, 3,60.000 South Africans died , 1
of AIDS, according to UN calculations, • '.*j
and the country counts some 6,60,000
AIDS orphans.

,.-ii 'u~tn¥-~

PLCCAi: NERALD

■ HIV-positiye women to
form a group in State

‘2

SEP 2003

I

A

/>

DH News Service
BANGALORE, Sept 25

I ■Around 90 women in the age

i

E

r
L

i!

3.
J,

5

group of 19 to 35 have decid­
ed to form a network of HIVPositive women’s group in
the City. This will perhaps be
the first such group in Karnataka.
“There are women who are
part of Karnataka Network
of Positive People (KNPPlus), the State chapter of In­
dia Network of Positive Peo­
ple (INP-Plus) but perhaps
there is no stand alone group
of positive women in the
State,” said Ms Vandana Gur­
nard, Project Director, Kar­
nataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS).
These women come from
various areas including the
slums and suburbs of the city
and 'have been regularly
meeting every first Saturday
and third Wednesday of the

month in the premises of St form of support from the gov­
besides
social
Patrick’s Church on Residen­ ernment,
cy Road since April this year. recognition,” she said.
Ms Sadhna (25) (name
Their meetings are held un­
der the aegis of Milana, a changed), a member of Micounselling and relief centre lana, is an infected widow
for victims of HIVZAIDS, in- with two children, the
eluding their families. The . younger one is HIV-positive.
programme is supported by According to her while it is
Action Aid and co-ordinated “threatening” to disclose her
by social worker and counsel­ and her son’s status to her
family, it is equally difficult
lor Ms Jyothi Kiran.
There are 118 families en­ to keep making excuses for
rolled in Milana of which at their deteriorating health
least one member is HIV-posi­ condition. “There are several
tive. Around 90 women are other issues involved. We
positive out of which 55 are want to live a normal life.
There are many of us who
infected widows. Talking
about the proposed network, wish to remarry and begin
Ms Kiran said there was a our lives again. We want job
need among the HIV-positive security so that we can fend
women to come out as a
for ourselves and children.
group and provide a platform These issues can only be ad­
for other such women who dressed once we form a net­
are living in anonymity. work. We hope to gain
“They want to lobby for their strength from the group,” she
medical treatment, education added. For details contact
for their children and some . 555-9313.

A

e
c
■

■

DECCAN HERALD

■L 6 SEP 2003

AX

sjjurs tvith Bi/Sri overAIDS
'j I

............ • ................... • ...

J.

e. $.
e ;

.■

e

____ __ ___ ,

..

■ ons and a Ugandan woman with 1
H Washington, Sept 17: Irish.
HIV whom Bush met earlier this |
ji rock-star Bono pressed Presidyear during his visit to Africa. -1
I oht George W. Bush on Tuesday
Bush’s AIDS initiative, unvei­
tp.set.aside more cAsh for AIDS
led in his State of the Union add­
il! initiatives but came away disapress in January, would provide
pointed after a face-to-face talk
anti-viral treatment to HIV
I; with tlie President at the White
people in Africa and the Carib-I
I House. ‘‘We had a good old row,”
bean who cannot afford it.
.1
' ] Bono said of his meeting with
Bush
has
held
back
his
supp
­ 5 C
* Bush. “'What
What I just’can’t agree
g
ort for the full $3 billion for 2004
> \Jriih' him on is the numbers."
because of a concern that a sys­
j
Congress is weighing a $2 billtem is not yet in place to use die
I L inn- spending request for next
money effectively, White House j
’ . t * year that would provide the first
officials have said.
* <
J installment for Bush’s five-year,
Although Bono described
• j S15 billion plan to combat AIDS.
’’at failing
Bono, the lead singer of U2 $3 billion for the fiscal year that ite House. '‘Seven thousand ‘ himself as ^depressed
I
Bush
i
'
" around to lhis
'’r'
who'.founded an advocacy group . begins in October - an increase . people dying a day is not a to bring
point of view on funding, he had
I for.” issues affecting Africa, said of SI billion over the plan Bush cause. It's an emergency."
■ Clad in his trademark blue kind words for the President,
j the AIDS epidemic had reached has backed.
Bono was flanked by saying
I crisis proportions^ with millions
"I
’m not here peddling a sunglasses,
—---------------- - he felt Bush was . “sin- «
s
’Tm
of children in Africa orphaned cause,
|
cause,”’ Bono said at a news conf- . three bishops of representing cere” about carrying out his pro-g
by’the deadly virus.
erence
erence at
at the St. John’s Episco- the Catholic, Episcopal and Eva-.?, mises on the AIDS initiatives- g <
L
He
He urged
urged a
a US
US Commitment
Commitment of
of pal Church across from the V/li- ngelical Lutheran .denommatL__ . Reutors—

F

o 2

e

e I

el

. .

j

INDIAN
IK'IKAK I-XPRCSS
E;<PRESS

.... .......................... ...

' :

L

..........

e

1

c *

•J

-•
’•

■

-f ’

v

........................

•...........................

■

.•f

(---- -------

i..

r- ;..s - v- - -

'

................ ‘

■•■

......

■'—

"i 4

j .

B'"
r;
B,;;

1

L

the World Bank and 0th'<0.: .«(
u outer CO-^..?
organisers would convene TICAD
TICAD Asia-Africa"fjV
^SINGAPORE, SEPT. 29: Japan today said that it “aims S'nnd
.40 extend grant aid totalling $ 1 billion ' to announced’thnt
Conf?,ren.ce ^ext year. He r
^Africa
t-------y’Africa” over the
next- five years £1in respect of “ar nlmSpnt
th n rPan )V°U d aIso steadily im’ '
Ijeas such as health and medical care, including wlopment“‘SSce ^(onf’
..■.eas such as health and medical
.measures aealnst
Atn. as well as education,'J
^measures
against AIDS,
Hter and food”.
debted poor countries (HIPCs) and other “eligi- 5
‘J Announcing this at t
nip rnnntnoe" «•-»
___ .
•>. 5
K
irAn^TTn0^6^11?6 On ^r.ican Development cn-: '
" “Pledging to “make the TICAD pmcess mom ?
Tiarnir
. ♦ u«
* ■* .. .
J
'
' L
v * xiiixv XVIAAAAOLCI SHlU, it •
Koizumi, said he shared the vision that’"there will . ’ _
be
hejio stability and prosperity in the world in the IS truly regrettable that tlie recent World Trade R
Organisation
ministerial
conference, held in Can- -V
,21st century unless the* problems of Africa are
cun, Mexico, could not advance (the) Doha De-' #
.resolved”.
J?
<j
j—ai uic mauyiiDelivering
the --keynote
speech at the inaugu- velopment Agenda negotiations”.
The creation of "equitable rules”, he said, “is
■ ration of the tliree-day TICAD III, Mr. Koizumi
said a target of approximately $ 300 million in- ‘ necessary for promoting trade and investment .<
(needs) of (the) developing Countries, including ’ri
.vestments by Japanese companies
ipanies in Africa was Africa -The "three pillars5"” of Japan’s own initia
initia- fA
^LSJ:JOrJa, five-year period. This would be
tive
tor
assistance
to
Africa
were
Were
"human-centred
"hliman-cpntro^
T
j'
accomplished through overseas investment loans development, poverty reduction through
1 eco- >
. ^and other measures. . ;
1
nomic growth and consolidation of peace” •
■A

j

n v?

11

r

• • ? By l>. S.SUryanarayaI,a . ' ■

.:

<' ff • Jn this

J"

■ sff ■

i
"'IOrC2U!!1tries sittinSon the

» threshold of AIDS explosion
fT; a.nd general apathy for protec­
tive contraceptives, a path
•t breaking study envisaging use
- of genetically modified bacte-

I ■'

1’

S-5CCA

S • •

••

; r-

•

Meet on new HIV
prevention options

■

'■"

By Our Special Correspondent

• .■

;v '

■; -Science

r’;

Sr IO nr

iff. L

•• •• •'

H.-. .tVyJ;

' ass.“ff* fc.:
.

F)

1

•"

*

'

........

licrohiriH^
rcsently condom is the only preventive method ' : '
ing in microbicides,
vaginal
available and it is under the control of men.'
tec- ? AIDSCnn^rnlH156 attended
experts from the NatiSnal
...> . i AIDS Control Organisation, Indian
Council of Medical ■
‘ "
J Research and other related agencies, would focus on
developing creams, gels arid other products based on : •
ETOnS
' .virus 1CIdeS’ Wh’ch wou^d specifically target the HIV
BHiigS 11008
IWSg

fesSff -ksssk

)’

X

-£Zt:r

to block HIV

J '

'

.l

5 ■

|; NEW DELHI, Sept 21 (PT1)

L

:

___ _______ .j

IV

I

C :

»s&ssawte

! /

I f'

c

_

?
’• A

j: haeteria that release HIV- ■
j-1 blocking proteinTi^ght^re--:■ vent
vent people
people who
who have^ndulged
have indulged
■ m unsafe sexual practices
Currently no such microbicide is available. '
, from HIV
Hiv infection, says a
Mumbai, Sept 21 (uni
unh>)
But scientists across the world are working on about f”
1 study published in the ProP^'ash Patel and his wife
Prakash
leads and at least 11 of them have shown some promise,
’ I ceedings of the National Acad- Nlvedita thought
would
--- they
—
Ijoying to be safe and effective in tests on animals.
• ■ emy of Sciences, USA
never
neverhm-o
have□a child..-x.!
until .a ,do­
> r Ihe study undertaken by
nated egg changed their lives « • The expectation is that at least one of them would
prove to be successful in human testing and be available
forever. Krish, theirIS-monthMr Peter Lee of Stanford Unitor use in about five to seven years.
old son, is today the centre of
f versity has revealed that ge­
their world.
; 'The meeting, supported by the United States Agency fnetically engineered microbes
Intemational Development, would specially aim at
. The bliss did not come easy ' formulating
■ help shut out the virus from
a strategy to ensure that as and when a safe - 1
■ hlunun cells under laboratory
for the couple. Several years
and effective microbicide is found, it is made available
’
ago, Nivedita was told that she
conditions.
cou^ffieT
Y
t0
WOrnen
in
India
other
developing
]■
Mr
and his coUeagues
had premature ovarian failure
and can never give birth.
J used the bacterium LactobacilThis is because till now new health
health technologies
technologies rarely
rarely '
^^jensenii, a natural part of
The Patels tried several
become widely
available
in developing
countries until
until Y
,,
-Icp-.ng
countries
I■ vaginal
flora
------- --for VA1VAX
their AC"
rehospitals before their doctor
-i F^rnnpT
after j‘r ap
Proval
aPP
roval in
in die
the U.S.,
U.S., and
and ;
( search purposes. When the ge°Ic! ?em about e§g donation
other
such IQUlOia.
factors
>n. | Europe due to high costs and
---------------..W» .JUV.I1
ineticallymod^dtoa
r Such a cdelay
’-'--- could
• 1 not be allowed particularly in
'
’_xia
Advances in medical techj J ..
----------- *
MOI actual 1'
j waGcultiutx
■as cultured together with
nology are today
|-.t5!eajlng wth a disease like HIV and AIDS. ’ /
t?day giving
givinS couI <, human
-u...-. cells
uulls and HIV the bac- • ?•es Wlth infertility more op]<<
tlnnc
------E tena
, secreted
----CD4 proteins
n that bound the virus and
Infertility afflicts nearly 20 ’'
THE HISDIT
million coupleTffl
k blocked it from penetrating
couples in indfaTsayT
India, says .
...
Dr
Hrishikesh
Pai,
gynecolo!'•
f cells thus acting —as** "living
•
a
Ai’Uir,
| condoms.”
gist and infertility specialist
|S . The
study
though promisw’inner of last year’s Rajiv
.
------- J> -.vuy, yx UU11SGandhi Rashtriya Ekta
|I ^^yeUo
mg, is yet to pass the rigours
•’ ■
..
-vax-u. -’
J
f
U?lcal fr*315’ seeking to es- Award.
|j tablish its efficacy
“
____
According__to_gynecologists,
'■ ?
I , It is yet to be seen as to how 2
Pearly
infertili- ’ I j
earlY 80 Per
Per cent
ceht of infertiffi
j5 the genetically modified bacte- ? patle
patlents
nts could be treated
IU
I[. ria will work in the vagina in .-- through
“hwgh simple therapy. ■ ■ ■ ■ -<■
■■ ■ ’ bIJ
fl dle
^Ie Presence of mucous and
,,xk
ot
ot^Lers
ers need
needadvanced
advanced’j
Ib ,Ssemen
,e™en and Perhups
perhaps other sex^^P^uhed
therapy called Assisted Repro- j'’ ?
( ually transmitted
pathogens
• ductive Therapy’.
.1
----------- — t-V-UiWgCHO.
■f
fertility can be diag- .
|
Nevertheless, with no signs
tI, of an early development of
!L0Se° a semen analysis of ..
HIV vaccine and condoms not
H16 man
blood examina-- ?. '■ I;
(
JV Joo popular, interest is grow- J1011’,sonography X-ray of the' ‘ -I X

-•r

... ......... ffj

^9 SEP 2^3

15

»

..rr

f

I
I■ •
I* ;•

’ ’ , : ' fast
’ ■'■mi ;N®rtti KamataM©
■HIV. spreadimg
;“ sxsbzx®s>8:

By Sabana Charan
^BANGALORE, SEPT. 7. Even as

i

c

•i^^’jyK.asss.l

: Human Immunodeficiency
" Acquired Immune Deficiency- Syndrome nataka, Bijapur ( • P
. r ;P (
among men, HIV is most prevalent in the
==■ (AlU
gdgaunfiz) Dhi- T 30-44^ group:
b
•• ?!
(AIDS), some
some alarming
alarming facts
facts have
have sursurfa-nt prevalence of iuV/AWS in North
Gada' (1 per cent), and Koppal ,
sco he aaec^moje
1 The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in North
Karnataka,
particularly
rural areas,
‘to-be*increasing inrapidly.
U is apno
dunes in^the . The Hindu.
, pears t
confined to the “high risk" groups, destnets shows ^Xn in nwst ^reas thriving sex work in these areas might be
I if is not just truckers and1 sex workers P«
*, £some districts ,1!C causes. for high prevalence of HIV/ !
j who are prone to the HIV scourge.
such as Bellary and Dharwad having a
Belgium, Dharwad,
j ticularty womenbe”^ m
of 18 per cent and t3.6 per
nd Bagalkot, Devadasi system still exists.
A
large
number
of .- migrant,
labourers indulge in unsafe sex, leading to;
increase in cases of IHV/AIDS,” Ms. Gur-I.
nani added. " “•
---v
!

F

c

if^THE hindu, Monday, September s, 2003

c
A-

c
4

e

' Aid worker shot dead in Somalia-

■ ■ -- H J Mogadishu (SOMALIA): Annale’na Torielli, a prize-winning
• .
Italian humanitarian worker,'who spent more than three'
V decades helping Somalis, has been shot dead in the hospital1
b‘$ 1 "'.'I •she ran in northwestern Somalia, Somali and U.N. officials £
ol:
’ sa|j On.Monday. An unidentified gunman shot the 60-yeaf£
/j ■ old in the grounds of the tuberculosis hospital in Borama,«
“ “7
>■ ■ i 930 km northwest of Mogadishu, on Sunday at around 8 >rrfi•v*
;-y. IL p-m-, said Abdulkadir Suleman Ali, a local government.’ .
GABORONE (B
(BOTSWANA):
uoiuiing both
uutli shimmering
alusssas.^.o evening
° '?
, wu.
otswana): Donning
official in the town. The motive for the killing was not . ..'L I
gowns
uaumuned Botswana ccotumcc
D.-JOWO and nobody had been detained in connection with
t
gowns anu
and traditional
costumes of
of —Jrrcoi cbin
^o.'r • t.1: k™
I skirts and beaded necklaces, porcupine quills adorning their j.:
shooting. Ms Tonelli, who won the 2003 Nansen Refugee f;
------------i --; --------Award—
last*June
in------recognition
I hair,
women competed m
in a ,beauty
pageant for >•HIVnair 14 wuuicii
------ —
o-------- of
- her work with Somalis,• had , •
-' nositive
’.
women• and their .oioth^c
relatives. Rome
Some 38
38 ner
per cent
cent oot
worked in Borama since 1996. Ms Tonelli, who was fluent in J
Botswana’s people are HFV positive, the highest infection • j'l Somali, had worked with Somalis in Somalia and
rate in tlie world. Organisers of Saturday’s Miss. HIV Stigma
neighbouring Kenya for 33 years, setting up clinics to fight .
Free said they hoped the contest would show the disease did;.! tuberculosis and creating ^awareness about HIV/AIDS —
not have to prevent women from being vibrant and
’■- -■
~
•
beautiful. Kgalalelo Ntsepe (31), who was crowned the
'P’T'N’DT'T

-------■■---------— v.'_“
5------------------------------------------------------------- . \

laisB

A

A pageant for AIDS-hit women

:

!

?7 0C7 2003

t-

c
t
A .

c?

X judgment and leading to the high incidence o£the disease^

-----

c-.
A

e?

i

0:-

'O

I
J ■ r'

■V./?

■ ■

•

ir
IT’

81
J !
...J j

J j

HI

gp

1: I

r pI 5
Fni I

fl r

a

’kF

11 ■

h*

V ”••

F

,
fl

. E733 ™

—

i-^

ir

■■■’ ■-

. . .......

EJ

bECCAN UERALP

ed Charnchao Chaiyanukij^
HEN
Prime Thailand is
director-general of the Righth­
and
Liberties
Protection'Minister A. B. .
debating
Vajpayee, during
Department who will be playit\
his recent visit to whether
a leading role in hosting theij
Thailand, spoke in
forum, as saying that thouglg
Sright earnest about the two coun- prostitution
prostitution is illegal In th
3tries joining hands to boost should be
country' "it is the largest under j
3 tourism by offering combined
ground business accounting for;
^destinations, those In the know legalised. All
several billion baht a year”.
Mof things may have chuckled.
According to Ms Janthaviph;
the
groups
3 For Thailand’s main, call it fatal
Aphisuk
of
Empowei^
1 if you like, attraction, is sex.
Foundation
who has worked.^
concerned will
3 No doubt, Thailand has well
with sex workers, there'are 2 t
Vi developed beaches, infrastruc- air their views
2.5 lakh prostitutes in the coun-$,
j ture and budget hotels offering
try, most of them from poor, une-^
at a public
ducated families. She supportr1
five-star comforts. Capital
Bangkok offers cruises with forum next
legalising prostitution as sex
workers will then become taxS
‘ tastefully bedecked trawlers
month
i going gently down the river as
payers and will, therefore, enjoys
\ you drink in the concrete jungle
all the rights that other tax paj
i that passes off for a city. Sitting But as a recent raid on one such
ers enjoy like health care anuparlour
in
Bangkok
and
the
» on the upper deck, sipping your
also the right to sue employers’^
arrest
of
masseuses
show,
they
who exploit them or customers!;
j? favourite Scotch and listening to
who abuse them physically
the karaoke band in attendance are more often than not fronts
The paper quotes Nam, a 28--»
.y is an experience in itself. You feel for flesh trade.
No
doubt,
you
find
sex
workyear-old prostitute working in aj
the romantic setting is complete
ers
in
any
place
of
tourist
or
pil
­
in
the
world,
the
sex
trade
public
forum
on
this
issue
next
nightclub in Bangkok as sayir '
' when the Filipino crooner sings,
f "Country road, take me home" grim interest anywhere in the thrives because the police turn a month. Hundreds of concerned- that she never feels secure whe.
ri or "You were always on my world. But in Thailand, it is sex blind eye to it. So open and wide­ state law enforcers, academics, she goes out with a customer.a ’.
. have no -------chance of.-<
ofS
— says,"I
„------j mind", songs of the fifties and tourism that drives the industry. spread has it become that -. NGOs working with sex workers,’ She
h sixties that transport you into As is to be expected, it comes at a Thailand has come to be known women’s groups, human rights knowing my fate. I could be bea
heavy price. One million out of as the sex capital of the world activists and religious leaders en up or gang-raped, but I cannotw
k ahother world. But that's for
F middle-aged men with wives in Thailand’s 63 million people are with one of the largest inci­ are expected to debate the issue. complain because the police will|j ;
afflicted with AIDS and it has dences of AIDS.
The conclusions drawn from the arrest me".
g toe.
Now the Government is pon­ deliberations are to be submitted
A 32-year-old gay tells th ,
« What attracts tourists, mostly become the number 1 killer in
;• from the west, is the sex trade. the country. There is a 1996 Act dering whether prostitution to the Justice Ministry's law experience of two gays who wereS ;
that
is
meant
to
suppress
prosti­
should be legalised. This follows reform committee.
picked up from Bangkok by tw<*“ ;
»■ Sukamvit Road in Bangkok, akin
Bangkok Post, Thailand lead­ foreigners. They took them t
jf to M G Road in Bangalore, teems tution but its main aim is to save an announcement by the Justice
child
prostitutes.
Like
elsewhere
ing
English
newspaper,
has
quotMinistry
that
it
plans
to
hold
a
Pattaya beach, beat them up, had a :
with jazzy pick-up bars that
sex with them and videographed «
come alive at sunset. You can go
the whole affair. Legalising th
■i bar hopping on Sukamvit Road
profession will protect the right,-<
,» and finish the night at Dosa
of sex workers, they say.
Si
'] King, run by Mr Rao from
Critics, however, contend th?* ’
5 Karnataka who has been in
of denial, the country organised casual sexual contacts. As a
A
study
conducted
by
the
legalising prostitution will onl
r Bangkok since 1955, who is genThai Government has a national programme, super­ result, the number of men visit­
bring more women into the pro- 3 *
;> eral manager of a company and
/ Vshown that there were vised from the highest levels of ing sex workers has fallen from
fession. The deputy rector of the ;
J who runs the ethnic restaurant
nearly a million AIDS patients in government, to respond to the almost 25 per cent of the popu­
Buddhist University says prost
■) to give his wife a chance to show
epidemic.
lation to about 10 per cent.
the country at the end of 2001.
■ tution is against Buddhism arm » ;
C her culinary skills. If you ask
Recognising that most HIV Condom use when visiting sex
Of
them,
6.7
lakh
were
men,
he knows of no Buddhist coun-g ;
1! around, you can find places like
2.2 lakh women and 22,000 transmissions were through workers has become the norm.
try which has made it legal. A
T Patpong where live shows are on.
However, the success of
children. Around 55,000 adults
he sees it, no woman wants to I
J
Pattaya, 180 km from
Thailand's 100 per cent con­
and children died of AIDS at the
a prostitute. She is driven into it H
, Bangkok, has a beach where you
dom programme has not had
end of 2001. Nearly 2.9 lakh
by poverty and illiteracy. The?
i can find street walkers, gays, lesmuch effect on the slow, but
children under 15 lost either or
Government should, therefor
bians and what have you. But
steady transmission of HIV
both parents to AIDS. Nearly
address
the core issue and try to (j
' unlike in the red-light areas of
from infected male clients of
30,000 new infections occur
reduce the number of women in g
• Mumbai or Calcutta, you can
female sex workers or from
each year. Many international
sex trade.
• take a walk on the beach, road
infected male IV drug users to
donors who left Thailand during
Whatever be the outcome u
•. and have a quiet dinner at an
their regular sex partners.
the epidemic “boom years"
the public debate, this is the fu st S
‘ Indian restaurant over there or
There has also been limited
have not returned.
major step the Thai Government N
j stroll down the dazzling Walking
success in reducing HIV preva­
efforts
Thailand was the first coun­ commercial
is taking to focus attention <
1 Street any part of the night withtry in Asia to document HIV epi- focused on reducing the num­ lence among the IV drug user
the world’s oldest profession. 1 <
' out any hassles.
i demies among IV drug users ber of males visiting female sex population.
‘ . Besides, Thailand also has ■ and female sex workers and workers and on promoting con­
. S Murari I
I massage parlours a dime a dozen
I their clients. After a brief period dom use in all commercial and
SM ,
recently in Bangko
r
t and foot massage is their forte.

’’Km

r AIDS scares away donors

IL

. I •

ST
ft.' ■

ft

It

Ih ■

I ■
■

.

m

El
-ri

bv ‘j t;Ci 70(13

r

------ QZ
'■

I

-Bill Gates fund to fight AIDS
anH A/loliTirln

TT/-\i«/-Io4-?vs

*

ioil (1 OLl^llly

,M covora1
=xEHJ‘ATm
“
=-xs= ®

Rs .330 crore) the7foundation?’

-fo/ US AIDS n^vfnH011 0Ver 1116 next flve years to ^P16’ ■ ’tance from Transport Corpora-)
- .
------- ---- -----Fl
?SenTz?? ment the Gates foundation’s HIV tion of India (TCI), Indian Oil’:L'from society
is the fam! programmes in the state. Kar­ preventive strategies in . the Corporation (IOC) and Popula-K?ly which is the most discrim­
nataka . State AIDS Prevention country.
tion Service International.
. -.’pnating of all.
Society
and University
fnl,n
. -n I of, Mani-t
“The Brants will be disbursed
While TCI would reach out to
...►Agencies
toba in Canada will implement ( next Week,’-’ Mr Gupta • said, . most of the country’s truck driv- s1 " t - - thA
n™™™. unih
the foundation had hiked ers, IOC would provide infraJINDIAN
LD'.I’RLJSI
the programmes
with cnnnnrt
support ' adding
,
from local NG Os. •
.
its commitment to $ 200 million, ' structure at critical halting sta- ?;•'
Andhra Pradesh too will re- which will be Gates Foundation’s tions to promote use of condoms
■ al j
fl?™11
ceive $ 17 million for AIDS pre- single largest commitment to and set up voluntary HIV coun?
with
UNAIDS
.
--------^Onin,S1t^L1leg
’ any HIV/AIDS related activities seling and testing services.
tj . An
An HIV-positive
HIV-positive person
psrson will
will T
state —coastal areas, Telengana ' anywhere in the world.
A portion of the fund will be 11' toss the coin before the start of i
and Rayalaseema— McKenzie’s : - Out of the $ 67.5 million, the used to support
. _ _____________
Hindustan___
La- j the
___ first
xeiiue
cricket Test between hl’
representative Raj at • Kumar foundation’s NationafrHighway : tex’s family planning and promo-1 dia and New ^alandbi Ahmi
■ i /• *’
------- ^..uu^miup^nw-1 dia cum New Zealand in AhmedEfl
Gupta, who is a foundation board project
(in which .condoms will tion trust and the International ■ abad next month as the Intern^
member, told reporters here af­ be distributed to truck drivers) HIV/AIDS '’ Alliance to imple-)! tional Cricket Council joined B '
ter the board’s first meeting to- • would receive $ 8.5 million while . ment a range of AIDS prevention-) global efforts to fight against I '
? 25 m“ion wo’^d be spent on; ■. strategies in Andhra Pradesh. A ;
R 95 m.ibnn VVUU1U
wnuid UU
ho OJJC11L Uli
™ b 11 a IK ti1U5 II1 zAIl 11111 a V13 (1GS D Aa i HIV/ AIDS, reports^TI from
„T..
,
n x • rrA .
,.
v
New Delhi.
Azim Premji and Mr Rahul
ICC signed a partnership
g Dravid. In accordance with Mi| crosoft’s Chief Bill Gates’, prom- . said Mr, Ashok Alexander repre- programmes, said Union Health t with the Joint United Nations
.
Programme on HIV/AIDS (UN-

v

t j VGI /'hli.4

‘

r

Ifk

<<.':■ t

^ThTTh^SV.

c.

t*

A Cd
£•

By Our Special Correspondent, ers and truck drivers.’
Alexan -fe
AIDS Initiative, Ashok Alexan
p
. \ V\
The main focus of the first der, Director of the Initiative
Initiative!
pew DELHI, OCT. 13. The Bill and round would be promotion of Helene Gayle,'Foundation’s Di|
HMelinda Gates Foundation to- HIV
prevention . strategies rector for HIV/AIDS, TB aneg
gjday announced that it would among high-risk groups in . Reproductive .. Health
Prol
^double its contribution to the Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka gramme.
.
■
HIV/AIDS prevention
J
pro- and among trucks drivers and • The Foundation’s initiative!
Hgramme
in India 'from $100 commercial sex workers along' in India was the institution’*^
. .
|3 million to $200 million.
national highways'. Under - the single largest commitment fom
p At a press conference, top of- highways project, - highways any HIV/AID initiative in thc|
|S ficials of the Foundation said segments in six States with high ’ world, Ms. Gayle said addin J]
,! that the first round of grant to­ prevalence of HIV/AIDS would that the $67.5 million grant|
talling $67.5 million would be be covered.
■ ■ . would be distributed over fivefi
released to seven organisations
The initiatives would also in- years and the details of the ref!
■ — International HIV/AIDS Alli- elude promotion of condom maining $132.5 million woulcfi: ance, Population Services In- use, strengthening the facilities be finalised within the next fev\||
? ternational,
University
of for voluntary counselling and months,
&
Manitoba of Canada, Karnataka testing sendees and treatment
The Foundation would strived
State AIDS Prevention Society, of all types of sexually transmit- to scale-up effective HIV pre||
Family
PJanNj Hindustan
Uinri,irfnn Latex
t.
;i., nt
.„ ted infections, which is one of vention efforts, as the HIV,
1 ning and Promotion Trust, the
major
co-factors of AIDS epidemic was reaching <
Transport Corporation
of India HIV/AIDS.
.
.
■■■ '■junction
■ ” with the levc
.
-. “
"critical
I and Indian Oil Corporation — ■
""
'
The r
press conference
was of infection rising by as mucl
for the implementation of HIV addressed by J.V.R. Prasada as 20 per cent a year. "We onl}^
j prevention intervention .pro- Rao and Rajat Gupta, co-chair- have a small window of oppor-j
U jects among high-risk groups persons of the Governing Board tunity to prevent a widespread^
3 such as commercial sex work- for the Foundation’s India epidemic,” she added.
H''

4

c •

"Km
.I

J?

*

F Gates Foundation doubles
^contribution to AIDS programme
I

e^

I

wwwwsasasxtggs
•!
AilJS

I

c

DH Nows Service
ise made last year to release $ 100 . that is responsible for running'
- -------------------- —------- — million towards AIDS preven- . the foundation’s AIDS projects. JIom Oigamsation (ILO) has fo- H
NEW DELHI, Oct 13; •-------------------- tion activities in India, the board.,/■ To support the national high-’’;
aS !llg 1 as 70 Percent ■)
Karnataka will receive $ 17 mil- today decided to release. $ 67.5' . way initiative covering 7 000 km' !? pe0? e sufferin8 from HIV/ |

i

►

/<
<.’

<

r

e? -

o—

C<«<>-’>5rj-.V»rrry

M -J I'll /(igj

B

e- I

cl

!

I

--

.

..

•

...

.

‘

.

iw-.iinw

increased radiotherapy
hfAIIDS patient .■gmay.eure^aneer
|

I

<

' t’.sentenced
■j for infecting
two'•■•'women
■—yV
.'-‘'•v / «?.'•■<.{•.’•. S'

■■

1

I'"

iB

>

I’
i-’

..... ......I

j

B'

II

J^J

J

i

a

a
a

■.

• Accelerating radiotherapy treatments for patients suffering
from head and neck cancer improves their quality of life and
odds of beating the disease, Danish scientists said today.
In a findings that could change how standard radiotherapy !■
'
given, Professor Jens Overgaard of Aarhus University Hospital g
3. A 38-year-oldS- ^oun^ that increasing radiotherapy sessions from five to six . g
LONDON, NOV. t
■$
man was sentenced today to times a week makes a difference. •
“By making a small modification in radiotherapy we had a K
r
eight years in jail for
significant improvement in the outcome. We have more patieritjftj
knowingly infecting two . ..
uj who are cured, more patients who are not losing their voice box;
women with the virus
and more patients who will not die from, the cancer,’’ Prof Over
causing .AIDS.
• •?'■ • :
r'
Last month, HIV-positive g' gaard said in an interview. :•
. ’“We are giving six treatments instead of five. It is a very’^- ■
Mohammed Dica, of south
London, was convicted of;P. simple tiling.” He and his colleagues in DAHANCA, the Danish^
two counts of causing , ..J..; head and neck cancer group, will report their findings at the ■
Ife’deration of European Cancer Societies meeting in Copen- - $3
grievous bodily harm by
hagen next week and in‘The Lancet’medical journal.
“coldly and callously’’
About 10,000 doctors, nurses and researchers from around ■
infecting a divorcee and a''
mother of two, both in their the world are expected to attend the five-day meeting. It will y
cover all types of cancer that accounts for over one in eight ,
30s.
’
deaths worldwide, more than the percentage of deaths due to
It was the first time in •
HTV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. More than 6.2
more than a century that million people worldwide died of cancer in 2000.
someone had been f ‘
In the world’s largest trial in accelerated radiotherapy for .
successfully prosecuted in
head and neck patients, Prof Overgaard and his team comparec
England and Wales for ■
the results of sufferers who had either five or six radiotherapy
knowingly passing on a
sexually transmitted disease. sessions each week for several weeks. '.
Seventy percent of patients in the six-times a week group
During today’s sentencing,
had a reduction in their tumour, compared to 60 percent who
Inner London Crown Court
. Judge, Nicholas Philpot told had less frequent treatment. Head and neck cancers account for
about three to four percent of all cancers in industrial countrie
'Dica that his behaviour had
qnd affects more men than women.'
been “despicable”. — AP

1 •v
:

. m.

;

]

-'"’'press fellowships
The Karnataka State AIDS Pre­
BSF sacks •
vention Society (KSAPS) and ’T
employee for being
the India-Canada Collabora­
tive HIV/AIDS . Project
HIV positive
(ICHAP) has announced its

I

i

I

NEW DELHI, oct. 25. A 30-year-old
. man, Bala Husein, who wants to
make his case a precedent for
HIV-positive people in the
armed forces, has taken the
Border Security Force to court
for dismissing him from service
in an alleged show of discrimi­
nation after he disclosed that he
had AIDS. He said the BSF
should not have thrown him out
of the job solely on the ground p
that he tested positive for AIDS, p
Husein, awaiting the next court
hearing in November, told a pri­
vate television channel that a
senior BSF officer had told him
that he was not fit to work any
longer as he would die soon.
Husein is now working as a se­
curity guard in. a Delhi-based
private firm.
However, the Director-Gen­
eral (Medical) of the BSF, S.K.
' Jha, said Husein's services were
terminated as he was not only
• HIV-positive but was also suf• fering from tuberculosis and
r herpes. 86 personnel have testR ed positive for HIV so far in the

-J

>2 J L 'i Zc'lM
1

HIV/AIDS press fellowships
for 2003-04. The two press fel­
lows are T.A. Johnson, senior
correspondent, ‘Times of
India’, Bangalore and K.Y.
Yayanthi, freelance journalist
and assistant editor, Depart­
ment of Advertising and Visual
Publicity, Ministry of Informa­
tion and Broadcasting/

VjVii /iJOd
INDIA® EXPRESS

-;ME

■

)
I

i JOHANNESBURG,''NOV.
a1HIV vaccine ■

'

* - i

f highest AIDS cases'

j Man jailed for
1 infecting loversll

—i
first human clinical trial of; 1
*
• - •
UT.
an •HIV vaccine in South, J..
t
'..(.j ••
•
•-.K.n--...vi/;
, o A Son
Somali refugee who deliOj
Africa begins this week, re-'! j . By Our Staff Reporter 'Nadu. HIV/AIDS Is now'.| ^erately
j^erately iinfected two women th!
searchers have announced? '
withHP
HIV was jailed for eight wl
I f-JJ'i spreading to the general
! ' with
■’> The drug, which is also ' bangalore, Nov. 13. Karnataka , population m India, and if f j i —years in
'
- years in the first conviction iiBl
being
tested
in
the
U.S.,
is
,
i 1 1 England in 137 years for pass- KI
I one of about two dozen po- ' ranks fifth in die number of ; knowledge of the disease,
reported AIDS cases in the
' preventive measures, and
i Jfing on a sexually transmitted g|
tential vaccines being test- . country, according to a study I counselling are not made • ' j
disease, Reuters reports from Vn
vninniAA1?6,12'000 ^uma^ 3j pun HJWAIDS wnuuncu
,j universal,
universal, India
inaia could
could see
see an
an !' ■'
conducted uy
by
London.
HI
volunteers in experiments ;-.the Population Foundation of ; epidemic similar to that in
;i
i
Mohammed Dica, 38, was
nU11C! 9^.W011d.1j India
India (PFI)
(PFI) and
and the
the Population
Population some
some African
African countries,
countries,
sentenced at the Inner London|g
But it is the only one that ■ Reference
Reference Bureau.
Bureau.
the study.
Among
i : according
— to
.v—
>
contains genetic material ; i• The
y’. in the*'
The study
study was
was released
released in
in <■ • adults, incn are infected
from the HIV strain most J,| Delhi on Thursday.
• —
The study 1 ratio of 3:1 compared with
.DECCAls7 HERALD
4 prevalent
in South Africa — ,reveals that over one per cent i i women, but the number of J •
-------- --------------------------------t! of
re8nant women test HIV i women with HIV/AIDS is '
; ilff
thC' country
with the most
of P
pregnant
? people infected with HIV in d positive at many testing sites. |! increasing in KamatakaAbout
Il hL?V0?d' ,
, .
'
•! Karnataka has the highest
! i 90 per cent of the total
- : \
The first drug being test- ,‘v. number of pregnant women ... ’
.
s are in.-S
ed contains parts of a weak- r who test positive for HIV
| j die age group of 15 to 44
’•
s ened strain of Venezuelan H-J infection in India. •-.
.•
■- J;!] years
years. ■ -I<■■ ■-■
f•J ' -.::.-V
j equine encephalitis and a ■
Therer were
1,790
reported
:
•
"Th
WLIC
icpuncu
-» > : "The extent of HIV/AIDS in
Jju
rmlncc nnno
_______ . r » t
..." »,
h nn
harmless
gene frntr»
from nQntifKi
a South ; cases
of AIDS in the State till !:: India would have been worse
j! African HIV strain. By er.
" ' ’(the number
r was.
en-■ August 2003
was | ijf die country had not started "
q tering human cells, scien,pn- - 918 in March 2001). Of the
J to address the problem in lists hope it wall stimulate * 1,790 cases, 215 were reported i: 1986 when it was first ■
i
the production of antibod- ' in die first eight months of - J ' detected. But die trends ' ■;
'
1 ies that will forever fight off this year. Of the 49 districts in ■ indicate the need to accelerate
erate1
AIDS infection. — AP
' the country with a high
i ci n K r
.
’
.
the
involvement
of
civil
society
.
■ ii ■ & «
----- J
“ '"t>"
• u*v *“»w>vcmcm u* uivu society
•
i \ rt
U
I prevalence, of HIV/AIDS, 10
; j in raising awareness about
• ■'I
•
are
are in
in the
the Stite,
Stdte, according
according to
to•! HIV/AIDS,"
A.R.
'
. • « ■ a • f 4 KA
I k. 1 Nanda,
A 5 Cll LUlUj
. !'
f/’ the
ThF P1 M fThTTI
th®1study.
stud^ 1
f 1 Executive Director, Population
p - The other States with a high
India,
The
„ ; Foundation
;7 Foundationofof
India,said.
said.
The
prevalence of HIV/AIDS are
study was funded by the Bill 1
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Melinda Gates
.
' i
Manipur, Nagaland, and Tamil: • Foundation..
.‘.‘.'J '
I

L5 N

5 Hijv /Jjlki I

: el 3 NOV zuuj ’viiis irriT.'trj)?

<ci-

>»•*

ZUU3

-A X

A
A

4

c.

B^ress fellowships
1' Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS> ^India’
Itanada Collaborative HIV/AIDS project has announced its , . ...

i .

f‘--—t. Times of Ind^ Ba.

C;
flCiCetXwshSlhasbeen instituted to strengthen the role of .

O';

Bl journalists in reporting on HIV /AIDS m the^

C-

^uarantinOi-tmitiia

I

C

j haunts AIDS patients "■ 11
____ nnrt nfHrialc
ackpd
their/ asked
!!t for their
ipur, ,,_i
Maharashtra,
. Kerala,
.. portfarofficials
West Bengal and Mumbai -.. certificates. "At the immigr-^
□<±1 Nov 10:
av. They
xaey had returned from a confer- . ation counter, the deputy^,, ui
Mumbai,
• corn- ■“
detained at
at Mumbai,
ence lor
for awo
AIDS,, pauems
patients <u*u
and uuuu.
health
p, were detained
Mumbai, ence
, .■airport
■ e officer
j j
rton
aii-port and quarantined for activists in Uganda, a Yel-, ered nine of us and deman; q

i>.
j>‘ By Manju Mehta

11

i
I
1

;

}.
I

I

J six days because they could low Fever (YF) endemic ded to ^,,th?n
M have brought ....
back yellow ZQne The, airport, officials certificates, Singh said.. AllvJ
fever. When the six AIDS pa­ asked them for.Yellow Fever. of them had certificates say-G>{
tients, the first ever to be det­ Vaccination • certificates - ing the vaccination clause,
ained by the Mumbai airp­ this when as per World had been waived for them..1Q >
ort health, officials, walked Health Organisation rules. The officials werent satisfj-^ .
they knew HIV-positive persons are not ied.
.
■.
,
<;r0
rf{j 1:
out last
L~. week,
------ ---"The Anntnr
doctor demanded
expected to be vaccinated.
omnn
aa,.-n ;
they’d had a close shave.
WHO. waives
mis bribe of US $150," said
waives this
The mosquito-infested yel- ’ "The .WHO,
for / mV-positive'-" Singh. Three of them paidA
R low fever hospital at clause fiz. .r-----r-----| Andheri, where they were people as we have suppres- up and left. Smgh and five.,;? J
( quarantined, could have sed immunity levels. Vacci- colleagues, who refused ta^q
. nation could, cause complica- . pay, found themselves in.ru ?
a- given them malaria or den• .’•v')
] ' gue. "That may have been tions,” said Singh. Singh’s quarantine.
i death for us,"- says Rajesh . voice shakes when he reca-. .• Airport health officials de^ ||
H Singh (name changed), vice- Us the days at hospital with-- - fend saying all passengers ,b j
^ut*food7wate7or medical .flying in from yellow fever, :<
j president of Udaan Public c * e J
have to take food, endemic zones: piust carry
3 Trust. He, along with four 1help.
. ‘.'We
.
other men and a woman, all at
at regular
regular intervals
intervals and
and cam
can­ ' Vaccination' certificates or «. I
not
afford
to get mosquito face quarantine. "Even an-H J
$ AIDS patients and activists,
bites but the hospital didn’t ' HIV/AIDS person who flies’b I
fa spent six sleepless nights at
th7qu^tfrfe"hospital for ' even provide us with mosq- ■ in’ without vaccination isii:
not having a certificate of uito repeUents," he said/ •
not exempted stressedjm.
When the AIDS patients airport doctor. If that wasn
vaccination that they aren’t
touched down at Mumbai- the case, why were Singh’s^,
expected to get. .
The activists - from Man- around 2 a.m. on Nov 1, air- colleagues allowed to go? <- «ir

i&t%,

c-

e-

cC;

.

|0d

<?

-u~

•

__ 2—jsir
----------------- i \

I

U:

?■i

*** a * Arilr 'fX!UKriaiit:sss£:1^>

n oners AlDS-control 1

•M j

■

O i

PL

. 'S
Ms Swaraj said.
. the foundation, sources said. •
Treatment
of
AIDS
requires
Out of the five companies 2
■' h< i NEW DELHI, Nov 21 ’
’ continuous monitoring of viral with whom the foundation have |
}-•' I
v- - f Offering a package of AIDS-conC-i »;
‘ Toad deduced from CD4 . cell ■ agreements to procure drugs at a *
count. India
/'"J F tJr.0.1;n^,iSS”eSAf0™.er US Presi:
t„j atx present. has
, only
,
iower price; four are Indian — |
B dent Bill Clinton today conveyed ■ ‘25 CD4 machines, each costing
Ranbaxy, Cipla, Matrix and Het- J
p to the Prime Minister Atal BeO’ hari Vajpayee that he would cam- ■ approximately Rs 25 lakh, and re- ero Drugs — while South Africa- |
based Aspen Pharmacare is the |
v Paign for India’s AIDS-control . quires 150 more, she said.
The foundation is ready to ne- fifth. Through the partnership |
C4 <51 programme in other nations to ;
raise additional resources and to .' gotiate with drug companies for the foundation hopes. to bring 3
bv,xx.xv v^cxxo
. the
. cost of two AIDS didown the cost of ARV treatment |
•J ..v
negotiate
deals with puaima
pharma • reducing
so that
expensive
— -i|(companies
. •
____ a8nostic kits. As per the offer from $ 140 per persqn per year to g
Clinton, the price of 36 - 38 cents per.day.
>
.a
CT? J AIDS diagnostic machines and macT by
“But we are talking to the In- S
' <7 ; kits, would become available at one kit will be lowered from $ 40
to
$
20
per
test
while
the
price
of
dian companies directly and ex- f
■. much reduced prices.
.^5 •
At a 40-minute luncheon the second is proposed to be re­ ploring the possibility of bringing down the prices of these J
C.-.^ ' meeting with the Prime Minister duced from $ 10 to $ 3.
•The foundation has also of­ drugs even further for India after £
'-O - in which Union External Affairs
Minister Yashwant Sinha and . ’ fered to train Indian profession- giving them some duty conces- Ij
TT
Health
Minister Sushma *S.L*J
Swaraj als on anti-retroviral (ARV) ther- sions as per the industry de- I
’ WPTP
Plintr\r>
were aRn
also nrpcont
present, Mr
Mr Clinton,'
• aPY f°r AIDS treatment since In- mand,” Ms Swaraj said.
I
j who heads tlie US-based Clinton dia has decided to start the rela­
Asked how long it would take v
Foundation, has proposed to ad- tively new drug regime from to curb the AIDS menace t'
; vocate for India’s AIDS-control • next year. Initially ARV treat­ through all these measures, the £
? programme in Ireland, Norway ment will be given to HlV-posi- former US President refused to K.
and Canada to help arrange for tive pregnant mothers and chil- put any time limit. “It depends !>j
additional resources.
. dren below 15 years.
on how long it takes for the gov- i
i ■ The former US president has , However, unlike its role as a ernments to recognize the probalso extended an offer for procur-‘ facilitator in making ARV drugs
lem, how long it takes to have ad. ing a costly CD4 count diagnostic available to ’governments at a equate resources and how long it
; machine at a lower price, Ms cheaper price, the Clinton Foun- takes to develop a vaccine. But I /
r Swaiaj said. The foundation . dation is unlikely to have anynave
iirstinenu
dying
ofof L
haveseen
seenmy
my
first friend
dying
: will soon place a bulk order from ■ role in making those drugs avail- O'AIDS
■’AIDS in the mid-1980s and
and life
? a Chinese firm to procure CD4 ‘ able to India’s national pro- •'was never same for me after- L
j; count machines for South Africa . gramme because the health min- wards,” he said at a press confer- U
: and has offered us to pool the In- . istry prefers to talk to the compa- ence at Ranbaxy’s R&D facility at i:
.j dian requirements in that order,” ., nies directly instead of going via Gurgaon. •
’ T
■r - <

A -o

I

f

■’v)

« 1

'!

J -3
]

•i

..^j

■J

PH News Service

■

c
'y

ij

!

hlTelgi
. had AIDS before arrest:'StampIT |

3
3»„ 1

Jahgalore, Nov 19:
a
Bangalore,
19:.The multi- said lila had been infected with '
; crore
rore stamp paper racket in the the
the vims
vims while
whilehe
he was in pol ice •.
5
Estate
lW41, WJ1
' * from Aug 6 to Aug 15, ' ' A1"/I
hate took a~ new turn
on ‘ custody
r> r»o/4
r
A
OAAr* 44TT____
i ' »
«
' / ’
tJ,
4 Wednesday with kingpin Abdul ■ 2003. “He was regularly treated
> Kareem Lala Telgi’s lawyers at Bo wring Hospital andLala-<-threatening to sue officials of the suspects that
it was
place t 'i:
miql xl
wao the
iuc pjdue
t- Special Stamp Paper Investiga- .-Twhere
’
‘he contracted the virus, / JC
.•
f tions Team (StampIT) and jail Nanaiah
1
said.. . : •
-?
V
j. staff for infecting him with the , . Nanaiah said he would file a . .i AIDS virus, allegedly while he ■■ - case against the investigating •
...... 4
t was in their custody.
-. authorities soon. Lala was suf-« n However, StampIT officials fering from severe cardiac and
r i
said Lala had tested HIV-posi- diabetic ailments and needs regtive
two
years
before
he
was
ular
treatment,
failing
which
he
’i
could slip into coma, he added.
■? even arrested. ‘
While
StampIT
chief
R.
Sri
.
'
‘‘The health of the accused is'
J
.< Kumar refused to comment- deteriorating day by day,” he

\^-;

A
I

IRi

■'

J ’

.

p*

-ftT/A itirr,

■

..1»u a_....x___ __

x

•'

./

■.

.

:j about Lala’s health, officials; said in an application.

•LW-’1

T.said he had tested HIV-positive '
Meanwhile, on Wednesday
; -much befare his arrest in 2001 Lala appeared before a magis- ‘
s. and that his’ lawyers had only trate in a sessions court here
[al<eu U?the?SSUGasaploytOget seekij)8 medical facilities. The
him bail on health grounds.
case was adjourned for further Telgi being taken to court in
Lala’s lawyer M.T. Nanaiah hearing on Dec 29 • ENS
Bangalore. — Express photo

.n;n:A:T -:;:i

tf-

7 nn1/ ?n^i
y

I

■

-

rvf

"

’-.X’

VX:>r::rur JH.-t>■ .r?

r

1
lol

i'-i

■

moms
resources for- AIDS con™

, .Hr.-' i

ni I

nr-

-f • '

.u

> -i-'- - - <•

By Otiy
Our Special Correspondent • Chairperson of the Foundation of kits, with one costing $40 a
'"j
-h- ■ 1 ■
•• ••< ■
named after him, also promised test, and
$ 20 a . test.
th
■ ■ the :other
*NEW DELHI, NOV. 21. The AIDS to help India acquire additional Efforts were underway to get the
control programme in ■the.’, equipment for assessing the costs reduced to $10 and $3 for
country is all set to get a major load of HIV in AIDS patients at a AIDS victims elsewhere in th^
boost,' with the former United lower-.cost. The Clinton Foun- world and steps would be taken
States President, Bill' Clinton, ■ .dation was’already negotiating to ensure that the concessional
today promising to get addi-Tin this regard with a Chinese rates were made available to patiohal resources -for the pro- firm on behalf of the South Afri- tients in India too, he said.
Ms. Swaraj said an advance
gra,mme from Canada, Norway’■ ca Government and India's requirements would be pooled party from the Clinton Foundaand Ireland.
•
■ u
tion had met officials of the NaHe made the promise during; with it, he said.
The equipment cost Rs. 25 tional
AIDS
Control
a luncheon meeting with the
;Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vaj- lakhs each. There are 25 of them Organisation here on Thursday
in the country and the Centre and after a discussion on the |
■ .’payee. ■ .'•■ ■ 1,
■
■
• • ■
:
Briefing a group of reporters; has proposed to acquire 150 details of the Indian AIDS control programme had promised 1
; about the meeting, the Union
more. •
1
•
•
Health Minister, Sushma Swa- ■. During the 40-minute meet­ to help in strengthening it
j
raj, said Mr. Clinton promised ing, which was exclusively fo- further. ‘
that he would advocate India’s cussed on the HIV/AIDS • Earlier, addressing a press ;
case for additional resources for situation in India, the former conference, Mr. Clinton said his
die anti-AIDS programme dur- U.S. President.offercd to help in Foundation would do. everying his coming visits to Norway,' -reducing the cost of the diag- thing possible to gather re-|
nnctir Vit
ticprl kit
in used
mnntincT
thp soiirrPR
tn fioht to
thefight
HIV/the
AIDS
BS ftAIDS
Canada nr>z4
and Irolanrl
Ireland.
nostic
in counting
the sources
HIV/
W
Mr. Clinton, who is here, as viral load. There are two types epidemic.

.--'e
I
I

v-

!

I

xuu.Uyt.

0

w
n
o

>
%
(Tj

e
c

t

I (VfV./

j "CenKTB' provifife- fflOMSFW
AIDS affected mothers, kids

I

A

gramme focussed on the preven­ provide the drug at a cheaper
tion aspect of the disease. India price.
“I will request the Finance
currently has an estimated 3.82
NEW DELHI, Nov 22'
to 4.58 million HIV infected per- Minister to accommodate indus­
Charting a new course in the na­ , sons.The group, having repre- try demands in the next budget,
tional AIDS control initi^Jive,. . sentatives from all Indian AIDS so that their costly drugs come
the' Centre • in . principle' has • drug manufacturers will suggest within the reach of ordinary
agreed to provide anti retroviral the government on how to cut ; people,’’Health Minister Sushma
(ARV) therapy to at least two see1 • down the prices of expensive Swaraj said. '.
' c.
tions of AIDS patients.
" '
"
anti-AIDS drugs so that it beHowever, in its first meeting
■A high-level joint working comes- affordable.
-rr-j-Li.
earlier this week, the group com­
group has been set up to suggest
The group is likely to submit prising top officials from Cipla,
how such costly ARV medicines- . its recommendations by the end Ranbaxy, Glaxo SmithKlime, Au­
can be made- available to the pa­ of this month, health ministry robindo Pharma, Nicolas Pira-tients through the national pro- sources told Deccan Herald.
mal, Hetero Drugs, Matrix Labo­
' gramme. This is the first time
Initially, the focus would be on ratories arid Roche has assured
I the government has agreed to pregnant mothjers and children . the ministry that they did not.
provide medicines since the ini- below 15years. The ministry has mind making the drug available-,
' tiation of National AIDS Control also asked the industry' to place ’ at a reduced price, provided tljiey
programme almost 16 years
j
' their demand related to cuts in t were given certain exemptions ;
back. Traditionally, the r
pro-- various duties so that they can {on import and customs duties.

A

From Kalyan Ray
PH News Service

A

1 vr»nr] irtc*

M^TO’^scu^TeaucGonT'
|I In priceis of HIV-AIDS drugs I

A

•*

c

e-

i

TH
By P.Sunderarajan -

• of India and Aspen Pharmace tients in Africa and Caribbean!
Holdings of South Africa, under regions, they should be able to
mew Delhi, nov.15. The Union which they.would provide com- do so for those in India also.”
Apart from the three Indian
Health Minister, Sushma Swa- monly used anti-HlV-AIDS
aj, has convened a meeting of drugs with discounts ranging drug companies that have encading drug companies here on from 33 to 50 per cent for distri- tered into the agreement with
Monday for a discussion on the bution to patients in several the Clinton Foundation, the
possibilities of reducing the countries in Africa and Carib<- Monday meeting is expected to
prices of HIV-AIDS drugs, bean region. According to ’ be attended by Aurobindo Pharvhich are currently out of the sources in the Union Health ma and Hetero Drugs, the two ■
each of a significant section of Ministry, an attempt would be other important players in the 1
!
p he affected.
made to have the pharma com- HIV-AIDS drugs sector.
According to estimates by the
| The meeting has been con- panics to offer similar, if not
g /ened in the wake of the recent 'better discounts, for the H1V- National AIDS Control Organi- !
satiori under the Union Health
Ejagreement between William Jef-. AIDS patients in India.
the compa­ Ministry, about 4.2 million per- ‘
g Person Clinton Foundation and
“"After
Ar*—all,
" three
----of--------------fe-four drug companies — Ran- nies are frotfi India. When they sons were estimated to be af- • ■.
ra 10 n es can cut the prices for the pa- fected by HIV in the country. I J
E

I

I

{

.

i

<I

f

08210

P

cc
O-:

....

-^US^^-'-'

....

’.r

IJ •'

......... ... . ------ • ...... - --...... .......

........

r?

r"

&

■■

j

I

iq

'I

IPSifll

PH News Service_______

g BANGALORE, Nov 19

pi Does it matter if Abdul Karim
p;j Telgi alias Lala, the prime acH cused in the multi-crore fake
8 stamp paper racket, is HIV posife tive ? As far as the Stamp Paper
■; Investigation Team (StampIT) is
concerned, this is a non-issue.
“The statements about Karim
B Lala having been injected with
b HIV-infected blood by the police
h are absurd. These are just a few
g dilatory tactics adopted to affect
$ the pace of investigation,”
StampIT Chief R Sri Kumar told
Karim Lala being produced at
H Deccan Herald.
' City civil court in Bangalore on
g ' He was reacting to the claims
U made by Karim Lala’s counsel M Wednesday
h T Nanaiah that the police had in- hospital doctors were adminis­
3 ■ jected his client with HIV with a tering insulin and other injec­
J view to bump him off. In fact, Mr tions to my client and during
3 Nanaiah had on Wednesday that time HIV could have been incharged the police with injecting, jected to him,” Mr Nanaiah said
the deadly virus to Karim Lala . and added that he would sue. the
i when he was in their custody be- police and jail authorities after
P ’ tween August 6 and 15 this year. obtaining the jail medical
A medical test report which records pertaining to Karim
came out on November 9 tested Lala.
Karim Lala HIV positive, Mr
But StampIT Chief Sri Kumar
Nanaiah said while speaking to termed the allegations against
$ reporters. “Several government the investigating agency as “rub-

i:
j

3
V

3
i

J
J

bish” and said it was an attempts
by Karim Lala to get his enlarge-1
ment on bail on medical |
grounds. Stating that the police g
had evidence to show that Karim s
Lala had an HIV test done in |
Mumbai in October 2001, Mr Sri |
Kumar said, “he was tested posi- [
tive for HIV two years before he j
was arrested in connection with
the fake stamp paper racket.” Mr
Sri Kumar also made it clear that I
the investigation into the racket I
' would not be affected by the I
claims of Karim Lala.
j
Court proceedings: Earlier in
the day, Karim Lala was pro­
duced before the Fast Track
Court (II) Judge Nagaiah Shetty,
who posted the hearing of his
case to November 29. Lala told
the Court that he was not getting |
proper medical attention at the J
Parappana Agrahara jail where -u
he is currently lodged. He al-Vj
leged
that the StampIT
had- j
~
_
threatened the medical officers J
in the jail of dire consequences if. S
they attended to him. Following .
this, the Judge ordered the chief
medical officer of the j ail to
V|

Rr
I
I
p.Jd
'i ' V '

-

1

M?

.1

ZtHli

1

Continued on Page 9

-ye|gi Was not . J
infected with HIV 11

DECCAMH^ALD
V

II

Continued from Page 1_______ '

appear before him during tlie
next hearing.
Karim Lala also appealed to
B the court to order the removal of
a close circuit television camera
3 installed in his cell by stating
'.S that it was invading his privacy.
3 But the public prosecutor told VI
if the court that the jail authorities y
were authorised to keep an eye g
3 on the movement of the inmates, a
? The prosecutor also told the
| court that the television set in
Karim Lala’s cell had been re- 3
paired and installed on Tuesday.
f
Meanwhile, a police team 3
I from Andhra Pradesh is report9) cd to have come to the City seek- . h
V: ing the custody of Karim Lala in ■ vj
connection with the fake stamp'
paper case being investigated by

I

B

II ;;
i

r
i'

i ‘

......................

§ Telgi was aot imecte wren
f

'j :

.

'

' "TtiiaS?

I

_______ _

'Mamtela leads hi-techfigl'vt againstAIL)SH

I prison . 'number' for. jover 18
"I was known as just a num- 46664 and donating a minute of |
inc
wimci
I
, years,
South
ber. Millions
Millions of
ofpeople
people today
today infinf- your life to stop AIDS.” ‘
1
..
years,”” the
theformer
formerouuui
South African
African ber.
| London, Oct .22: Themessage';.
jnessage,; 'President
'President““told
told aa London
London news
news ected with AIDS are classified as
'• Callers win also be able to lis­
som, prisoner 46664.was starkly..conference launching the initial- just a number. They too are ser- . ten.to the song 46664:Long Walk
| ripiivprpddelivered: -nivo.Ano
"Give' one minutenf of ive with Ms'Dynamite, j?-.-.Dave Stey-. ving
ving aa prison
prison sentence
sentence for
for life,
life,””,... To Freedom that Stewart’' wrote
P your life to AIDS.’U’
waif of~ the
Eurythmics and he told reporters, who had gree- ■ with the late Joe Struinmer of
| ’ ;'Nelson Mandela, using his old Brian May and Roger Taylor,
.ted him with a standing ovation. the Clash and Completed • with «s
g convict number from South AfrThe 85-year-old icon of the apa- Bono from U2. ’
|
S ica’s robben island, joined forces
.rtheid struggle has been at the
With recording' sessions in p
g ’with veteran pop stars on Tues-forefront of the battle to curb London, New York and Los AngM d^y to launch a global phone and.
AIDS. About five minion people 1 eles, a string of stars from Beyo- g
| internet campaign to raise aware• are infected in South Africa, mak- nee to Paul McCartney have |
b ness of the killer disease. . ‘ j ‘
ing it the worst affected nation in since joined in to create other B
g • {"One’ minute can change the .
the world.
. tracks................ — P
g world,” said Mandela, waving a •
' Dave Stewart said: "We have a
The highhght of the campaign
mobile phone and urging people
wonderful opportunity to raise win be an ah-star concert in
g to call special 46664 phonelines
money through global telephone Cape Town on November 29
B set up around the globe.,
networks. When you dial the' which the music channel MTV
S ‘ j Callers can join what organisnumber, you win be answered by.. hopes win reach a global audie$ ers hope will be the biggest-ever
’■'1
anybody from Robert de Niro to ' nee of two billion people. ‘
petition i.designed to issue .a
. X
Nelson Mandela to Bono to whoe-' ."Enjoy the music,” said Man!
a
wake^up , call -to; governments.
., ver. "
dela as he turned, reached for1
M They can, also donate online: at .
■■ "They whl then give you a mes-’ his stick and left the stage after
'www.46664.Com
. "46664 was my
Jr? *
sage thanking you for diahing the launch.
' i
G'
r*e•’•»
^« wiimTTii, - . r _ i
'
gr*,**f**-K^iX
V

I

•»r.rvX7iu'-;u^A,$

I

BT"!®

r

r

■

V

c

I
I

II

-

hvl

4L

A

t
I

rjj b i

■

INDIAN EXFRESl B'"

4

OCi ,?L!03

4

l trovt to press firms to cut prices

of AIDS drugs: Sushma

-

I

?SX"i.S,“'

<

SX"Sdru,’"“”’”

crease investments in health out- i!
The three categories of come for the poor, a health ana- '
U Union Health Minister Sushma HIV/AIDS patients that would be lyst said, pointing that every- If
H Swaraj said today that she would provided free medicines include body wants to see how India is
g' hold direct consultations with (prospective) mothers infected addressing its disease-burden, t
U country’s leading pharmaceuti- with this deadly virus, children which is growing in the recent 1
. r
& 9^ comPanies for bulk-sppply of below 15 years, and full-blown past.
w important anti-retroviral drugs AIDS patients. She expects that
Ms Swaraj said she has con- fc
by
targeting
these
three
cate
­
that would be provided free of
vinced her colleagues in the gov- |
cost to a large majority, of gories, a large majority of coun­ z ernment at home as well as ft
try’s 4.5 mHlion HIV/AIDS popu­ abroad that without a “paradig- |
m HIV/AIDS patients.
3
“After reaching New Delhi, I lation would be brought under matic” shift. “Previously policy l|
J plan to hold consultations with free medicine scheme.
makers took decisions on the as“I have already started a proj­ sumption that high and robust
g the leading pharmaceutical comect
called
AIDS-free
Behary
’
,
panies to bring down prices on
growth in the economy would ul- fl
anti-retroviral drugs through (which is the first pilot project to timately transfer gains to the
commence
the
journey
towards
huge bulk purchases for free (
health sector, but I would argue
HIV/AIDS
Insupply to three categories nf eradicating
,i- » u
--------—from *n|i HIV/AIDS patients” she told r ’ fhe/^ld’ “ThisProJectwill that without impressive gains in
R
the health sector, the overall S
f. ' rA
—
bile IO1Q
be extended
PYtPriHoH othe-r-HIV/Ams'^
Afknr. UTXZ/ A TTXO ■
economy would not grow,” she
H'
.
eALiublve m
festecj dTested
lstricts
in thp in the country”
districts
K • .terview.
said.
:
Ms Swaraj was here in Gene­
Ms Swaraj said she is confiShe
said
her
government,
par­
ky dent that the India’s pharmaceu- va to chair a meeting of 40 health ticularly the finance minister,
and
finance
ministers
to
address
g tical companies would respond
had fully backed her plans to
rl’ her ca^ during the proposed the financing of health sector in build six state-of-the-art medical
the
face
of
rising
disease-bur
­
consultations to - address the den.
research institutes like the Al- w
g HIV/AIDS problem in the counIMS in Orissa, Bihar, Madhya J
This
is
the
firs't
time
that
an
try on a war footing so that there
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chettisgarh il]
O is free supply of the so-called Indian health minister was and Uttaranchal at an invest- ®
asked to chair the conference of ment of Rs 1,800 crore.
:/
Uli GENEVA, Oct 30

i

i

DECCAN HERALD

3 i) (;(. (

*

e.

e.
C-:
C

c.
eceC"

t-

c
c-

’ ■

Jolj.

oc
C--

'

c-

....
-■

“ Vr^yr- ;5V

.. .
.........................

• •• •• ••

• ...........

'.••A.}-’
- -

3 •

..

3

'■.■.'■.•'Atarmmg
Id; TOWS 00, ;3"AiD$' fr©oi:

I’

:,■'<??< d ■

' j v~3 ■/

(

■

. By N. Gopal Raj

j

A

T TX T a

T I

v

▼

•

•

j TH1RUVANANTHAPURAM,., nov. 2e|: Hon (WHO). Globally, 40 million peopl I

w»

qre is i
■' There

H a
iaLj

£

is '3

m

~?. _ _. . i

»

I dence” yet
' that the AIDS epi
f demic 'in India
bdn*V“A
nV6 milllOn 01 W,10m were "ewly
K controlled in individual States! ’ in^ecte^ In 2003. Three million died of AIDS this
It is perhaps not surprising that the first HIV
g let alone in the country as al • year- In India, between four million and five mil! whole, according to the 200# Hon people are probably infected with HIV at preventive vaccine to reach the final stages of
|
POint' T?e UNAIDS-WHO report speaks of • clinical testing has turned out to be ineffective. 1
The. AIDSVAX vaccine was found to be safe but |
ft HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and tlxc^j.senous epidemics under way in several States, not efficacious in large-scale trials in North ?
g World Health Organisation.
including Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. EspeAmerica and Europe, and recently in Thailand as |
Coy thn-end of 2002' '3-02
ciaIIy since there is no cure available, an effecwell. The good news, however, is that vaccine !
. wer8eSXlPw^^
be a powerful
B immunodeficiency vims (HIV)M JJeaPon ln H16 global fightback against AIDS. , development has accelerated in recent times'!
and many candidate vaccines are in the pipeline. |
which causes AIDS. At least! However, developing such a vaccine is proving Clinical trials of one such vaccine are expected to |
, 300,000 more have acquired the# exceedingly difficult
“ori^^Sl ' ,ET tinCe,Edward Jenner discovered in En- begin in India next year. The International AIDS ■ |
on Tuesday.“Serious epidem^f 8 and that dellbemtely infecting people with Vaccine Initiative, a nongovernmental body with; |
widespread pubfic and private support, ‘ has |
ics” are under way in several?.? COWPOX protected them from smallpox, vac- • signed agreements with India’s Ministry of |
States,
including
Maharashtra^
cines
Have
saved
millions
of
human
lives
and
J.'-; >
Health, the Indian Council of Medical Research, 1
“an
t0 Public health. The vast and a U.S.-based firm, Therion Biologies, for the |
and
in x»icunpui,
Manipur, whereS
by gener- development and testing of a vaccine appropri-.- B
i.fected
—
*'-* •**
wneresf ma
_»• -lonty ofvaccmes m use today
J work
"—'''j
k' HIV prevalence among the in-3 atln8 antibodies. These chemicals latch1 on to :
ate to this country. Unlike Al DSVAX and in com-' g
jecting drug users is over 60 perl the germs when they enter the
the body
body anand stop . mon with most current vaccine approaches, the, |
?T'Mnr;catChC°rdfng-t0 the Jeport'3 1116111 in
tracks. But the challenges
:s in the proposed
x
_____ vaccine
______ will seek to ouluujaie
Indian
stimulate §
U vulnerablVgroups^
developing
are formidable
Thesuch a3 vaccine
VaCcine again:
against HIV what are called cytotoxic T-lymplmcyteTtCT^ |
eas. IIt is gradually spreading to- aie *urmiaaDie. The vaccine must prepare the
rural1 areas. in Andhra Pradesh,? immune system to produce antibodies that tar- The CTLs can i
infected and destroy them. An advantage of
g6t ,the germ where i[ is vulnerable. But HIV h.
1 i Y-) CT f’ iD 1C onnrrxcnk
• i
pur and Nagaland, the
prevalence rates among j
l£ uses to ugain entry
into cells, in- outer surface (as is the case with antibodies) The I
nant women have crossedd the$
Uic«i
---- j___
one per cent threshold.In Guj-$cIuding those of .the immune system itself are

r

1

0

n

I

I

I

j *

3."

r* I
/'•J

j

3

3

5
■5

■

c!

0

d-5

Iis

I

. _ _

Y.

•

t

••

P

xl T*I

t* l”Y^ 1

I

r t ’I—

•

3==”-='

I Xn7dWGMe p^|bd^yProtected from

«...«ej-s;j-*2--sj.-

H still
suu below
oeiow onVper'cen7among^
one per cent amongftrthat
““v R
“ is
10 “abIe
WIC easiI
caouyy lu evaue many antibodies
q pregnant women.Not
en.Not enough isw
isfc and so the vaccine m
must
virus
St target
target sites
sites on
on the
the virus
H
the spread of Hivgthat do not change much. Yet another difficult
t
3 States, where HIvVureXnceN^'^TV
Preventive vaccine against
now provides only an incom-h^
j-LJ__ sXttL \ I —
■4 plete picture, the report says. f^zr3SSSS3lE3nsss£i£‘SIS:s3^^
Editorial on Page IO* J

TI7E
T,
'E HIBIJpr

’V•i 6i> NOV illtla

0

i]
i] 3

0

5

5

ft

ited goal is a real challenge, given HIV's ability to |
modify itself rapidly and evade the clutches’of |
against the body’s immune system. ;

• -,>

[0 5

$

WMBSSBMBCBXBQKHaHiaVKCDXaB

C-

Y City-boy iilavs1 lead 1
L''\M'fflm'oii>Aids'''
jTb-:

!

•;

V sSyA.;.;,,^ •■-••■•

' ''

.. ac<i! liJ! ? LV

................

. 0 i

By Michael Patrao*iW®/
PH News Service :

■' ■■ 1

■r -

j BANGALORE, Nov 30 ■ / ’ • •'’ ■''''' •’ ’ •?’ •

|

i

z033
v~~—

5 .. JTo'bring'awareness about AIDS.< r
|
• and create an empathy among .'-;'
| i/;;- people.for the victims of AIDS, Z
£.' '••'Campus Crusade• has’produced •'
|, an one-hour. 16. mm format Eng-;/.'
•r'
'>';;.;lish''feature' film, •"Six'Inch 'Red A
/. ‘■/Ribbon’’, by well known director^
'■'Rajiv Menon’s film company and. ■/ v/;-; directed by his r r12 J J:
'■•'•Speaking;to Deccanr-Herald;/.'
<1 ’ Bangalore' boy Pathi Aiyar/who'"'_____ _
■;;; plays the-lead role; said i'^here^ Pathi Aiyan>^ d'• ■:..<•■
> a human touch .to tlie cnarac-,/;» il-.y‘ ;,'<■•■. .• \i, ;. <• :
•.'
..ter of an-AIDS victim which I^Megha,' plays’the role‘of.'Prem
• .’ play He has made a mistake/ but -'7- Matthew's .wife and Jyotsna, a
■/.he is also atoning for it.??;Pathi' 'jchiJ^-.'. actor,'Vplays-' - their/’little -p
•.plays the role of Prem Matthew,^■■ daughter -'■■•■. ■ - ■'•>
•
•. ■ .
F:
■.. . a newspaper, reporter. He is. a - ' But the -film is not about ■'
'•. happy man• with a wonderful}.: tragedy alone. It is also meant to ;
•. . ■ wife and a little daughter. He'de-’ ■ be a film of hope for the AIDS ;
' velops certain symptoms, and is victim and his family. "There is a '■!
tested HIV positive. /
> twist in the end. The film is ■’
: ■ The news that he is HIV posi-• meant to give hope", says Pathi. . •' J
/. five suddenly hits'him. He gets a/ ' Incidentally, Pathi played the
.'. • big offer to write'a book, but he is ' lead role in a Tamil commercial
not able to do it. -His only .‘inisrp film, Jodi Sendachu about 10
take’ has been visiting a prostiy years ago. He has-been in the
& ■ . tute five years ago: :y’N.-:.' Bangalore theatre scene as an acI
. , When he tells his wife she-is/ tor for the past 20 years and has •' !•
r
■■ ■ shocked, but then she accepts then acted in over 30 plays put up by [
.fate. Initially, he tells his wife; leading
L„IL.O theatre
2---- groups in Banga- '!
• that he got tlie virus due to-^/.lore. "Six Inch Red Ribbon’’ is •‘I !'
/ . blood transfusion, but late\ he.; tlie second movie in India to be./T
tells the truth. His wife forgwds; made on AIDS. "Nidaan", the di- .’J
him. The film is set in. the back-- rectorial debut of Mahesh Man- .7
waters of Alleypey in Kerala arid/ jrekar, produced by R V Pandit, :a
fl
is partly shot. in. Chennai;: vzas the first movie in Hindi.

;■ i
I.

.J ,

ess

I

I

I

e
9.

1

I

I

AIDS making inroads
in rural areas

I

I

I

■

m By Our Special Correspondent
“J'
_
GULBARGA, NOV.
nov. 30. AIDS is
spreading its tentacles across
the State, which occupies the
fourth place in the number of
confirmed HIV and AIDS cases
in the country after Maharash­
tra, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra
Pradesh.
According to official figures,
the estimated number of AIDS
H and HIV cases in the State is 4.5
w lakh now. Sharad M. Tanga,
y member of the Karnataka AIDS
?| Prevention Society (KAPS), told
The Hindu that 22,083 HIV and
0 AIDS cases have been con-

'I Z .

>? ’’ ‘

firmed this year alone in the ban, Bellary, Dharwad, Dakshi-fcJ
Voluntary Counselling and na Kannada, Udupi, Gulbarga,|.
Testing Centres (VCTC) estab­ Bijapur, Bagalkot, Gadag, My-«
lished in all the district head- sore, Mandya, Raichur, andrt:
quarters. However, this figure Koppal districts have beenfjdoes not include the cases of identified as endemic areas. J'
HIV and AIDS reported in the
Dr. Tanga said that the KAPS-’;
private hospitals and nursing was planning to provide finan-^ij
homes.
ccial
:~’ ‘help
'“'p to hospitals -• «•
andJ pri-|f
in«:titiitinnQ tn
’Sh? f
One of the disturbing factors vate institutions
to establ
establish
of the spread of the killer dis- • AIDS and HIV care and support’’*
ease is that it is making inroads centres. Although many such
in rural areas, and recent sam­ care and support centres had
pie
ple surveys and tests have come up in Maharashtra, Tamil
proved that there is an alarming Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh, the
incrcccc
------ response in Karnataka towards
increase in AIDS and HIV cases
in rural areas.
starting such centres was very
Dr. Tanga said Bangalore Ur- lukewarm, he added.

t-

*4.

I

i

I

•;. ; . . .:■

' 1
<4

io4
>•

■

4

h

c
j,

1 kr ? .’vjjjm

jj-’ !»\r-!r

'■■*',~r *’■'

jj—Mmvui.iiiniiiiiiiiii

'■

_r 3

a

3
3

pn

<5

□
3

X!

J
£
,:J

¥1 ’.5

i
3

-.2
'2

’■•<£; jfiigg

V

.

' ;

iiiuni■>■- ->.

44,yi

—

■

'■-----------------

■•-

•-

^3'^3,

—_

■ ...........

JI J-...-.

.i.*..,.

...

urvecla’s.

superstition” ■|r • -x.-—
riXto fight AIDS " ■anti-AIDS'. |
;•)' 1I'ANA.JI.DrcatUNl)
’ana.ji.1)<-c:>(UNI)

«

'vaccine on |
33:<anvil ' ?

p!.Tor Jayadevi Swamy. a field pub-}
^l
Ml licity officer,
ouiccr, it
11 was a herculean
nercuican j
W taSK
task 10
to Win
win over uie
the supeisusupersti- j . . .
'1
•fe
jfe tious people of Malelgao's RainRam- c NEW DRI,m;'.
' ■
i
r’l janpura
iannura area of
Maharashtra's';
ncsearc
hcs are currcndy
currently on I
« Re
'searchcs
r*l
1 Maharashtra's
rl •■ •
'
iin^Ayurveda ntirl
$ Nashik District.
and Mnnloo
Honieopa- !
4‘ • ■ Her,team initially could not $thy for developing cheaper M
$• even venture to organise filnr$
film nc and affordable anti-AlDS
anu-muo ®
%
$ shows as part of the Central gov- 2
H u.cdicincc
niCdjcincs while in ^InnntllV.
allopathy. TO
% crnmcnCs
■.aj
cii.u.v.uo,. .campaign
.... v-b- .........
against
ther.’AIDS-conlrolvaccine>sat
| thc ^njs control vaccine is
•« at }4
jp .HIV/ALDS and poliomyelitis, in | Uie pi-e.ciihical trial stage.
th
W the area inhabited by work force | union Health 'Minister W
Hl bf the adjoining powerloom in- | gushma Swaraj told UNI here g
duslries. • ; :■■■■■_
| at a function on the eve of the
$
For most of those living-in H
$ -the. dirty and dingy by-lanes, M
.Qpipnn P/'AAi £
to polio vaccine meant inviting a ;.3i -A'*
$ ••‘impotency” for their kids. They H j ’d
pt
U '’H
,
had been mired in superstition. $ I x j>
rjJ-,
8 Tier team, however, prevailed H "r*—
•
J
in most
of ii
AIDS Day that
px upon
upvn them,
uivui, resulting ...
.............
xi Worl(1
worm aluo
-....... ’ in >
thn children getting
eettinu the polio
uolio riJ Ayurvcda, manv
Vaidyas".- ?3’
the
many “"Vaidyas
h- Vaccine. They could now screen Is were conducting experiments
j-y the films showing the themes of 5 t0 develop an anti-AlDS vac- •
Kl ■national integration, awareness } cine and oncc completed, it <
i-J of HIV/AIDS and other health « wouRl bc takcn into the anti- .
H related issues, unlike before.
:■! AIDS delivery system. ’ ’ ' ’
H i • She was one among die 100 J
In Homeopathy also, some j
i] odd field publicity officers from q researches were going on. she I
M Maharashtra, Gujarat pnd Goa
said but refused to divulge j
tj .-who had gathered here' recently 3 any further details.
i
cl
and §
H ;to discuss the field problems
----- -.------About the AIDS vaccine {
HlHDr/
M ‘devise strategies to intensify the
being developed in associa- |n--C
|
$ national campaign on different m tion wRh me Indian Council ’
M themes as enunciated by the Di- g for Medical'Research (ICMR), I
M reejorate of Field 1’ubicity.
0 the health minister Ms
S I
t)
/H Swaraj said it was yet at the
' fjc.nrv
j}'—
" ’ • • ’ ‘irmre-clinical trial stage and
................
X^BCCAK HHllALD
piinical trial was yet to be

' 'Slim V/omesi show.the/way;.,;,.,
|F .;
t® fight HIV st|gma"

-i|

again' stepped in and pooled in’their..... "A good number of women in our slums
'
.meagre resources to arrange for a funeral.’■ fall under the high-risk category, as their
multiple sexual partners.
partners.|
jo. Ten
Fj'CHENNAI, NOV. UC.
.A... women
----------- ---of Satyavani ' ‘Pushpa Jagadccsan, a group member, husbands have multiple'sexual
'------made
—1 -j a world of says the residents are now acquainted with We
advise
them
thatPushpa.
it will be better
to unJ
­
I; Muthu Nagar slum here
dergo
a test,
” says
‘
Malar.
gave*-her a decent the HIV/A1DS problem, thanks to the ef- derco a test." savs Pushoa. '' '
‘
indifference t:to •*
' - They
-----forts of several non-governmental organif;:funcral.
In addition to pre-test counselling, the I
When'she was in her late 30s, Malar salions working in the area. "Our eyes were women organise slide shows on opporlu-B
fr.-found she was HIV positive. Then, her famnistic infections, personal hygiene, sexually g'
£-"hly came to know of it. That was when all
transmitted diseases and adolescent ghlg
V'hell broke loose. ’
• health to spread awareness.
( :
|
f ■) Her sons and daughters were ‘ashamed’ . _,
. ,
a »
, „At |eas( t|1(J 1Q of us wj10 are actjve jng
' of their mother, abused her and abandoned
} f .
F*
jyt'her, hoping she would die.
' L;.lLZx.-iJ
V i . » j , health care can pick up the signs
and symp„
. . .U
toms (of HIV) fast. We direct those who,
!;■' ’ After months of neglect, with no one to
’*”• ~7: '5 for |
5 . clean her up or feed her, her body was shut too. But now they are open. We know . show die signs to government hospitals ‘
C? found covered with sores and maggots what AIDS is and we do not want any other tests. Sometimes,, we even go with litem |
j crawling out of die wounds. That is when person to suffer die fate of Malar," she said. and help them with the procedures," says 4
Haseena Yuri.
...
,.
' I
5 ■: the women’s self-help group, Annai Thcre«■. 1 sa Magalir Mandrain, decided to take things Strong support base
“When we started our community-based |
It is with this aim the members of the intervention project at Sathyavani Muthu 4
Aj into its hands.
p ; It first picked up Malar from her home group have built a strong support base with Nagar, we did not expect that things would j
I:
.
and
gave
her
a
wash.
Then,
it
provided
her
.the
help
of organisations
such tas World
Vi- Ullcli
change
so uici3Uk.au
drasticallyY in
in ouuii
such ua onui
short while," 3
i-i
------- u
,
•
i
/-»•
.
.
IkU bv
kt’ .i! with food and shelter and arranged for sion, St.Andrews
St.Andrcws Church. Dcsh and Com- ,s
CHES director. P.Manorama.
• A1 treatment. When it became clear that she munity Health Education Society.
I,;
'
y
She believes that the women have
H* was beyond medical help, it tried to find her
They have now evolved a process by
— in a hospice.
u—‘which every pregnant woman in the slum is worked hard in gathering facts and reducf? a place
■I II
rji' However, it proved futile. On her identified and counselled to go for HIV ,ing stigma and discrimination about HIV/
k deathbed in the Government General Hos- tests. The SBC women arc also well in- AIDS and it could well be a model for other
c
’1
fjlt pital, Malar's deepest fear was that there formed about the epidemic jargon such as intervention programmes. "The women
B " would be none to cremate her. She need 'high risk groups’, ‘viral load’ and ‘CD-I have done wonderfully well."
..„ count’. . Surely, Malar must have thought so.
bi.1 not have worried. The SHG women once

By Ramya
Ramya Kannan
. Bv
Kannan

’2

<1

3

•2

gfj

3
3

5

tv

—.ti.

-■
X-rrr-T-rvrv-—■——rr.-./--- w r-r^rw, r.r^
r-illL.----- ■-■'.Aa.i..1

0 0 '!ov 2003
3

o

e>

-*5

<5 .

1

XAa

IQ f

t-

.

0

Penetrating rural areas
"Arian, an engmeenng gradu­
ate from Hubli. was in a jubilant
mood. He had just landed with a
jct> in Singapore He completed
alt tPe formal.ttes required to take
up Ire new jot> But the medical
lest now mandatory for issuing
the visa, disclosed that he was
an HIV earner. In no time, his
b.eces were crushed and his
crejms had vanished into thin
ar.
■ A girl from a neighbounng
d.stnct was married to a young
man m Hubli She became preg­
nant Doctors who conducted the
tlood test told her that she was a
HIV carrier She was shellshocked The girl had contracted
the virus from her husband!
These are some of the HIV
cases reported from north
Karnataka Most of them have
fallen prey knowingly or unknow­
ingly. A number of innocent
women have become HIV carri­
ers cw.ng to lhe carelessness of
the/ husbands AIDS, which was
once restneted to urban areas,
has now penetrated into rural
areas, especially to the irrigated
and prosperous distnets.
In north Karnataka. Koppal.
Gangavathi, Sindnanur, Rai­
chur, Hospet. Bagalkot, llkal,
Rackhavi. Saundatti. Banahatti.
Hung-und are identified as
■pror-e areas' for HIV cases.
In the recent past, dies and
villages where the state and
national highways pass were dis­
covered Io have larger number of
HIV cases. Mr Babagcuda Patil,
fenrer union minister of State for
Rural Development emerged
with a novel idea of providing
'ccroams' free of cost to truck
drivers at petrol bunks, dhabhas
and rest houses, especially on
tbe n ghways. This was implamerted on expenmenial basis in
Dharwad distnet and it yielded
favourable results too. But soon
afi.er me minister lost his seat of
power, the concerned authonties
shelved the idea.
Hr S S Patil, former minister
and MLA of Mundargi floated the
j idea of rehabilitabon of sex workers n Hubli-Dharwad cities with a
vie-* to check AIDS and HIV
casts. The then police ccmmisJ siorer B G Kckatnur and deputy
cc-“T.issioner made some
et'c.ns to obtan a government
bu :.ng for engaging the sex
' frontrz m occupations such as
errcroidery making and ta.lcnng
Even this idea was shelved due

',

'

.o

to one reason or the other.
During that time, a survey con­
ducted revealed that nearly SOBO per cent of commercial sex
workers were earners of HIV
virus'
As per Karnataka State Aids
Prevention Society ' records..
Dharwad distnet stands third in
tr.e numoer of HIV cases.
Accordingly, the district has 2076
HiV positive cases. 297 AIDS
cases and 35 persons have died
between 1937 and September
2C03 In the district, a number of
government and non-govern­
mental organisations.' have
chafed out a number of pro­
grammes to create better aware­
ness among the public regarding
the dreaded virus A counselling
centre has been established al
the c sr-ct hospital and Karna­
taka Institute of Medical Scien­
ces to counsel and disseminate
information about AIDS. Plans
are afoot to establish similar
ccunsei'ing centres in the taluks.
Dunng August 2002- October
2003. me centre examined 595
persons out of which 173 proved
Io be HIV positive cases Out of
173 103 are men and 65 wom­
en While 407 persons have vol­
untarily visited this cenlre. 188
persons have been referred by
doctors and various voluntarily
organisations The'cost of the
test is fixed at Rs 10. Out of 173
persons. 163 have contracted
lhe virus through sex. Most of the
HIV earners are agriculturists,
dove's and masons.
Dr Enarathra) Yalagi. who has
been counselling HIV patients,
says tt'at Post Exposure Proph­
ylaxis (PEP) is a standard proce­
dure for health care workersexposed to HIV Workers should
lake appropriate medications wit­
hin ere hour alter exposure eith­
er through an accidental needle
pnek cr any ether manner. PEP
reduces the rate of HIV infection
from workplace exposure by 79
per cent. However, some health
care workers who take PEP still
get HIV infection.
Dr Ya'agi and his colleagues,
along vnth college sludents and
concerned people, observe the r
World Aids Day every year by
taking cut a procession and cre­
ating
awareness
among
—"•
~~——
—- the pub­
lic. Anyone is free Io join the process.on
________________________
Shyam Sundar Vattam
froin Hubli

AX-U- 3.pt r.?r-CAi-; rrnRAtD
"a. > r.UTlWJ

. .o
r— - k

I

■- 7
'■-j'

,

AIDS cases as much as an
increase in awareness leading to
the need to get tested.' explains
Vandana Gurnani. Project
Director. Karnataka State AIDS
Prevention Society (KSAPS).
Most of the AIDS awareness
campaigns have gone a step fur­
ther and are attempting to edu­
cate people to voluntarily get
tested and if found to be HIV pos­
itive. to get treated and take nec­
essary precautions.
The basic problem is that of
migration
to and from
Karnataka, says Gurnani. Migr­
ation being economic-related,
husbands stay away from their
families for long periods. The
second problem is related to the
first, and that is acceptance of
multi-partner behaviour. But a
dangerous trend that is noticed
is that this attitude is spreading
the virus to the general popula­
tion who do not indulge in risky
behaviour. Another problem is
village-based sex work, which is
rampant. It has its roots in the
Devdasi system and in a lot of
ways, has societal sanction, she
says.
mge in atti"But there is a char
tude and today, families
imilies are
beginning to accept reality.' says
Father Methew Phillip of Snehadaan.oneof the 32 NGO partners
of KSAPS. An observed trend is
that if the patients have been
good to the family in their
healthier days, the family also
supports them. Villages and poor

Cause for alarm
The incidence of HIV and AIDS is on a rise in the State, including Nonh ‘
Karnataka. However till recently, very low figures were being quoted cw- ‘
ing to the lack of adequate infra structure to identify persons wdh HIV. Be­
sides it was felt that HIV and AIDS affected only the urban popusbon. But
this myth remains debunked now. with many HIV cases being reported i
from the rural areas also.
•
According to Dr Sharad M Tanga, member of the Karnataka Ads Pre­
vention Society, in the past one year. Gulbarga has seen an increase in .
HIV affected cases from 0.75 per cent to 1.25 per cent. After the mceotion
of Voluntary Testing 4 Counselling Centers, greater numbers of H."V cas­
es have been detected. In Gulbarga. of the 1,153 patients tested til Seo- '
tember. 343 were found positive, a majority of them being from the urban :
areas Cases detected in other North Karnataka districts are as such- Bh
japur 542. Bidar 72. Raichur 467. Koppal 415. Eellary 1,962. Belgaum :
547, Dharwad 1.873. Haveri 383. and Gadag 603.
Dr Tanga states that HIV cases are not merely increasing in number i
but also spreading across a cross-section of the society. People from al! j
walks of life, irrespective of the class and area they hail from, are being af- I
fected.
There is a general feeling among the public that not enough e5crts are ;
being made to control HIV or AIDS in Gulbarga district. People especially ,
feel that non-govemmental organisations (NGOs) are nol doing enough i
to create better awareness about HIV.'AIDS.
- There are two organisations in the district - Bhoruka Charities and .
Ujwala Vividdodesha Sangha - which are working in this area. They get
their funds from the KAPS. But the problem is. both are concentrating .
only on truck drivers and commercial sex workers.
It is crucial now to open more testing and counselling centres. Acen- Ire has already functioning in Beliary and is doing considerable good I
work. Other than this, there is no centre in lhe entire Hyderabad-Karnata­
ka region. The Slate government is ready Io provide
j
funds, but there is a dearth of NGOs coming for-..
J
ward io serve in this line.
, Bidar. 71
Anand V Yamnur from Gulbarga

%
Maharashtra

. -o

1

VBijapur 542

Raichur 467

Belgaum: 547

Karnataka is one of the top six high prevalence HIV/AIDS
states in India. This calls for immediate attention by the
government and the public, says SUMATEKUR
fTpHE first AIDS case In
n Karnataka was reported
Ji. in 1983. Today the State
has the highest proportion of
pregnant women testing positive
for HIV infection in India,
according to a study jointly con­
ducted by the Population
Foundation of India and
Population Reference Bureau.
Karnataka is classified by
National AIDS Control Organ­
isation (NACO) as one of the top
six high-prevalence States in
India. Of the 49 high-prevalcnce
HIV/AIDS districts in India, ten
are in Karnataka. This shows
that immediate attention needs
to be given to provide accurate
knowledge and improve lhe test­
ing and counst'lling methods for
lllV'AlDSintlmSl.Uo.
A twofold globally accepted

—r?

parameter Is taken to dotcnninc
high prevalence'. The first is that
if mote than five per cent of
those among the high-risk
groups test positive in sexually
transmitted diseases <STD) clin­
ics. it is considered to be highprevalence. In Karnataka. 13.6
per cent among the high-risk
groups test positive. The second
parameter is the prevalence of
AIDS in antenatal clinics
(AN’Cs), where more than one
per cent testing positive is a
measure of high-prevalence.
Karnataka has 1 63 per cent
women testing positive in AN’Cs.
which is considered to t-e a very
high rate for women in the gen­
eral population, as they do not
typically engage in risky behav­
iour. Then! art! 15 high preva­
lence districts in Karnataka.

VDharv/ad: 1,873

people are found to be more .accepting than middle-class fam­
ilies. who restrain themselves
due to social stigma, he says.
The biggest challenge faced -A
by providers of care is to meet ||
the high and unrealistic expecta- §!
tions of patients in the context of ol
limited resources, he adds.

based on the sentinel surveil­
lance round of 2002. They are
Gulbarga. Bijapur. Bagalkot. Bel­
gaum. Raichur. Koppal. Dhar­
wad, Beliary. Shimoga. Davangere.
’dupi. Dakshina Kannada.
ere. LUdu;
projects
Mysore.
lysore. Kodagu
}•
and Bangalore SinceGovernment
KSAPS was set up under
Urban
Jrban district.
J:NACO,
there
have
been
a number
Assuming the prevalence of
projects and campaigns to
1.63 percent cases, it is estimated of
spread
awareness
about
AIDS.
that there are more than five
There are 33 Voluntary
lakh HIV/AIDS cases in the Counselling Testing Centres
State. Out of this. 19.396 are diag­ (VCTC) in Karnataka, each hav­
nosed HIV cases. 1.759 are report­ ing a male and a female counsel­
ed cases and there have been 194 lor. Only on producing a written
AIDS deaths. This calls for an desire to get tested will the cen­
urgent need to adopt safer sex tre conduct tests. These centres
practices among all sections of are being extended to the taluk
the society, more so because 85
as well, which have been
per cent of HIV transmissions level
sanctioned and training for the
are through sex.
counsellors
is in progress.
"The increase In the number
A School AIDS Education
of people testing positive for HIV. . Programme
will be launched on
to almost double the number of December 1. 2003. World AIDS
cast>es, may not mean that there is Day. Teachers of class nine and
an increase in the number of

1

a

g

Gadag: 603^

Bellaryt 1,962 K

%laverl: 383

G

Andhra
rradsvh

C—

ten are being trained to educate 22 district hospitals to check HIV
school children on not just infection transmission during
HIV/AIDS, but also life skills in pregnancy: Alongside there is the
India Canada collaborative
general.'
This pro;igramme will reach HIV/AIDS Project (ICHAP).
ten lakh students in 8.000 established in 2001 through an
schools, both in cities and rural agreement between the govern­
areas. It has been found that 50 ments of India and Canada.
per cent of all new infections are ICHAP programmes are based in .
in the age group of 15-2-1 years. Karnataka and Rajasthan. Some
There is an urgent need to edu­ of its projects include a commu­
nity-based rural HIV.'AIDS pre­
cate this section of society
'KSAPS has 32 NGO partners vention and care model in
and they are making an attempt Bagalkot district and Hublito spread the awareness pro­ Dharwad Municipal Corpor­
grammes to north Karnataka as ations.
In addition to all these pro­
the prevalence Is found to be
high in the north." says Gurnani. grammes. work on a 13-episode
Prevention of Parent to Child radio serial on AIDS is also on
Transmission centres have been lhe pipeline.
set up in 17 medical colleges and

■'f

■

?1

1 •.

11
3
■<

their respective schools. With a view to detect
probable HIV positive patients, blood donated
during blood donation camps are routinely test­
selling, but also awareness campaigns in the ed. Officers concede that the results are how­
district. Counsellor attached to the VCTC. Mr ever not revealed to the concerned patient as it
Raju, points out that the prevalence of AIDS is may |ea(j to |ojs of problems for the patient.
J • ment
high in Shimoga. Bhadravathi. Sagar and
Family Health Awareness camps are organ­
I ■ Shimoga district, which has retained all the trapised in all villages in the district routinely where­
/. ft ; pings of a traditional society, has more than 500 Thirthahalli taluks of the district.
Also, HIV is more prevalent in rural areas in patients are screened for STDs. Those who
' ' detected and confirmed HIV positive patients.
than in urban centres. The VCTC will shortly test ,positive for HIV are advised to meet the
V 'Health department sources confirmed 84 full open a support centre of HIV positive patients in vctq counsellors for further
‘
’’
» on
suggestions
: I I blown AIDS patients and five deaths caused
Shimoga to provide the much needed moral healthy lifestyle and healthy habits. Such
? • due to AIDS in the district from 1987 to 2003.
support to the patients. The VCTC has also awareness rprogrammes
have yielded fruit and
i jj f These figures are however extremely conmanaged to rope in commercial sex workers for the department is able to create greaterr awarei
‘ servative. While according to the government. carrying out AIDS awareness camps among
ness, officers said.
J•- |a Vat
'! at least 1 per cent of the total population is sex workers. The campaign has gained in pop­
However, the percentage of those aware of
H jj infected,
infected, according
according to
to NGOs,
NGOs, the
the figure
figure is
is much
much
ularity and sex workers are being told about the risks of HIV infection is still inadequate.
.higher. For instance, HIV is more rampant ways to protect themselves to prevent HIV
Despite all efforts a mer<r25-30 per cent of the
1 among women and more than fifty per cent of
infection.
population may be aware of AIDS, sources
those testing positive are in the age group of 15
One of the most important campaigns taken pointed out The VCTC not only provides counto 24. District AIDS nodal officer Dr Syed up by the health department has been work­
■ i.l. j
.
< i
selling to patients testing HIV positive but also
Zaheeruddin points out that focusing on high
shops for teachers and students under the advises them on how to look after themselves
li ; risk groups has hence become meaningless.
School Aids Education Programme. Under this to delay full blown AIDS.
I I
The
The Voluntary
Voluntary Counselling
Counselling and
and Testing
Testing
programme, teachers are trained about AIDS
$
Centre (VCTC), functioning at the district
and AIDS awareness, who in turn hold informa­
Vidya Maria Joseph
,.? ; Mcgann hospital in Shimoga. is doing exempla- tion camps to students of Classes IX and X in
from Shimoga
i J ’ ry work by taking up not just testing and coun:
THE relentless spread of HIV has not spared
]
even tradition-bound societies like the Malnad.
t. 1
In fact, over the years, the steady increase in
J ■? the number of HIV positive patients has
: J ■’ alarmed even the government health depart-

’.

1■

AEDS march

■

a

. .

-

society must address the problem by accepting

Tip of tfoe iceberg HIV/AIDS patients and living with them.

MYSORE. South India's foremost tourist desti­
nation. has been identified as one of the high
risk areas for HIV/AIDS cases in the Stale. This 20 were AIDS confirmed cases and seven
could be due to floating and migrant population. among them are now dead.
Like Mysore, the neighbouring Mandya and
Likewise. 594 HIV positive cases were
Chamarajnagar districts too have a number of detected from 1987 to August 2003 in Mandya
district. A total of 46 were AIDS confirmed cases
HIV/AIDS cases.
The AIDS Cell attached to the Department of and six deaths were reported. In September
Health and Family Welfare. Mysore points out 2003, 40 HIV positive cases were detected in
that the details of HIV/AIDS cases in its posses­ Mandya district.
In Chamarajnagar district. 76 HIV positive
sion are just ’tip of the iceberg". The reason is ..
cases detected at private hospitals and nursing cases were detected till August 2003. Three of
homes are not reported either to the cell or to the them had AIDS. But no deaths were reported.
Ashakiran, a voluntary organisation set up to
Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society
(KSAPS). Bangalore. Hence, the accurate num­ assist HIV/AIDS patients, has registered 1,600
cases of HIV/AIDS in a span of six years. What
ber of cases is not known.
AIDS Nodal Officer Dr S Jayaram says. "We is worrying is that the number of cases is
have asked all the taluk government hospitals to increasing year after year at the centre. “We get
report HIV and TB cases to the cell. The process 10 new cases every week. Persons in the age
will be streamlined in three months. We have group of 18 to 40 come with HIV/AIDS. This is
requested the government to issue an order really alarming,’ says Ashakiran Chairman Dr S
asking the private hospitals and nursing to report N Mothi.
He observes that not many HIV/AIDS
the cases to the cell.’ According to Dr Jayaram.
the total number of HIV cases reported from patients are forthcoming owing to the fear of fac1987 to Auoust 2003 in the district is 83? In that

.According to him. around 1.5 per cent of
pregnant women in the State are infected by
HIV. He says that an HIV patient can live even if
he or she is tested positive by consuming certain
anti-HIV drugs developed recently. The treat­
ment. which was once expensive, is now afford­
able. Earlier a month's treatment cost Rs 5.000
but now it is between Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,300.
Ashakiran helps HIV patients through coun­
selling. guidance and confidence building exer­
cises. "We remove apprehensions in the
patients and assist them in finding hospitals, and
doctors for treatment. We also do family coun­
selling to help families accept HIV patients.’ he
explains.
'Sometimes. HIV patients go to the level of
committing suicide. We hold support group
meetings in which these patients interact with
HIV patients who have strong will power and
confidence." The process, he notes, serves as a j
morale booster.

......... ......

J

■j

.j

I
A

<Ti

r>

f)

a

<2-

fjj

Ci-

Ci

(i

O

fa

a

r>

o

?■>

p p f)

C'

warning
/: ■'for India

"

•/ T ' "~V\V

'■

' BYOur Special Correspondent

iV ing group’, inclbfoiJgVepreTcm tetites Sf’the

COn?tit,uted a high-power work-

estimated to require the drugs
drugs,’onTy
only about ^OOnT-i'vn
2^
P«°Plear^e
WASHINGTON, Nov 14(PTI)'r>'' -.
-.^stimated
aD°lKIbve
five l?khpeople
,, With four million suffering P ^he“S'feaded
?he Union Health Secret’•arv.
b“an.“ ofleare
th'
-------------- --- uouimo IU Ul'
icalth Secretary, Prasada Rao, the
<1 from HIV/Aids India has U its
£ report
u? H. in a week.
wcek- It
l£ was set uj
reached a point where the dis- 41 • ™th Mlnist
Sushma
Swaraj.
. er,
- ----------<Jrvaiaj.
ike of^n S.'S' sub7Suent establishment of tit.
._-

..

■

•i
- ->►

■ iuoi Public Health Specialist <•
on South Asia Human Dcvel-^i
•j opment at the World Bank, is h
i today .. where Sub-Saharan’ll
Africa was 10 years ago. ; • Jp"
- J
India has reached the criti-,J;,
cal one per cent of pregnant i!»
•
women going to pre-natal and ’’’
1 j child health clinics being di-4
.
agnosed as victims of HIV-[<‘
. . kids and the percentage is in-'-’’, creasing, though with region- ’f
; ■! al variation, a World Bank re-’ ’/’i
:k Jasesaid.
.i-’,

|g 9
'

TxaNDU
’

&

£ Wl'l

A

fl

•

ft'

' weccWTESun^
’ "

■

<

' ’

j
'«■:

'J

'm Foundation AIDS mliiafire HrciteT
’V ^JTV'TTCS.K

a

fey Our Special Correspond.

■ ' ■■

Bangalore, dec. e. t;ic
S.TheBilI&
’•Melinda Gates Foundation, in
^association with the State Gov’ -.igReX ’ w'»
*325 mei?r’ tOmay ' ,aunched •the
the
A"
(g^million (Rs. ns crore)
■ TiWlW1

jx.",?«» X’s

Ml

J

|*.eKa£xb3StF“......

CJHPart °f ^foundation's
Jbroader national HIV preven-’
^uon package' of $ 200 million

Jliii

ioTmm-hetrancheoutofthe

earlier
3
3

10n grant announced

'

iS'wSSSSpwItt'x:

Tbe other States that’ would , A,DS initiative Board’
8?ntS are Tamil Nadu, 1 p
f‘anarashtra, Andhra Pradesh ' t5angalore on Friday. The Ariditinnni

mssu

Easssss
THE HINDiy

th ,77'“

' "F “

— Photo: V.Sreenivasa Murthy

been chosen for the initiative
^dMa^^oneofthem.He

A y.-<

.

. £

prices of drugs.
n Mr;J^b.113 expressed happiness that the Foundation had V»
rennp^^
quickJ✓yt0 —
^e
s ~J.<3
—_
•** State’O
P^de . assistance ••
for scaling Gp HfV/AIDS ' pre­
vention activities.
•
As far as the State was con­
cerned, it was one of thee six
six high
high >
prevalence States iin ^the
• ’)
country.
tiva
S ♦k:.
t^liS ^ected 1116 produc- J
Ao
live age group, ..unless con- j
trolled in time, it could cause '..
severe socio-economic loss
the country.
Sudha Murthy, member of
of
Avahan, promised help on be- (i
half of the iNFOSYS Foundation.
«
H
Vandana Gurnani, Project Di- p
rector, ikduiaiaKa
Karnataka aids
AIDS PrevenPre'— k
d°nr Society, welcomed
/I
5 who included the J

t I

e1

k

<

£■ I

I

t°^

J ive. Karnataka is. the first State |

k

|

-........ -

«n

'

F,

mappa, the Minister5of State*for S

«£ |

traf?rred t0 tl]Ie antj-viral there—
s
the India'ii
linn* rv,-. 2®<M
e and said
said ' of State for •
han manufacturers' of M.f. Ustad.

h‘5 D£C ZGG3

fI
c- ■
c

I
el

el
e E
/07

U

el

b.

LI

-

:

G ’z

n-l

nM

jgyggh.

l
L

.

.

.

'fiiiaaf feast
•

1

fcssM

i urr^T" 1

........

SATURDAY NOyEMBER 29,2003 J
••i

■

‘

arital
violence
deeply impacts a
woman’s vulnera­
bility to HIV/
AIDS. ‘When HIVPrevention Messages and exercise, widely perceived • as
me. If I ignore him, he wil|<
Gender Norms Clash’, a study sensitive and intensely personal,.
change, his behaviour on hi$'(recently released in Chennai, ‘ could be undertaken,
—-1—1— Parti­
. own.”
' '
i.v '
clearly underlines the link.
cipants were guaranteed anony­
Although some women could;? I
The study showed that com- mity but interviews were tapedecline or negotiate sex without I
[ munity gender norms tacitly recorded. In all, the study cov­
J
inviting violence, they were the
sanction domestic’violence and ered 2,400 individuals randomly,
exceptions. A married male (27^/1 |
interfere with the adoption of all of whom were in the 18-40 age
said, “Once she refused to hav#J |
w HIV-preventive behaviour. Faced group. Ninety per cent of the
sex w'hen I was drunk. So I hif |
-41 with the immediate threat of women questioned reported that
her in that anger. I told her thate • |
violence, with the relatively they were victims of domestic
when a man has a sexual urgeP. I
It hypothetical spectre of HIV in. violence.
the woman must appease thatf :
<3 the background, women often
Says Solomon, who docu­
But she did not seem to under & i g
submit to unprotected sex with mented the first HIV case in
stand,
so I hit her again.”:. : » I
a their husbands, even when they India in 1986, “AIDS-prevention
A woman’s initiation of the* |
are
fully
aware
of
the
man
’
s
riskz! v-ij taking behaviour. This makes interventions must incorporate
use of a condom is seen as a sign, |
■
t-.
gender-related social contexts in
of insubordination or, more com$| |
|| them more vulnerable to the risk settings where husbands strictly
monly, of infidelity; botlvaretfl |
11 of acquiring HIV.
enforce their control. HIV-pre- '
common triggers for violence. ? |
,■■4 The study was conducted by vention messages targeting men
35-year-old married woman said.^f |
?■! Dr Suniti Solomon under the -. may effectively reduce women’s
"If I ask him to use a condom, he&| |
M aegis of her organisation YRG exposure to HIV/AIDS.’’
will hit me. He will ask if I havi |
M.Care (Y R Gaitonde Centre for
The description - by both men
been having sex elsewhere. Oncerei |
^AIDS Research and Education), and
—d women - of the ‘ideal’
when I asked him to use somejs 11
h Chennai, in partnership with woman is an indicator. They
protection since he was having ’ 1
SI John Hopkins University, USA.
agree on three behavioural charextra-marital
sex, he hit me with*. J
According to UNAIDS, worn- ' acteristics: a woman should be
a
piece of wood. From then on, If i~3
m en constitute nearly half of the
disciplined, submissive and res­
have never asked him for any "
U 37 million adults living with HIV • pectful, particularly with regard
thing-"
' *iJ
in the world. Says Dr A K to her husband. According to one
Although men explained that? ra
Srikrishnan, one of the authors participant, a 20-year-old unmar­
they drink to relieve work-relat-1 '1
N of the study, "HIV and sexually ried male, “A woman should look ■
. ed stress, they admitted that Re­
■T'j ^transmitted disease prevention after her family. She should obey
alcohol often had the reverse 11
M efforts have consistently focu- her husband and look after her
effect - heightening their ten-*
L? ssed on two main messages: children and should not have
sions and predisposing them to .
Prac^ce mutual monogamy and conversations with others
episodes of violence.
||&
A recent study conducted in Chennai
tj use condoms. However, in many unnecessarily.”
Says Solomon, “Gender**^
& societies, the economic and
Many added that a woman
norms have important implica­
reveals that community gender norms
social freedoms of women are was expected to accept her hus­
tions for the ability of women to
H constrained, leading to power- band’s imperfections and to put
practice HIV-preventive behav-*l*
tacitly
sanction
domestic
violence
and
lessness in adopting HIV-preven- his needs before her own. A
iours. Our data suggests that
votive behaviour.”
woman should "look after the
come in the way of HIV-preventive marital communication aboufi ||
b-. The study was supported by husband, even if he makes a mis­
fidelity, marital sex and condomsf
fj. the National Institute of Mental take” (married male, aged 40).
behaviour among women, says
are almost exclusively initiated
^Health, US, which is conducting Most women agreed that “men
and controlled by the husband.;, .d
' w;a multi-site, international, ran- will do as they please and no one
LALITHA
SRIDHAR,
in
this
special
feature
HIV interventions assume that.'
padomised-control trial of HlV-pre- can question them” (married
the target populations can modi'r 1 t'Aventive
Ayentive intervention. In India, female, aged 37).
for.World Aids Day which is observed
. fy their behaviours. This is not iw
- j
the slums of" Chennai
...i were choAnother woman explained, "I
always true. Untangling the web jg
sen as the
research and
venues.
In- have been living in this area
^depth
interviews
focus
on December 1
'■•Vlpnth . intonn'aii.r
. of HIV and violence is neither
■ i hTi'group discussions among men since my marriage. I know what
The link between gender and use of condom. A married simple nor quick. However, '.g
goes on here. Men are not both­
v and women were conducted to ered that
..... people aiC
vYaVW11uK, violence in the slums of Chennai woman (35) said, “Although I am unless violence is recognised ;’H
are watching,
^xp,lore domesnc violence. It . they hit their wives mercilessly. increases a woman's risk to aware of it, I have not asked him and addressed, HIV prevention
six months of sustained There is not a woman in the com- HIV/AIDS by limiting her abili­ why he has sex with other - efforts targeting women in slums
■5 -I j^-took
|/t00k si^
may prove ineffective.”
3
Mt wcommunitypo.m.r?.uPlty' interaction
interaction and
and munity who has not been hit by ty to discuss her husband's infi­ women because I am scared he
^estabhshm
of trust before the her husband after he drinks.
*k^
staonsfunent 01
drinks ’,l1'- ' delity,
aeiuy> refuse
retuse sex or negotiate the will abuse me verbally and hit —------- —- --------- —-------

u

' ■

-

wife

i

Wsl: -

■

11

Fl

fe
71

7. ■/

5

3

3

t5
O
\y

is
1

't5

f/o

Z(J|33

’Y
•a
■

41

By P. Sundcrarajan

E
£{■

$ '
,
J . NEW DELHI, NOV. 30. The Union

•1

JffaiB

Health Minister, Sushma Swa­
raj, said here today that anti- [
- .■J
retroviral drugs would be made f
available free to HIV/ AIDS pa- I
tients in Tamil Nadu, Andhra [
Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharash- \
tra, Manipur and Nagaland
from April 1.
The supply would initially be
to three categories of patients: children of parents living with
HIV, women having the infee- ■
tion and men, who suffer from
'4
full-blown AIDS. The supply
l!
would be provided through
Government hospitals and an- fl..'
J
tenatal clinics. The programme
would be extended to other
parts of the country.
Addressing a press confer­
ence on the eve of the World •A
k AIDS Day, Ms. Swaraj said the
m six States had been chosen
*
g since the rate of prevalence of
ft the disease was the highest in ■y
1
H them and also because they had
The Union
Healthrx, Minister,
Swaraj,
with a HIV positive child and Naresh Trehan
d the right kind of infrastructure.
rr
A
; Sushma
r-........-----------------(right) Executive Director of Escorts Heart Institute, participating in "Walk
'Walk for
for Life
Life”’’ on
on the
the !
N
The new initiative is expected
eve of World AIDS Day in New Delhi on Sunday. — Photo: S. Arneja
§ to cost about Rs. 200 crores a
H year - Rs.113 crores for the companies
___ r__________
have agreed to pro- the Union Budget.
she was according much impor­
medicines and the remaining
.o vide
y-- the drugs
-rugc at
ci a- lower price to
The Confederation of Indian
j.? Rs
Rs.-P/crojes
87 crones for the screening of the Government. But have Industry has agreed to provide tance to condoms to prevent
the HIV infection. "1 just want
//Ainc patients.
r\----- are arelyrrrnA
___ _________
° . 1
j')' HIV/AIDS
Drugs
urgedw for exemptions
on cus-« 150 machines
used for assessing that the
' - anti-AIDS
— ..’Z3 programme
given only to those in whom the toms duty, excise duty and oth- the load of HIV virus in the pa­
should not be condom-centric
virus --77
load had crossed
“ccccd sa certain
cc.tvda er such levies.
tients free.
and that there be a holistic ap­
threshold limit.
Sources say the companies
costsonk-ZShi
about Rs. proach, focussing on other
India is currently estimated have agreed to bring the price 25 Each
lakhsmachine
and there^are
routes of transmission of the
to have 4.58 million HIV pa- -— to oan
” average
-------- ' of
f Rs. ’n18 per ••the country,
1
disease as well.”
p tients of whom about four lakhs patient a day immediately and
The Government plans
The National AIDS Control
K are estimated to require the offered a further cut of about Rs. make Bellary district on to
the Organisation (NACO) Director,
W drugs. So far only about 25,000 2 if exemptions on the levies Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka bor-- Meenakshi Dutta Ghosh, said fi­
patients have access to them, as were given.
der HIV-free in five years.
nancial provision for procureg they are expensive. The proAt present, a patient has to
The district has been chosen
—1 ment and supply of condoms
0 The
gramme
envisages
increasing
spend
about
Rs.
40
daily.
since
it
has
a
high
disease
prev“nZnber’"toSat least “1'2!
w°ut
«‘WM s nee it has a high disease prev- had gone up to Rs 22 crores this
Ms. Swaraj
she
K lakhs
I > said '
k6 Kwould
V0Ut-ld ale"cera,e'
Year from last year's Rs. 12
take
M
ti
■
r f 11
jta^e up
UP the issue
lssue with
Wlth the
th6 Fi
R1­*
The Bellary experiment is ex- crores and condoms made
I
^WS dl.scus: nance
Minister,
jaswant
Singh,
pected
to
be
a
model
not
only
available
by NACO has gone up
nance Minister, Jaswant Singh, pected to be" a model
k, sions between Ms. Swaraj and and
’’'” u
”' also rfor
~- •the
u
■to 171 million pieces"from~l
~
and the
the Planning
Planning Commission
Commission for
for the
the cour
country
but
28
« the representatives of the drug on
’ ’ she
‘ said.
on the
the need
need to
to give
give the
the exce..
exemp- world,
million pieces for the corremanufacturing
companies.
The
tions
sought
by
the
industrj'
•,j
•
o - / ---- mductry in To a query, Ms. Swaraj said spending period

3

I

I’
' I 1

I

I

->

il ' d

Vy.,

ak-

p

i

I

4-

fe WSi|
>«/• •

'r-;

I

1

!i

C}

i
!
-Q

.....................

1

I

11 ney need encouragement Sot sympa
?■S' From Ronald Anil Fernandes

tive. She has become a ray of
hope for hundreds of patients
I------------- T---------------- who are suffering from HIV.
3 KASARGOD/BANGALORE. Nov 30
- Ms Sumathi, a nurse at a pres­
I "Today is World Aids Day. All tigious hospital in Bangalore, re­
I newspapers and television chan- alised that she is HIV infected
i; nels will carry an article/docu- when she went for pregnancy
’j mentary, politicians will give a test. On the same evening, the
| speech on Aids. The members of doctors asked her riot to come to
f, public will offer some sympathy. work from the next day. The doc­
But, everything will be forgotten tors also gave her tablets for
tomorrow," quips Ms Veenad- abortion to be done at home. "It
? hari, who was tested positive for took me three painful days for
s HIV 10 years ago.
abortion at home.”
’ "There were many people
"Later, I fought for my rights
*. who offered their sympathies in and today after seven years after
b the initial days but I wanted entesting HIV positive, I am work­
g .iouragement, not sympathy, ” ing in the-same hospital”, she
g.-she says.
says.
g
Today, she ’ not only leads a ’ Ms Vimla-in Kasargod went
h . happy life but she is a bundle of for a HIV test only when her husH confidence. Recently, she suc- . band died of Aids (At the time of
i.cessfully conducted a one-day -. realisation she was six months
R . workshop in Mangalore for those pregnant). Today, she has a twoK <,who have been tested HIV posi- year-old daughter and she is
I

—

>y.

DH News Service

1i .a«a
®’®life \

i"

A

> /J
Veenadhari

working with HIV patients.
All these women and a few
more (who are working for differ­
ent organisations) have a com­
mon grouse. That is no one - nei­
ther from the government nor
the NGOs work for the welfare of
the HIV-infected, they may be
busy creating awareness on

awareness is not important... but b
what about those who are al- i3
ready suffering. What measures $
does the government or NGOs
take for us though crores of ru- 1
pees are being spent every year 3
to create awareness on Aids? ,|
they say.
J
"Forget about helping us... we |
are also prevented when we try m
to help others,” says Veena.
“When I went around helping |
those who are infected with HIV, |
I was asked not to give advice by |
a NGO because they feared that |
they will lose patients fob coun- |
selling.”
|
Most of the HIV- positive pa- |
tients cannot even afford to buy |
anti-retroviral drug (a drug |
which can prolong the HIV stage a
before the patient gets into the |
Aids stage), jMs Veena and Ms i
Sumathi opine. "When we
1
Continued on Page 7

4

e-

is,

---------C ly

in

V-

C -

a

rSa ■

3

•.T- .

| : 3

. -d

w-. i'l

<5

:I

Hr
H

i

r

Bn5

■3

J ’
".■.•Z'q

sa

’J _

>5

I>B

a
r
J '

XJ>

j

7 :>

hi i .■ ■
iM

.

* '; '5

Osa®

I W-!

al

«;

i5
J ■

a

Oil

OSi

........ ................

T
r

Thousands of women in this country are afflicted with AIDS for no fault of theirs.

1 .

OPE LINGERS in the little things that Radha after which, she went back to work in the convent.
(name changed) does. Meeting her — an
But not for long. “The sisters and others there came
HIV/AIDS patient — is. a revelation. The
- -pain
... -......to____
know that 1 am an 1H1V/AIDS. ipatient. Though they tq
and anguish of the disease is, of coursp, inescapable,
did not directly ask me to leave, I was ostracised by
fefl- But
But Radha
Radha is
is not
nnt exactly
pvartlv what
what you would -expect
-------- to--------everyone. Nobody would talk
me or even look’ at l
W HIV positive person to be.
me. My life was made so miserable that I decided to
ft.
It all parted
q*.
started two years ago when Radha, over- come back to die centre," she recollects.
lSn
rv wrought
’ and■ weak with
- ■ pain and tuberculosis, came
y
Radha has two children who are staying at an or- ;d
to Freedom Foundation, a voluntary organisation phanage under the guardianship of the convent
working with H1V/AIDS patients. The founda­
nuns. She has a sister and other relatives in -g
tion also runs a hospice to provide palli—. Harihar, but no one was willing to sup- *0
hf ative care to those battling with the
Port her because of her condition.
disease.
“My husband had no family
f,}
“I was brought to the cenX.
and my own family discrimi­
ff tre by the sisters (nuns) of
/z
nated against me. Only
the convent I was workZ'
\ my sister calls me once ;
ing for in Harihar. Since // ' Z' Radha’s world turned
'X in a while. The convent ’
then, I have been
'' '
Vv sisters do not allow
(.If here," says Radha.
inside out when she
Vk me to meet my chilAs in the case of
\\ dren and they have
contracted AIDS from
thousands of wom­
\\ been told that their
en in the country, ■ /
her husband. But life
.
parents are dead. [
the
uv- j
disease atIt has been more
i t tacked this girl for '
a
way
of
finding
has
than two years r4
II no f'litlf
■J no fault of hers — ■
since I have seen
meaning in the most
L4 she contracted the
d
,/ them."
virus \\
’
jp{ deadly
adverse of
II
Radha is working £’
jjt through her hus// in one of the Free‘;|i band who died a few
circumstances. A
// dom
Foundation Im
|.jj years ago of AIDS. \\
// Centres as an office la
World AIDS Day
fep. With no one to turn to xx
7/ helper and is quite
for support, her future
'
/ happy. She takes care of
feature
seemed bleak.
the HIV-infected children if
hj “My husband was a truck
at the hospice. Though she
-7“'.’( V-?Idriver and used to travel to difhas bouts of fever and pain, ;»
p.( ferent States and was away from
she has managed
inuuu^cu1
LU
IClllcllIl
to
remain d,?/
bp home for long periods. He must have
healthy with the help of medicines, jV
contracted the disease during one of his trips,"
which cost anything from Rs. 10 to Rs. 60 a
1 says Radha, and strongly believes that whatever her day, depending on her condition on the day. Her
<; husband did (having physical relations with another health and future are uncertain. But desires have
h; woman, resulting in his acquiring the disease, and wings and they want to take flight. "I hope my health
I'his subsequent death) must have happened before does not worsen too much and I can do my work. I
•T his marriage to her. When asked if she is angry with long to see my children at least once," she says.
f
JI him for passing on the disease to her, she replies:
Freedom Foundation can be contacted on 5440134
j i "He was a loving husband and never hurt me. 1 have or 5449766.
.^nothing against him."
rj;. Radha recovered from tuberculosis at the centre,

...

i
IS

I I' ■

o

I

I

I

iwW

s

I

1

t5
;5
■]
■A

.I

7 9 ^~r-- «u7-

...................... ........- _-.u_j. .•

■llJ

J^CCAK nr-ALD ’

SAHANACHARAN

Hl.

..ii-

'

Promising:... ...........

Atersau
said
''-y '
■
....... s ,•
...
• thorities found tho heavy rush
was eight and since then his
Hyderabad Rutter
Mr Rutter,!who founded the ' u.<"4’ 3016^06/^ • ' < of
of devotees
devoteesfor
fordarshan
darshan,disdis- ' . need for food and water have
A promising new vaccine to ;
mpany
in
1981,
said
the
new
"
Hrrupting
the
procedure,
UNI
re-.
.•
disappeared.
Matteis.medical , ~
rupting
refight AIDS that employs a .“dual company in 1981, said the new
■ was developed
___> u
_____
!«
Lvxvl.-'-j
Ahinwlnhnrl
observation for eleven days at t-.
ports Trnm
from Ahmedabad.
mechanism",
mechanism
’’, would enter
: vaccine
because
$ «“ Ilg
II xlVj E.H
O
$v-\J ;'■$ .• nnric
■ Sterling hospital from Novem- .
Clad in women's attire,
of the realisation that a single
phase-1 human trials in US
Ki.
-.1----------- i-C..—
p next. week,.PTI
reports fromHy- vaccine is not enough to pre- .
•
; . . prahlad Jani or ‘Mataji’ as he is ber 12 had aroused the curiositj
of the medical fraternity here.;; *"7
? “oped by Chiron Corpo- j
whowas delr-'
ESS^ > ' '' “rf" lb“
Speaking to UNI, the Direc- <
rJtS'SwnSZ^’0'i “'M^Rutte, who was deliverY09I SUSPenHSH.
.
pie town of Ambaji about,150 ,
tor of Sterling Hospital Dr V N
, Shah said during the observa-j C. ’
km north
north of Ahmedabad. .
cine is expected to offer protec- , ing the foundation day lecture
ahmedabad
■. km
AHMEDABAD
■
n>u_ n<? of Ahinedabad. ,
tion period of eleven days ,the:
tion by using a simultaneous ■ at the Centre for Cellular and
Medical tests
tests to.
to determine
determine :: ,. The 76-yeai'-old Jani is be■'; Medical
saint did not pass urine or rvll
two-pronged attack on the Hu- ■' Molecular Biology (CCMB)
ity oof
f the
!*eved t0' ^v.® Sp®nttul°^
theverac
veracity
theclaim
claimof
ofaa
stool, nor did he take a single*
Yogi subsisting without food or
morsel of food or drink a drop
(HIV) that causes AIDS, the
water
for the past 65 years, were
»»V-t
: J - me Pipeline.
■ ceived divine blessmgs when he , of water.••
company .chairman William
tvht

I
i

• Sb^XS^e re. ,

AT \\ av ■ - j i—
L PhCOfk
.L-2/ WOhLD AIDS DAY / STIGMA COMPLICATING MATTERS
■———-----------------

t if

....

^living

o.

By Sabana Charan
• *
dia is that even while dealing with the epi- ’ was considered a very high rate. This high®
I- BANGALORE Nov 30 ‘ “I’wRh f hnH
' 016 a8enci*s- especially the . rate indicates that the disease is spread b)jj
l\iXXei
T861 die hi8h’risk g^Ps.^ndge groups such as husbands who fre-1
« nttie more careful. Alcohol is the root cause such as sex workers, truck drivers, and mi- quent sex workers These men infect their I
tl0"n-reP™^“bb-n^n™c .gram workers. .
;
‘
“iXn pX o“X
£
This itself results in stigma towards these • ease to their babies
fS
- n<;ihpCin2tHTCvOr’ S.u.bbapna ^as d,a8nosed ; groups. There is a need for a more holistic
The study adds- "The fight against AIDsfc
elontr Jed MTVP?SKlVe 10
He
be. ^P^h and all programmes connected will fail if ifs sti^a cannot be^rcomel.

■

;XSXst be ,aiBe,ed at *e Beneral

^unS
Subbanna s wife, fed ( , . Accordmg to tire Nationa! AIDS Gontrol to spread undetected from person to’^l
rj ip with his alcoholism, left him when she.,( Organisation (NACO), Karnataka is serious- i person."
;P
'
g learnt about this condmon.
. ..,. . ^.ly affected by the HIV/AIDS and there were , Mathew Philips a human richts activist
thou?ands of People w110 not. around 1,790 officially reported cases here ,and Executive Director of SICHREM said-ll
e mo X6 kl1' a “a56356 bU‘ alS°' 1111 /i,U?USt 2003' But the“ make “P 0"'y a IbatHlV/AIDSwa cert^
^endure the stigma and discrimination., small fraction, of the many cases that go issue. .
'
8
B^d^VveS ‘ y ^nds and
:u^P^d.
-/'The kind of stigma these patients face isi I

ear 15
ve5y issue-stlg- the Population Reference Bureau, more
"Liv ^d7eHaive°"'
1 mC be;"'
?Ve-P6r
°f
hi8h-risk grouPs
If Ashok rTu 5 F eedom Fnundntn ' d
? P0SK1Ve for H1V
the State
-V'ThehiP^i^HPnfdd- Foundaton. S^d: and mor,e dlan one PW cent of women in
^:^^^88^J^^^£d‘^^/Jia.tlonjI^XiJ^1tena^Jchni^haji tested positive, which

about treating an AIDS duTto feLXon i I
tracting
^ease. There is also lack oD I
awareness?about AIDS, so whoever is suf-l\l
fering from the illness is stamped as show-t|
ing deviant behaviour,” he said.

xtA.

A

t-

U3

^4

^>‘-

: -

?

- ’

THE HINDU, Monday, December 1, 200;

P©pe prays for AIDS patients
R-X

■■

■i

i

■■ . ■

feelI

ft kJ

Vatican orrv. NOV. 30. On die eve of World AIDS Day, under apardieid. With a giant bronzed image of his
Pope John PaullI offered his
prayers on. Sunday
to all face
l-2_.
f— as
_s a backdrop, Mr. Mandela came on stage
those whasuffer from the dcadiyyirus and encouraged dressed in a black shin with the number emblazoned
those in the Roman Catholic Church who care for
them to continue doing so.
"For the 18 years that 1 was in prison on Robben
In his comments to the faithful and tourists gath­ Island I was supposed to be reduced to that number."
ered in St. Peter’s Square, he said AIDS was spreading he said. "Millions infected with HIV/AIDS are in dan­
throughout the world, particularly in poor countries. ger of being reduced to mere numbers if we don't act
“While 1 pray for those who are hit by this scourge, I now. They arc serving a prison sentence for life."
encourage those in the Church who carry1 out an inval­
Thc concert is pan of an appeal to Governments to
uable service of acceptance, care and spiritual accom­ declare a global AIDS emergency.
paniment to our brothers and sisters," he said.
w Corrs, Anastacia.
The artists, who also ....
included ,.,
the
The Pope, who is 83 and suffers from Parkinson’s Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens', and" Annie
disease, appeared in line form today, delivering his Lennox, performed free on Saturday night.
brief comments in an unusually strong and clear voice.
His comments came apiid renewed criticism of the
Vatican’s opposition to using condoms as a way to
.Johannesburg, nov. 30. The former U.S. President,
AIDS
and .lthe
HIV
virus5 diat
thatu causes Iit.
Bill Clinton, said’today thafe^rica'rfuturrw-aZthreatthat Africa’s future was threatPprevent
/TLent ~
IDS. and
he H
IV yyv
11 The BiU
Vatican maintains that chastity is die best way to pre- ened by the AIDS pandemic raging Uirough the world’s
vent
the
disease.
WBnt mo
poorest continent.
"Nothing less than die future of Africa is at stake." he
wrote in an article published in South /Urica's Sunday
........ on
__ .u
cape town, nov. 30. Beyonce Knowles, Bono, Peter Independent
the, eve of [he Wor|d AIDS Day
Gabriel and musicians from around thc world took to
’’.AIDS
‘.IDC 1is-------u.c ,.Ca.u..
causing incalculable damage
to die health.
the stage for a star-studded AIDS benefit concert host- economy and security of societies where the disease is
cd by South Africa’s former president, Nelson Mande- allowed to run rampant."
,
" Mr. Clinton „d
VUIIlvJ 3,South
welcomed
la. More than 30,000 people, among them Oprah Africa’s new plan to begin a nationwide treatment
'’/■imine using anti-retroviral
(ARV) drugs,
calling1 it a
Winficy and Richard Branson, filled Cape Town’s grai
’
’ ’-----’
Greenpoint Stadium for (he show, part of Mr. Mande- "milestone
"i”!
for a country that has one of die highest
la’s 46664 campaign, named after his orison number rates cof infection.” — AP, Reuters

-■>■■■■■

TS.

.■■ . AivfefJ’

■ ’' ;'Lx
r-

“Africa’s future at stake”

1

_r

Star-studded concert

ivWi
A HiV-posftlve patient at the Government
Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram,
near Chennai. — AP

■

1

I

pl
! i

4

I

drug:;s in govtU
hospitals
hospitals soon

I'k

DH News Service

T

q

Ranbaxy and Cipla.
Ra:
“The industry has requested
to extend the same fiscal in­
centive which they enjoy at the
moment for export, to domestic
manufacturing as well. It will be
thc focus of the ministry’s pre- f
budget exercise and if the ft- l
nance minister and Planning h
Commission agree, we hope to ;
make medicine available from i
April 1. 200-1.” Ms Swaraj told re­
porters. i
According
to
ministry ;
sources, the pharma industry ;
offers an anti-retroviral (ARV)
price treatment that is slightly
iess
uie iiuu_
less than the market price.
Howevei. the minister wanted
- which the
further price cut for
industry has asked for fiscal incon lives.
;
Cll CHIPS IN: On the availability
of CD4 and CDS count machines,

!

M NEW DELHI, Nov 30
jfe On the eve of World AIDS Day,
Union Health Minister Sushma
announced
Swaraj on Sunday
£' ,
.........................
-!inhin
making AIDS
medicine available
it for the First time through the naflr tional AIDS control programme
from next year.
h; She also announced procuring
of additional viral load counting
machines.
Initially, this programme will
be launched in six highprevalent states - Andhra
' Pradesh,. Karnataka, Maha! rashtra, Tamil Nadu Manipur
|t and Nagaland. Special emphasis
«■ will be given to Bellary district
H in Karnataka, where Devdasi
(P custom is in vogue, to make it
K. AIDS-free by 2007, she said.
COMPANIES SUBSIDIES: Ms
if Swaraj said that the pharma
i. ----------.. ..
'T'P ’ r r-^ tllcsc exi)cnsive drugs available
'' -L> I-lx l0 t|ie national programme at a monitoring of the viral load, the .
of
Indian [
subsidised rate in lieu of some Confederation
Industry (Cll) has offered to !
(■■)'/
fiscal incentives.'
mobilise
resources
for
the
pro- a
'’-’U.jj.fe The announcement comes after
U' a series of meeting of ministry curement of 150 machines to be |
rll officials with leading Indian used in the six high-prevalent j
“^AIDS dj^j maiy^cturcrs^like '• states.

)

:■

-free/,?.;

i

V

1

. ..........

i

le

-

C

Q

Q-

*7

G

*

/

*■

»*'

G
Q/

Q
9

Q

A nurse with a HIV-positive child, whose parents have succumbed to the disease,
at the Freedom Foundation HIV/AIDS care and support facility near Bangalore. — AFP

'

■

“■"I

.■

c

<1

:iy

>

?■; -

c

-

i

'-W-'

!
X*

■

ABiStA. Mg ' M,,,.,' ;Alf.
...... 'WW,

.1.

■

■

. -

A'

c

fw

.......................... .

A

Their tomorrows are dying... Dinesh, 7, looks at his mother Mariamma, 31,
both HIV positive, at the Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram Sanatorium, Chennai.
. At least 60 patients are admitted to the hospital daily. About 610,000 Indians contracted HIV last year,
. increasing the overall number of infected Indians to about 4.5 million, said a recent study funded by
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. That is the second-highest total in the world after South Africa.
:

i;
’]

A

?.
i;|

■

‘UMCCAN Fwr r* 5^OVEMBER30,2003 3

b.

nTarriag-^

West Bengal is set to make blood tests mandatory for marriage |
' to rein in the rising number of thalassaemia and ADS cases. |
According to state Law Minister Nisith Adhikary. a new law is in J
Superstar ambassador
the offing to make it binding on all people considering marriage to «
HE has been the brand ambassador of countless commercial undergo
blood tests. "We will try to make changes to present laws ]
eminent named hTma stlteImbass^Andnow rn Prad!sh 8°v‘ 8overnin8 marriages to make blood tests of would-beArides’and ;
of the United Nadons’^ ChildrenT
grooms an absolute must," Adhikary said. The amendruent could J
appointing him its goodwin*18 Emertency Fund (UNICEF) be introduced in the next session. The tests would rhnnk
check rhn
±e hriHo
bride 4
and groom.for thalassaemia, AIDS and hepatitis-B. Th; govern- !
ambassador.
ment has agreed to make blood tests mandatory after consistent J
Clearly, Amitabh Bachchan
lobbying by voluntary health organisations. West Ekugal has p
has taken up more on his platter
about 65,000 thalassaemia-affected children, the highest in the !•
than he can possibly handle.
country. About 13 per
"Initially, I was apprehensive for
cent of the state's
I really don't have the time,” he
; population carries
admits. But things have been
■ this
disease.
sorted out with UNICEF and
Thalassaemia is a fr
planned accordingly
hereditary
and ' (
• Bachchan’s brief is to pro­
genetic
disorder
mote children’s rights and create
transmitted through
awareness on AIDS and polio
symptom-less par­
eradication.
According
to
ents. When two car- z
UNICEF’s India representative,
riers marry, there is
Maria Calvis, the Indian supera one-in-four chance
star became . an ideal choice
the babies born to
because of his immense popular­
them would inherit the abnormal gene from both parents and suf­
ity, credibility and appeal as a
fer from severe anaemia, resulting in premature death. Curiously:
genuine humanitarian.
if one of the partners is a thalassaemia carrier, there is dj
d) danger j
However, as is typical of him,
to the child born to such parents. Continuous blood transfusion is ?
Bachchan
chooses
to
underplay
his
importance:
theychoosl tcSXmnSt r ^P^nce: “Obviously, if- the only effective way to combat the disease,. but
....the tuxh
...i costs
„1C,.,.-11 U. Ar d ncn ? Places,llke
Bosnia
or somewhere
involved put
put the
the process
process beyond
bevond the
the reach
reach of
of middle-class
middle-cla^An
.,.««>♦
r -Kosovo
7
" ‘*k'* ■''. involved
families,
else it will be of no i
ces I should hn at in t JbT l° me'India and dle ' LeKislation making blood tests mandatory among marrring couMid-East
are places
be abteto hhelp
Nevertheless
CalvisIshould
is ont mttir
£ n u u
ples would heIp identU>’ca,Tiers °r the disease aild this
P^
people from
from all
all walks
walks of
of life,
lifn from
from the
th youngest
Gn Zto®ac
^coldest,listen
^an sPea^s- caution can avoid a life-long misery". Adhikary said once the new people
the
careful Xrhone^
law is enacted- bl«°d ^st reports of both partners in a carriage ,

!

A

• - AM-..

-y--:

..£?£5.!“KS—aS-—-

i

series of radio and television spots. A survey conducted earlier I
this year in Uttar Pradesh revealed that 92 per cent of the 10.000 J
respondents said that their decision to immunise their children *
was influenced by the superstar.
Apart from these commitments, Bachchan is neck deep with his •
film assignments and will soon be reviving his popular game show •
on television, Kaun Banega Crorepati. On his 61st birthday last. .
month (October), he had also announced the revival of his enter- i
tainment company, AB Corpn. Ltd.

....
OF'CC’/-’ ’ '’7-7/.T..LM

i f'♦HP'i
*’
/ll-l.'y

n<

A

A

A

A.

0;

eV.

A.

eeec-

ee-

Maharaja Features. !

I

i

i

e
■

;•!

>X

---- - moa»>wrrrTz-------- --- —----------------------------------- --------------

•

^BANGALORE, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2003^1

g DECCAN! E'ERADD

b fii

: X1X

X 0 T-- ;<h:|

-

- - V“r*- <’»’*•* V»*

1

xiSf

i.

•

■~7 -d T'77-

-■

•'I"'*"’"*',

: X.

7 777:

7 '

J<
■

■■■

XXX

-7I anx
;s
lLj:77 7

IJ ft

7/

I "-71 '■/

x X' XX'E<A

I ;XXX

i;

■1.

■XW-

i 9; J-J

|

>1 ! " 7'

■ !

'

7

~

- W-J

|

'-I®
IBix

■

Ik

■

.

-'I

.life ■oifiiio

■■7:7 .■

71 !;<?7:.

‘

•

■

■

i X' .xx£
:

M

y.J
t; *r

1

1Looking
. - into a vacuous
----------- -------------future-----------------------are a child and ,,.0
his iMvuivi,
mother, uum
both HIV positive
f1 t!’u . M?,VCI?r?Cnt.
of Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram, near
Chennai. By the end of 2002, 3.82 to 4.58 million people in India
.
/-» xi
.
.
------ 1 were infected with HIV. At least 3,00,000 more have acouired
the infection
in the
,
---------------------------------------j
past year. On the eve of the World AIDS Day on Monday, 40 million people are
‘
‘^quuea trie infection In the
rtk

f** •’"J (

C? «f

<4-1* »•.

t

O fX /A

4

.

Jt

r—

•••■

*

*

»

- -

-

— "

■ • • w•

1 w

• • ■ w« •

• i i «> j

I UI I IU Cl I <1 i I I j

I

|

—rxTsssnr
,

I

L?NOV. 29. The South African leadqer, Nelson Mandela, said his
$
r country• was now at the fdre-

Si

-

11 ’
1
■ j

.ij Iront of the world s fight against
LJ AIDS, comparing the campaign
tn tlio Irxnrr H-»tllr>
to the long battle against apar|| theid.
theid.
it’ Mr. Mandela was speaking
; ;■ yesterday from the island prison
j; where he) was held for 18 years
before white rule ended in 1994.
accompanied on the
L tripHebywas
the Irish rock star, Bono,
American
R&B
sensation,
Beyonce, and other singers due
to perform at an AIDS benefit
concert in Cape Town.
Mr. Mandela, whose country
is one of the main venues for
events marking
i
World AIDS Day
on Monday,
Afri­
nday, praised South Africa's recent decision to reverse
years of policy and begin proa r'» drugs »„
viding AIDS
to ._r__._u
infected
people.
"C\,
"Our
Government
an-

I

nounced policy measures that
will once more put us in the
lead to fight the epidemic. It is
most fitting that this coming together happens so close on tlie
heels of that groundbreaking
f------ “
’’
hedls
announcement,” Mr. Mandela
said.
The 85-year-old Mr. Mandela, who stepped down as South
Africa’s first black President in
1999, has become one of the
world's leading campaigners on
—----AIDS.
The disease has hit South
Africa harder than any other
country with
' h more than five
million of its 45 million people
infected.
Bowing to widespread calls
for a more aggressive approach
to the epidemic, the South African Government this month fi­
nally unveiled a plan to begin
bringing anti-retroviral drugs to
the public sector.
Mr. Mandela said Saturday's
concert — dubl
dubbed "46664” af-

7

I ’
1:

*_•

•

’

-.•••• ,4-.,-t«•<<*

x-v

* t• •

Jr,’

'Sfelfaparth©!

wOS s greater

X H-

I,. ROBBEN ISLAND (SOUTH AFRICA),

’'.'I

_

p'#**U*
[
f
[
'
i

i®te^
1

The former South African President, Nelson Mandela, Is
flanked by pop stars Angelique Kidjo (loft) and Annie Lennc
on Robben Island, off Cape Town, on Friday. — AFP

against Alps.” The stars, who
also included Annie Lennox, Pe­
ter Gabriel, members of Queen,
and Yusuf Islam, who was for-

mcrly known as Cat Stevens, <’
not speak to reporters but laid
look a tour of Mr. Mandela’s is­
land prison cell. — Reuters

■ *...

B6

|

. -- ----- ., ,wi ■ ■ttravyxh

-•

c

,______
»rea € 1

j Smallpox and HIV 11 .'-“-O'; g ™
'^defence

i

I

JjTH-J
1
I 7pf\0CT0RS have Known
**I r'* ■ *•

_
SAD1K
Special AAdviser to nthe
UNV UUL/
Secre’ ------------------------ is the **/*»***••••
to V/4
1!“
H fflfor years that a» small 7 J; Dr. NAFIS
11
tary
General
and
his
Special
Envoyv
for-----------HIV/AIDS
in Asia.
-U-J'percentage of people c, - . „ r ,
---------carry a mutated form of a gene] ! ^^'^f^^o'^^dieU.N.toleadoneofitsvolunJ. called CCR5, which protects! tardy funded programmes. Recipient of many international awards, including her selection as the Laureate in
3; against infection by the AIDSf
gilvirus. Now it appears thatg£ the individual category of the U.N. Population Award .
.Vthese people
neonlc mav
cmall-l ^GQl Dr.Sadikhasalso authored several publications on
rakthese
may have
have small-f
Mppox to thank for their fortu^l iea t^ lssuesIndia recently to attend the Gender and
& inhXce theU fortU1
T0Wi,h
■

vertry good point saying we don’t want to call it "MotherSS
rhilfl transmission".
frnncmiccinn" We
Wra want
ur-int- to call
z.a1I 1»
ailid
d child
it "Parent and''I®
Child transmission." Women gci
ii from
fium die
get it
the iiu
husband^
most
time abut
we difference
stigmatise in
dieterms
mother.
It’s
point of
butthe
makes
huge
of communi-^|
\
'
cation.
cation.
■
■
Have
Have we
we learnt anytliing from the African.!
experience?
•
'
A
kstyear,?<
Last year, when I went to tire Asian countries; they said-^j,
>. } In 1998, some scientists sug-|
BEHAL about her concerns on HIV/AIDS. wearediffen
we are different from Africa. But I begin to think not. What,®’
/5'gested that perhaps CCRs/l
'
.
.
f
the African ccountries like Uganda, Botswana did 15 yearstS
; ■■ hor-otriio
PAmmAH
’
-4
*
SRO
’ what we did too initially — silence, much,
ago is
is eXacfi
exactly
became common in recent cen-|.
mentioned that women in our societies do stigma attached to sex, we didn’t want to talk about it/4
.turies because it conveyed® \C*
\\ / not have a say in any matters specially those And look what’s happened to them. If.we were to chart,-F
resistance to bubonic plague-a^
v/ regar ding sex. How do you think we can ad- the epidemic in the Asian countries, we could follow the.4
.significant cause of death in;,'^,
dress this? ■ •
African model but if you put in the interventions that weVf'
i' the past millennium. But at|; )' w
—I THINK that this has to be dealt with by each now know and the care and treatment that we have now, Ii'
j/new analysis by scientists ata;country
itself.
It
has
to
start
with
the
top
leadership
—
then the path could be quite different. I think that as we
*' ;the University of California af-J
PPPc-jt; particularly men who should start to speak out. We have get some success with the kinds of intervention that is
|f jBerkeley indicates thatx x- l<4
‘
1116 laws and ordinances
being taken in India today as in 5
- more likely was Pfotectivp/K
pi.
but these are pre-empted by
||
] Pakistan the scenario will jJ
against
Thm,smallpox.
r inthoM-.;, I' n 'Z! cuJture and social values. It
ji ..
change. Here I think they have
aTAh
smailpoy ,f hast0 andon] h
H
targeted four groups — the sex
r j,andd AIDS viruses are similar^
similar^ wh(;n those
.
p /(plague, by contrast, is caused}.'
workers; adolescents; the truck
power speak out; Secondly
drivers and the parent to child
1; ■by
by a bacterium); that smallpox!:
Xf:?! discriminatory laws or socjaj
[■ 'remained a major human
dis-1
transmission. For care and sup­
lITian diS
’/J- nnrmc
try kn zlAiMAiAo
lu uu
norms nave
have to
be uibunaeu.
discarded. "
port, the first priority is the
[p‘jease
.eaoc until
uinu tuuie
more luuenuy
recently thank
uian;.-. Then you have to have public
mother, then )youngw children
’ '• ’
ajplague,the$
p.
(plague,- better explaining the^
Hi gene's
£pge
’ persistence; and thafei information, education. Such ..
who have been infected by their
; profound changes take a while
parents and finally those who ;
fcjsmallpox kills more .youthsp
j-""'
^iithan plague, a fact thatitj to happen and have to come
come with infections to the gov- j J)
:0
from within the society. This is
r
emment
hospitals.
Ks increases the odds that onlyg!
u,c
i where the pressure groups
Would
it
help
If,
like
some
Eu
­
;; hose with the mutation wiifc i and women's
groups
■’ t
-"' ’ps come in.
ropean countries, we legalised
[c live to childbearing age, thus|j | A
A lot
Iot of
of women's
wom“n.s groups shy
sex workers? Then their health
S enriching the gene's presence^,
away
from
some
(i away from some ofAese
of these diffi'diffistatus could be monitored.
p,
8 in the population.
fJ cult
...................
cult issues.
issues..
I came here and started to tell
L,:. The results appeared in thef
To talk about legal rights
countries that maybe they k*
a,online
edition
of
theJ-l and economic rights is easy.
should legalise sex workers and $
z {Proceedings of the Na/zona/|| But sexual rights, reproductive
homosexuals. But I found that
| {Academy of Sciences.
• jd j rights, the right to make your
that was also not going to hap- y
&;------ ------- -——---- hT own decision, the right to
pen. I am now trying to say that
leave y°ur husband are more
they should be decriminalised. Vri
Vr
difficult. I find many women’s
And I'm now talking to human
I
^organisations shy away from
rights commissions; I think we 4^
them. It needs voices, it needs
have to get a public dialogue go^. commitment, it needs couring on these issues, because leg:V> age. You need people at the
islators are going to take this on. ‘.ft
3; top to really be committed
rrl-\rMr
t CCl ---- . ! £
On the occasion of World AIDS They think it’s too -Idifficult
V and willing to put die force of .
sue and is going to antagonise '
their status, of their reputation
Day on December 1, a look ■ the population. We need to get <
sometimes.
the work done from below and I
. How do you think India
at some of the social aspects
feel the human rights commis- L
has fared in coping with HIV/1
sions are a good place to start L
AIDS given the vast dispari­
of the HIV/AIDS issue.
this.
■; 3
ties not only in culture but
Talking about sex education
------------------------n
i
—
—
—
—
—
—
i: economic status too?
in schools, how are we going to •«
. I think they are trying to change now.
overcome the inherent attitude resistance of teachers )■
‘ But how far has it been successful?
while approaching this subject especially in state run f
■, I think they have all the makings of a good programme schools?
i
now. They are going to try this project in Bellary, which
I think that they have to become more mandatory. I
they want to make AIDS-free by 2007. They'are going to do ____
____)___
„„
„
11CU1C1
u
Icy
lc
«vu
think their jobs should depend on whether they teach the
g everything there. Very open discussion about safe sex, subject or not they. have to look
of
’
' at the ,problem
’ '
_ ‘ sex •
g about sex workers ... I think that's a good model and we'll cducadc.;
t ‘
education and see how oserious
it is. They don't want to !
■f see what happens. The national programme has expand- answer questions on this
ouuj^.
»,u
Clc
wlulU
u
yuui.g
’ s subject. Where should young ,
ed; there are condom supplies, which are regular and in- ■ people go? They have some hotlines
■'
ki r\ f 1 i n oc but
bnif that
tiint’’sc not .d
f sure.d^r al] the group511131 need care and treatment, not enough. You have to learn to deal with the situation, times ]
L available earlier in the public sector. They are trying to change
change and
and people
people change
change and
and you
you have
have to
to learn
learn to
to deal
deal {\
r train the health workers to be less discriminatory. One of with that. We-cannot condemn our children to death,
g roe biggest sources of discrimination and stigma are die What we are doing is imposing our values and not caring
f healllt workers themselves. I diink the Minister made a what happens to our young. ■
..
1|

I

c
Cl

c.
A

i

• • i i

m-

JI

xL __ x x'.

“'W L

I

B

8
3

i
i

m 0

Z0G3

I

in

A

A

A
A

£

e
£
Aa

ooc-

e
e I

C-J
■cJ

►

0 t
p

c- *
►

y

. vi..... -

C'

■/I

A---1

n
.1

3

d

35
3 '
.1

1

r

Tj >>

■'i ;•' 'd

I

id:

I ft

REGD. NO. CPMG/KA/BGE-197/2003-2005 VOL. 56 NO. 328

fT

AH

;■.■■■'.■

® ■AA. •

•.

..

.J A’-'b-gf‘T

;g

I3 i

■

A <3

Hi

A--"

M-

-'■J’

i;®3S3S
|
I
.
*w: aw*
‘34ss”,“
;s’”5™;a;
i 'ss; “"•'■ji

r'"'~
■■■ ■

■ -’• •-••
V

I
J' g

of jAD

“The only

--3 3

:

‘J^lsVeena’

I...

■A . . -:i'A;d^t.Tcte'i at (04994) 229684 /i’
■
if
. :Af :
3: A1:

,F

f

■■

-

:

■

F

'-..333 ■' '

I

W 33:

O1 '•■■$■

' ■ 1I

(left bottom) and Bency Chandy, 8, at an event on the eve of World Aids Day in New Delhi on Sunday.

|

Benson and his sister Bency are orphaned after their parents died from AIDS. The siblings, from
'
Kerala , were denied admission to local government run schools till the intervention of political leaders. |
See also Page 7
I

■Il 0

M

•l

”

Dr Narahari can be con-.j
con-g
/acted at (04994) 229684
1^30116 / 260106 (Kasargod
’Sis Sumathi at sgnayak@red<|
^ffniail.com
or'|
cpwcn2003@yahoo.com (Bai
ggalore); and Ms Veena at'd
i.d^BWI0824) 2439895 (Mangalore). M

iiS
S' U’m with you.. ■ Union Health Minister Sushma Swaraj greets HIV positive Benson Chandy, 6, H

I

1

t3i?i(;3^;4oing to
to die....
die.... its
its not
not as
as 1.
t. ..
it- ,. ni33:H3AAy Ajds
Aids patients die.....says;|
>
:

v.

s'

1

way t0 proIon

'.-■ ' p/sAA/A
pd’dH- AtLri^^the
HIVstage
stage isis to
to improv
improvv.j
-i.-i' <--.d<5»ine ttiv
v. j

^#1 .
ii 33-. t3.F's3.i.R33::3i^3'3:3^:3/-'<:3C3/^
I •A: • '' ' .■■ ■' A'
-i A ..3
<3
- ■ .■
i-L

ai-J

of the 111 v infeced(l
> I -* f/v ' ' i?'’-.®1-. / J £ persons, says Dr Narahari, " ’
/'./ ticV7Jd djnpractising dermatologist an. ,

■

II11
•>

including

7;S:>>;J1&ShW^1*-lopatliy’ ayurveda and ho- 3
•ft§SF®SW'MwlimoeoPat^y f°r the continue

t

M

i

i'-’V; Jd/d gniedicme,

lh

•d

t!

idSsigmMgp1

Of®

IH

J

m'-AA

Continued from Page 1
,
/- <-.r--'-s'\D/5 ’’ i'A •/ ”^realised it, we started looking a
p ,. .• 'J‘ ’ /,<'/Vd'or alternative medicine an ' i
i
J “3 4 learned
that
aloverea, 1
3
“
>’ d turmeric, asafoetida, onion, |
J sic, .'d‘t4 ‘jgarlic and many more tlunp- 1
ay an important role in in. j
Snmving the immunity in the]
$body.” Apparently, the ' I’ 1
’ f.'dij-'d’-D r; ;btitute of Applied Derma-J
' r
"'><7 '.1 |tol°gy (L^D) at Kasargod too J
dis practisng a similar methc '
dS^^O'i®Wcalled Grahopachara, whico.i
1 ^involves the combined appli-1
idlSdl ^on. of all.the systems <

i

-J

| AIDS-infected 1
| need backing, |
i not sympathy j

■

A b

J

i

■ BANGALORE, MONO/®!

nov wm

Internet: http://www.deccanherald.com

IAAF
psi :

PRIN TED AT

Il3

....

■,

■■— -' --J?1-

-> •_--<> .;’t > - • >-

. jfJ'Oi' r '■ i'-

^v-‘s ^x.\Xr» r

-'ffi'

J
^jPec0Anherald, Monday, December 1, 200b

c
G

^3 c

c
'I c
c

i
From D Ravi Kanth
■ •- PH News Service

I gent
.....Nov 30
GENEVA,

■■

.1 HIV/AIDS face of ■ escalating'
epidemic South
.Africa, China, and India among
others, the World Health Organi­
zation and the UNAIDS today un-

I

'

'

'

OOggjfe.

I j

'

- SWW

mmister.Sushma Swaraj’s plan
to
tv target
uugei the
uie ' most important
sources of HIV/AIDS disease by '
Ji offering free antiretrovrial
antiretrovrial
&

It

;•

drugs, both WHO and UNAIDS .< fc//®®
embarked on a strategy to help •
i those
developing countries that -

i'

A

are experiencing a sudden surge
in the spread of this deadly dis­
ease. Already, HTV/AIDS had
claimed over five million lives in
various poor countries.
f-..l
To achieve the goals of “3 by 5
... initiative”, the two global health •
Vq agencies require about US $ 5 bil- :
' S lion, which they plan to raise
j ;j through the funds committed by
'J': the United States, Bill and Melin■: da Gates Foundation, and other
Beyonce Knowles,
■v-; bilateral • and

I

A

*

IMa-

r

i

ft. i UNAIDS expect pro-poor health Jack Chow, Assistant DirectorSST.1 ihkewMSF”lay « vital role General
UCUOIal of
0I WHO
¥VMU for
lor HIV/AIDS,
4iprwiS(^to1g^PanIeS::t0^ ^be“a and; Malaria. "We
urge all concerned to work to
"Preventing and treating jreach the 3 by 5 target as rapidly
. AIDS may be the toughest health as
j possible."
I assignment the world has' ever ■■ The strategy is a key element
.
Snr saidD? LEE^onT1 T to,a combined programme
celerating HIV/AIDS prevention

ises US singer

other
international
stars N
answered Nelson Mandela’s call H
to help fight the scourge of AIDS S.
yesterday, putting on a musical c
extravaganza,
broadcasted f'
across the world on the Internet,
Reuters reports from Cape Town.’ I.
Mandela, 85, joined 40,000 fans F
of all races who packed into the I'
Green Point stadium in South •’
Africa’s tourist mecca, Cape p
Town, under a cloudless sky for E
the fund-raising concert.
'

^VvTZ/tlOm
,
■
done by counWeT^W
Jre a ^
"DS, the World Bank, Vundaj pie are at stake. This strategy de- tions, WHO and many, other
< mands . massive and- unconven- groups. After twenty years of
POLITICAL GRANDSTANDING: J
.1 tional efforts to make sure they fighting
the epidemic, it is now Meanwhile renowned singer,
; ‘| stay alive.",
clear that a comprehensive ap­ Bono has blamed ‘‘political k
H
Last week, the UNAIDS said proach
to HIV/AIDS must in-,
: .; that 40 million people around the elude prevention, treatment and grandstanding” for the deaths of ?
[1 world are infected jvjth HIV and care. Evidence and experience millions of people from AIDS. *
'. J that the global AIDS epidemic shows that rapidly increasing “AIDS is a medical problem, but
shows no signs of abating. Five the availability of antiretroviral political grandstanding is killing ?
people”, Bono, part of the U2
j j million people became infected treatment
in line with 3 by 5 tar­ band, said while visiting an *
J:l! with HIV worldwide and 3 mil- gets can lead
to more people
g lion died this year alone - that’s knowing their HIV status and AIDS orphanage in Cape Town. S
.‘i-! | 8,000 people every day.
The singer, said ‘‘it is ab- p
ri;
r1- . WHO estimates that six mil­ more openness about AIDS. Indi­ solutely unacceptable on any levviduals on effective treatment el that we have drugs in the US. §
lion people worldwide are in im­ are also likely to be less infec­
mediate need of AIDS treatment. tious and less able to spread the and Europe that cost nothing to ?
This strategy outlines the steps virus. Good treatment pro­ produce but yet hundreds of
thousands of people are dying”. :f
1needed to deliver-treatment to
will make more people
The concert was part of Man- • |
half of them within two years." grammes
come forward for testing dela’s 46664 Campaign — named |
3 by
5 11
framework is a plan HIV/AIDS status. Treatment can
.‘■v The
Xlic °
uy °
£j,j for
after his prison nu™ber when he £
c action
l: . by
' J a broad alliance of therefore ennfrihuio 7Z n™
of n U X r 6 rapid Was jaiJed during South Africa’s - |
nations, institutions, and com- acceleration
acceleration
of concppt
preventioi" p
S
benefit
apartheid
era -t0 mobilise s°v- I
3 mitted people, including those
n C0N(?ERT- Bono, ernments to declare HIV/AIDS a B
hving with HIV/AIDS," said Dr. Th,,
I
1^Sorrs' Bey°nce Knowles and global emergency.

e
c
c

e

c

c

c-

r

!

H

1

tECC/.f ?

•-/ld

1

nq -

c?-

c-

I -3

■ '■
in them that is protecting them patterns in other high-risk !*(
Agnes Munyiva has been a pros- and that is the information we
groups such as the partners of
L- titute for 31 years in Kenya's Ma- need to create the vaccine".
HIV infected people.
v'
^ijengo red light district and like
The human body normally
"There's always a few who
f;i| many in the trade, she had her produces antibodies once it ac­
don't become infected. There's 'L
share of unprotected sex. But do- quires the HIV virus, but, MrKi- nolhing unique about them (Ma- >
yj spile long exposure to IHV-posi-. mani argues that duo to bgenetic
v.ivnv
jengo women). It's just a concen- .’
vj live men, she is HIV negative. So differences and factors involving trated group...," he told Reuters
are. some other women working repeated exposure to the virus, from Oxford.
■■f. in
the
seedy
Majengo •-'j the Majengo prostitutes react d ifDoctors have told Agnes and
7
.......... -mi.-s r; . ,_________
■ $
-r af Mry'
cells called other women who have managed
different sort of visitors to Ma- Cytotoxic T-Lymphocytes (CTLs) to remain HIV-negative that par­
■ 'fi jengo than Agnes's lonely regu- that kill the virus. "The more adoxically, they must continually
jp lars— AIDS researchers.
they get exposed, the higher the have sex with HIV-positive men
Some scientists suspect that if number of CTLs they get. They to keep their status.
u
'-it! they can discover why a group of have to be constantly exposed to
But Munyiva says God has 0
j:V prostitutes has remained H1V-. HIV to produce CTLs," Mr Ki­ kept her safe, though Kenyan re- rj
negative for so long, they may mani said.
• •
searchers argue that the imnni- •>
find the key to the development
Meanwhile Professor Andrew nity is genetic and runs in some I’
of an AIDS vaccine.
McMichael, the director of
;7'l
Joshua Kimani, the director Britain's Wcatherall Institute of families. "It has'nothing to do I'j;
of Kenya’s AIDS Control Pro-Molecular Medicine, disagrees" with the tribe or the food they f;i'
eat, it is actually genetic. It de- LI
gramme, believes that solving - He said only about five percent of pends 011 the 110St Genes gives U
■•b'
3V the Majengo riddle could be the Majengo prostitutes are re- them
them an
an eug
edge over others,” Mr 'A
{c, worthwhile. "There is something sistant to HIV, reflecting similar Kimani said
B NAlnom, Dec 3 (Heelers)

2' j

J

3

30
d

23
]

2 £3
2

IT*

X^
-■>

■0

0
3

t -

1- _ - _3_ - 3 .

t ■ ml

. •

•

•

I
*

fcECCAI<HE3.ALD

'•’I
wl

•FInSia' is fastest loser to AIDS
o

... •?. NEW YORK, Dec 3 (IANS)

General Motors, Bill and
J India is losing ground to AIDS
Melinda. Gates Foundation and
faster than any other country, Asia Society, where the film was
warns a film on the killer dis- screened, were the main spon­
j ease, “A Closer Walk".
sors of the event.
•■i The references to India in the
Writer and .producer
--- of
— the
; 7 narrative are alarming. "The film Robert Bilheimer,
who is
( epidemic is spreading quickly in President of Worldwide Docu­
'. the countries of the former Sovi- mentaries and an Academy
; ct Union and China.' But India is Award-winning director, gave a
•.' losing ground to AIDS faster brief talk. *
;. than any other country," it says.
"We arc still losingn the
...> war
•;
Featuring (he Tambaram against AIDS and losing it badly.
\ sanatorium in Chennai, the nar- It is becoming worse each year,"
vear”
ir^rative says: "At one of the largest he said in a choked voice.
/‘j- AIDS treatment centres in India, ■
He said unless efforts at comC' .’the women’s ward is so crowded1 bating the disease and the social
- that each bed is shared by at least stigma attached to it becomej a
Ijjtwo
r?,;two patients who rotate in 12- global
■ • • movement, humankind
a1, .'hour shifts.
•i' ' "But there is no medication to would continue to lose the war.
i.V
The director said "A Closer
Iti .help them fight their disease..
Walk" was "a film about AIDS in
jV; <There are few visitors because the world and a story about the
ffi^when a woman gets AIDS, she is way the world is".
!?• ^deemed a non-person.”
He said the film was screened
The 84-minute film docu- at over a dozen venues across the
rk-ments the epidemic in Africa, globe on Monday and appeared
|4;'’iAsia, Europe and the US. It was to be making a visible impact
H jj-screened here on Monday on the since its premiere eight months
Joccasmn of World AIDS Day.
ago.
r •'

t.

I

• a.

I

j £
J

"* «»

A T T> O

1.----- I

..

t.

*

I.

.

•

.

t I

The organisers said the film
was among the first to depict hu- $
mankind's confrontation with hj
the global epidemic. Women, i’j
men and young people - the in- ?
fected, affected and caregivers •have been interviewed in several r J
countries.

ISRO. focusingo

•

..■■T Ranbaxy’s new

I

AIDS drug
pre-qualified
Ranbaxy Laboratories

■4'

,011 SOCKll prO<jrrCSS
*
JALANDHAR. Dec .3 (UNI)

.

.

I

Emphasing that demand for mis- Vj
siles was declining world wide, 4
the Indian Space Research Or- ■.
ganisation (ISRO) said stress was f.
now on reconditioning or repair- '*4
ing of the existing missies.
W
Talking to reporters here yes- $
terday, ISRO Chairman G Mad-3
havan Nair said besides the or- §
ganisation was now concentrat- 4
ing on projects aimed at social S
progress with speical attention H
on remote sensing, metrology s
data satellite and other suchg
projects.
ter

I'

J-iiuoraiones Ltd a
;|tosaK oday that WHO has pre.v quahlicd its three-drug fixed f;?.
J!q( dose anti-retroviral (ARV) com- i;
u.bination products. Triviro-LNS S
• 30 and 40mg tablets, sold in India
’
' .'• as Virolans, PTI reports from 1-’'
.';.as
rg Mumbai.

t-

170

15
1

,1

$1

ugg

■‘::astaig
1
■■I

•W

.•i A

'.A
1 rW
■ "1

I

'w

s

r-

KI

5 K® . <•
1

■a
I < Yakshagana artists of Karnataka Kala Dharshini performing a dance drama to create aids awareness
Ambedkar Bhavan to mark International Aids Day in Bangalore on Monday.

■WV) AIDS, helpline launched

7 .A. ______________

—— --------------- ——-------------------------------

Chief minister SM Krishna taking part in an awareness rally with the NLC cadets organised to mark If
1 International Aids Day in front of Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore on Moniay.
c

----, 1
We shall overcome....

drome) affected, only
AIDS
Prevention
Society
:•______ DH Ng.vs Savce______
Bichhu Mathu - School AIDS (KSAPS).
: J NGALOIIE, Dec 1
Education Programme for stu­
Under die Janapadadalli JaDH News SeTtai
-. The launch of the State-wide HIV dents in classes nine and 10 is a nara
Mathu ■ the folk media cam- --------- ------------------------- —
Jand AIDS telephone helpline 'scientifically designed package’ paign, 25 teams of artists trained BANGALOHE. Deci
, I —mber -1097, Bichhu Mathu - a It takes into account the ‘age-relat­ by tlie Song and Drama Division 0° ^ie occasion of World AIDS
: _•
100I AIDS Education Pro- ed developmental stage and men­ of the Central Government will' Day today Chief Minister S M
; / gramme and 'Janapadadalli Ja- tal frame work’ of its target group. travel and perform in nearly 1,000 Krishna reaffirmed the govern: “ n«ara Mathu’ ■ a folk media camAccording to Chief Minister S villages in the State over the next ment's determination to fight
y
gn marked the World AIDS M Krishna, the programme will three months. Under the direction HIV/AIDS by recalling to high
’ be intr°duced in 4,000 schools in of the Karnataka State AIDS Pre- school and college students the
'. «■>««♦
ment, medical fraternity, high
--i- the State during the current year, vention Society , these teams are ^late
ate black-American activist
< '•-'hool and college students, NCC and expanded next year to anoth­ among themselves trained sepa­ Martin Luther King’s chant, ‘We
; lets, NGOs and other voluntary er 4,134 including the private aid­ rately to handle the dialects, cul­ shall overcome...’
jgroups today
The Chief Minister who led a
ed and u naided ones. In the case of ture and traditions of north and
The 1097 telephone helpline the private schools, the coopera­ south Karnataka.
World AIDS Day padayatra from
nber is connected to the Volun- tion of the school development
f ’
’ SCENARIO: The estimated num- Vidhana Soudha to Dr Ambed.... y Counselling and Testing Cen- boards will be sought
u. for its im­ ijg,. of HIV infected people in kar Bhavan on Millers
--- ----Road
, tres (VCTC) at the district central plementation, Mr.Krishna said Karnataka is five lakh comprised here, also underlined that the
, ;• —■vernment hospitals across the and noted that those resisting the largely of those in the 20 to 40 age hght against AIDS cannot be left
i'. ,te. As of today, the number is measure will face ‘de-recogni­ group. The confirmed AIDS cases to government4 alone’. Others
! ■ operational in Mandya, Banga- tion’.
who participated in tlje padayaas on date are 1,600.
; ■ lore and Tiun-kur: it will be reachMinister for Primary and Sec­
Giving a picture of the prevaincluded NCC Cadets, NGOs,
’2 across the State in week's ondary Education B K Chan- lence, Chandrashekar noted that activists, representatives
of in*"*’
•! •* cine. Hitherto, the number was drashekar said the ‘Bicchu amongothe 49 districts with high, ternational bodies like the
; functional under a few voluntary • Mathu’ printed material will be AIDS prevalence in India, eight UNICEF health workers, governJ1 '-nups working in the area of pre- handed over to the School Cur­ were in Karnataka. They are: Gul- ment officials etc.
-1: ■'
.lion of HIV (Human Immun- riculum Review Committee to barga, Bijapur, Belgaum, DharSpeaking on the occasion,
I ■■' odeficiency Virus) infection and work out the specifics of its imple­ wad, Bellary. Udupi, Mysore, JJNJCEF country ^representative
i J’ care of the AIDS (Acquired Imhr. mentation. The material is de­ Chamarajanagar and Bangalore (India) Maria Caalvis called for
. __.o
package to reach the HIV/A1DS
ricienrv DofiriAnr-v
t>
nodeficiency
Deficiency 5Syn- signed by the Karnataka State Urban. •
'
‘
.. ...........
uAusclpli,^L gr??R outeide the
SV .

p

OKVA,

£

uUu<J

------- 1 '-------- .........

school system. Her observations
followed the launch of the School
AIDS Education Programme.
She hoped that the students
themselves could take up the re­
sponsibility to reach out to peers
who, being not as lucky as them
remain outside the school sys­
tem.
STIGMA: The South India
Coalition for Sexuality Rights

Sangalore Mahanagara PaliVejjf
ranked the day by holding
3
les in their respective jurisdTc-»

zcn.

p

\z also included a training pm-T
rramme on treatment and cc^J *1
felling of the HIV/AIDS affect-'I
*1.
' '
' 1 ’• f
SLUM DWELLERS: A rally to^J
ire awareness among urban F
fium dwellers was organised byf
re Directorate of Field'|
P-biicity and the Department- • k
Vcmen and Child Development:n
5km dwellers at Koramangala f
held a rally to protest against iere participated in the prWP
stigmatisation and discrimina­ pnmme. A three-day awaren’L
tion of people with HIV/AIDS. prgramme through street plays.#
The coalition, comprising i:r slum dwellers in the Ulsoog
around 15 City-based organisa­ N.:rphy
Town
a4 K‘
tions, demanded that govern­ Giutamnagar is also on by die r*
ment " provide free Anti Freedom Foundation.
»j
Retroviral Treatment (ART) to
The Manipal Hospital, in >7 Bl
people
with
the
disease.
w
,
v
„„
s:i::aaon
with
the
Indian
Mu.
‘
They also asked for the repeal of iru Association inaugurated
---- o----- J a£|
Section 377 of Indian Penal Code jrr.ro exhibition in its premises. |»Z
jand the Immoral Trafficking
"he show is aimed at informr-^i)Prevention
Act (ITPA).
J
jHf:c le that those with Hl V/AlDS n
TRAINING: Health centers and iifec not live a life of stigma and 4
r ernity . homes of the
mat

■

-

■

•

9

i

1 ■> -i('

y

5

J
J

i

A

By Our Staff Reporter

....... ;. L2 ptmi

J

J

■

■

n

J

W
A

*

j
j
'V

3
V

z.
'V

’.3

3

’J

>ree''‘drugs offer ©rings
’S’HB I-nNDU hope to HIV patients

' - "ARVs are given ' to people whose viral lion children in 10 years. So making breast
j
• load has gone beyond a certain limit. With feeding safe for positive mothers will be a *'
drucs, the viral load comes major step
stco in containing the epidemic,
epidemic.” he '
chennai, dec.i. With the Centre deciding: to 1 this cocktail of drugs,
(, provide
pruvicie anti-retroviral
anu-ieiiuviim (ARV) drugs
uiugt> free
nee to
iu nuwii
down biguuicanuy.
significantly. This,
mib, in turn,
iuiii, inciecisub
increases explains. • .i I
-r
i Nadu and the'quality of i.r
i. of
The committee, headed by the TANSACS ".
?/' persons with rrnz/An-io
HIV/AIDS in-Tamil
life andi _„,i
reduces .1the risk
five other States, the State AIDS Control So-' •:' transmission," says Bimal Charles, director, project director, tried to examine the ram- 4
.'l Q?nt'v
nntnf li
nt/n tn
fnr
ATDQ Provontinn
nnrl Cnntrnl
ciety will
will now
have
to px/nltm
evolve aa mnrlpl
model for
AIDS
Prevention ’and
Control Prninrt
Project.
■
---- treatment in !r
ifications of*•introducing
ARVs
imnlpmpntatinn, '
£}■ nrniprf
project implementation.
1 'A significant change will likely occur in all government hospitals, including finan- *
,9 -A six-member coordination
h,.. committee, transmission of infection from positive cia’f implications and the mode of adminis- v
u set up to examine the feasibility of provid- mothers to children once free ARVs are pro- tcring the therapy.
. '/_■ ‘ : J ■ ’ ‘
’» ing ARVs free or at subsidised rates in De-’ vidcd to the women, experts feel. .
"We even lobbied with the Centre to procember last, will revise its role to develop a
mote this concept. Though it indicated a£
£ protocol for administration of die drugs.
- heavy financial burden, we knew that it was
The committee was constituted after
important to find funds and negotiated p
then Health Minister, S. Semmalai, gave an h- \
i
‘
I
with pharmaceutical companies to cushion i';.
? assurance that the State would consider
1 ■' X J
a
the cost,” says K. Deenabandu, TANSACS >
> providing ARVs free in all government hos- ■' ';■
project director.
' ' h'
K.
'■
’
£ nitals.
pitals. -•
••
Though the monthly price of ARVs has k
"In Tamil Nadu, 1.1 million women get
h . ■ He was responding to a plea by the posi-'
’ opped from
• live persons, who found it difficult to bear pregnant every year. Of these, 16,000 moth- dropped
from Rs.30,000
Rs.30,000 lOyears
lOyears ago
ago to'£
.........................................
'
' “
_pass on the
....
-4 n,
, HAP------------------------The/
infection ----------around
Rs.1,200
now, the ---------------drugs still
remain J:
i; the burden the cost of the drugs imposed1 <^arrinScd"
r on
u.x their o
.umvov incomes.
3.CGC
J }says
^"P.
2. beyond the reach of most PLWHA, accord- Lmodest
’.......... to at least 5,000 children
every year,"
1. Till now, the drugs are not administered Kuganantham, UNICEF consultant for the *n8 to Kausalya, president, Positive Net-( >
....
.
work of Women (PWN+).Therefore, their
i'n; in government hospitals
5 and the patients Prevention of- Parent-to-Child
Transmisreceive treatment only for opportunistic in- sion programme. Supplying ARVs to preg- : Union Minister’s announcement rings, inp
hope to positive persons.
r
<• fections. In the Government Thoracic Hos-. nant women makes breast feeding safe.
•
-. . .
|
"According to World Health Organisation
K. K. Abraham, Indian Network of Posi-w
£/ pital at Tambaram,
ARVs are administered
y to
select paucniS,
patients, whose viral
$
iu seieci
viial load count is figures, 1.5 million children in developing live Persons (INP+) president, says that sisi-ft
taneously, diagnostic facilities in thepj
r extremely high and even that supply is nott countries die without breast milk every' multaneously,
TTrcr
- ----------- i c
—...u
f
|B
hiv itcoif causes
tire death of 1.5 mil- districts should
be ____
strengthened.
.> • • • >
consistent.
.
------- .
vpar. htv
>003 1
___ _____ _____
THE HINDU, Tuesday, December 2, 2003
>■

i

a

. ' ........................

'

""

i3

a
a

>

I

3

*1

"9

g -------- ---------------------- -

T Selenium may
(protect against AIDS;
-V

hcimer’s and other age-related'
illnesses.
•
- .
ft
ribnnuMLvnc,
^bangalore, mcv
dec.. x
1.. ocicnium,
Selenium,
The findings in regard to sele-l.
Tithe
Jthe nutrient found in garlic, nium and HIV/AIDS bring)’’
i mav nrntnrf
Alt'll and
jmay
protect aoninct
against AIDS
and, hope. Of the 24 children withp
drprtain cancers.
rnnrprc.
HIV/AIDS who were observed*,
'.Icertain
; Selenium deficiency is com- for five years, those with low se-4
monly associated with
—:‘u HIV/
IT"" lenium levels.died at a younger,S
’ AIDS and causes a high risk of age, indicating faster’’dise^sei
: death from the disease, accord- progression. In HIV patients; se-jf,
1 ing to doctors who have been lenium apparently helps arrest f
. treating patients with HIV. In- the progression into AIDS by:?*
’ ternational studies have estab- boosting the immune system, ’/j
. lished that selenium is an
A study in the U.S. also?]
, essential component of the hu- showed that selenium supple- j
jAman diet for good health and ments helped in the reduction i'
general well-being, and its defi- of hospitalisation and subse-\
i ciency may lead to increased quently,'the cost oL. treating '
susceptibility' to disease, they HIV-1 infected persons.
explained.
Because of its anti-viral ef- ■
Medical evidence showed fccts and its importance for All '
;that selenium reduced the risk immunological functions, giv-'
1 of heart disease and this aspect ing selenium is suggested as a j
' 1>too
too is being researched. Medical supportive measure in both •
^researchers believe that certain early and in advanced stages of
. jcells that help the body ward off HIV-induced disease. Research- .
cancer need selenium to func- ers believe selenium May also (
irttion.
be needed for the replication of *
J It is a powerful antioxidant the HIV virus; which could de- ' '
• j that helps protect against envi- plete host levels of selenium,
! rnnmpnfal rnrrinnnpn<:
av see a need for clinical
jronmental
carcinogens and r.ircar- TH
They
jdiovascular disease, protects trials to evaluate the effect of se- .
’jthe skin from solar ray damage, lenium supplements on HIV ”
,*i.and in fighting the effects of Alz- disease progression.

By Our Special Correspondent

r .
3
•!

I
I 13
I0

■ [‘T/ EW

— j----------------------------------------------------- -----------------£-----------------

-----------------

1 inifiatives to tackte AIDS t
■ ■ drugs Xpler treatment'regimens and more money as part of a
^EteSZX^htheUtiA d^iK/tbeAnd of 2005; |

' HWThe tablet combines three essential anti-retroviral drugs in
v
two India-based generic dmg |

■
I

■

----- grams.!
■

: ,
p

■

g

a

■ Farce rally in downtown Nairobi on Monday to show suPP°rt f

"odA Nobody is going to be spared unless we all come to- >

<-

THE EIMDgf

btC

|L2-

Q

| .^!DS>aTOreness- mstBa^welaimched

I'A P O /By Our. Staff Reporter j,. H

the National AIDS Control Organisation are
their schools. “'I he schools that do not sup-1;
’
t '• 2<2‘•* '1>y
" •/ supporting the initiative.
port the initiative will lose recognition,." he ”
J
DEA 11
helpline
.Earlier, the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, said...
'I
t0 Provide correct information about who inaugurated v the ■. programme,. exex- "
" ’‘The
The Prevention
Prevention of
of Parent
Parent to
to Child
Child TransTran^; 1
•f
T the
the disease
disease was
was launched
launched here
here on Monday \ pressed his concern over the rapid increase ■ mission (PPCT) programme had been start-’ 3
11 t0 ^a^ the World AIDS Day by the Minister/. In the number of HIV/AIDS cases in the • ed
ed in
in the
the VCTCs
VCTCs at
at the
the district
district level.
level.-ilt
ilt 1
d ?• Sta^eJ°^Prirnary ai]d Secondary Educa-, .State. He said India was second to Africa in’ would be extended to 40 taluks shordy. he •)
j lion, B.K. Chandrashekar.
‘ <.lr- ■
' .the incidence of HIV/AIDS* in the world, .said, •i-.■-ri n.-i*. .
./.xi-.m'4
< ..This helpline can be accessed in all dis- ’.The Government, non-governmental orgaDisciplinary action would be taken §
i tncts of the State and is operated from the . msations, and society had to strive together against hospitals and doctors who refused |
1
couJ1Se, 6C and 5,estinS centres ..and campaign against the scourge of AIDS, .to treat AIDS patients, he added. . n.7 •■1.4
; HiSrt8
H)0wcve1r' he left the venue without com- .< Mr. Chandrashekar said the material de-,I
4 nrn 1 hospitals and health centres. The.rpleting his speech. The rest of the speech veloped' for AIDS : awareness - education.?
'I K qM^Ainop8 Or8anised by th?
was read out by R. Ramalinga Reddy, Minis- - would be handed over to the School Curri1
Prevention Society (KSAPS) in . ter for Food and Civil Supplies. • •
culum Review Committee for review and f
I. association with the Directorate of Health- ? Mr. Krishna said that the '‘Bichu Matu" implementation at the school level. Eight *
d and.Family Welfare and the. National Ser- initiative would reach 10 lakh students in • districts in the State had high prevalence of J
t V1‘CThpCSL^SalLhfre‘ i ‘h «n; A A? ’’ theninthua*^ tenth standards. The pro- AIDS and it was a matter of concern that the |f
■j . The Minister also launched Bichu Ma- gramme had been scientifically developed scourge was spreading rapidly. ■ / ’ ; -^i J
! 1 k’ :an A,8)S awareness initiative at the based on the age and mental development * ’ Maria Kalivin, ^Country- Representative, J
d iriJZ't3?-! released the education:, of the child. This year, the programme was UNICEF, said the State had set an example 1
M ,J, iate^,ia!. for Jtwill be.intro- - ,introduced
in ,4,000
government <and
aided ror
for otners
others oy
by launcning
launching these initiatives,
initiatives. if
n •lbe
, initiative
i
“uuuu''l-u 111
*>uuu Buvniuiieui
uju aiaea
' ^t100 S a?d 'vouJd be JaVnched. in 4'034 •' 'The Minister of State for Science and*]
j awareness .among high-school students..,, private schools next year, he said. •**,.. Te^hnoio^/Nafe'es FazZl/the'Drugs^Co!
4 Teachers htive been trained lor the purpose
He urged private schools and school de- troller, Suresh : Mohammed,
------- ----- —, the
the Heal
Health '
ti and it will be first launched in more than . velopmcnt and * monitoring committees Commissioner,
"
Sanaullah, and the KSAPS j
J^OOO schools in die State: The.UNICEF.and ; (SDMCs) to implement the programme in Projector, Vandana Gurnani, were present. )

,

Jg:-f/..,-f ,,

-

J

fe;'?. DEC 2003

<■1

ft

>•.

/'■1

■■u\ - ■/ - A, >

iBK1^

'

v

f'

> - ' v- Mj

f?

e

,W\4Z

Al

Ms.

y-

' 7' A

'

I.............. ... _

e

1

f

| The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, acknowledging the greetings from participants in the rally
3 ’ to create awareness on AIDS in Bangalore on Monday. The Kannada film star Ramesh ’ •
C|. (behind Mr. Krishna) and the former athlete, Ashwin Nachappa (third from right), are seen, i
si
.!'.*■■
I*.*
—Photo:. T.L Prabhakar •
■
■
• '
-J.. ,
r ■
X.
3

?/

e.e-

jFoSk troupes roped'm for AIDS;
IJ^i^/awareness/campaign
awareness campaign
'. j
'

*

&

.

- By Our Staff Reporter
. *

■,

■

■

■

'

' '

mnrl>irtori.
conducted, fnrfor tP>o
the nnvt
next fkma
three

■

c~

•

____ _
s
areas in and _______
around1 Koraman-J

months to give accurate infer- gala was organised by the Direc- 5
mation and to ■ dispel myths toratc of Field Publicity
Atr^c *t._
about AIDS,
the KSAPS -----repre- Government of India, the State';
sentatives said.
•
a
Department
of Women and \
I. z I J fa —_-_i_r'
«•
' A rally to observe World AIDS ' Child
Development, Sumangali
Day was conducted from the Seva Ashram and' voluntary or-«
^.awareness
about
H1V7AIDS Vidhana Soudha co Ambedkar
ganisations of Koramangala. ■ 4
£among the public.
Bhavan in which the Chief Min­
B.B.Jayaramaraj Urs, Dircc-j
7 Starting Monday, these 25 Wl
v.,
^...,M
W
iu,a,
F
aiuupdicu
ister, S.M. Krishna, participated tor, Department of Women and’
’.’groups chosen with the'help of along with students from vari- Child Development flagged off]
£the Song and Drama Division . ous schcclc,
'
schools, l.cJd.
health w.T.J
officials,
the rally. The rally passed
tyvili stage 1,000 folk art pro- ■ and membcrs;of voluntary’ or­ through Rajendranagar, Shas-’^grammes in different places us- ganisations. ’'
trinagar Main Road, Lakshman-'
•-sing the various folk art media p ..
rao Nagar, IPP Hospital, EWS'
j*.such 'as yakshagana, gigi pada, Kauy ’
‘
Quarters, and Sainathanagar?
^street plays, and puppetry.
An AIDS rally to create aware- and culminated at the Kora-V
.j These programmes will be ness about the disease in slum mangala Games.
' "
BANGALORE, DEC. 1. The Karnata*ka
* ka State AIDS Prevention Socie>ty (KSAPS) has identified folk art
'^.groups who will perfonn in vari. <ous parts of die State to create

1

-v

IS

'

"""'■

’

■' .,‘ '■ -r-iry-'V ..

.. -?

- ...?f.

•/'

C-;

o~

e<*■

HB

."X'-'y •.<.;+vh9

...

.e-

j r.

-1^7

j

........................................ ■■■••

.

_

■■■ —Reul T .•.-.rr-j

rtialT toiitfe ‘Woft s?

...—

'

o

”

A T?

■ F!

7

k1=

_____________

..

7/;

f

■B

- ,r . JI

h

. . . .

R

/ ’J
/::

■

'
-■ / • 7'^

So we also counsel family members and friends,” {
J
says GSNP+ president Umcsh Patel, HIV positive ;
for tlie last six years.
j
Set up with a view to help their fellow brethren, <
AHMEDABAD, Dec 1
■ •
Five years ago when Daxa Patel and her husband the organisation holds classes for yoga and positive ji
tested HIV positive, the heavens fell on their family. living, provides counseling and removes miscon- ji
Today their lives have transformed for them and ceptions about the disease by giving the correct in’ . a1
the society’s betterment. They are far above the so­ formation.
cial stigma still associated with HIV/AIDS and PREVENTION IS BETTER: Chandan Pradhan, a/i
they work relentlessly for people afflicted with this commercial sex worker, creates awareness in her it
own way.
problem.
;
“One has to live fearlessly and healthily. Life “Earlier we did not mind people not wearing con-ft
does not come to an end if you are HIV positive and doms. Now we insist the customer wear a condom. J
also it does not mean that you acquire AIDS.” When No matter how much money is given, the customer ■[[
Daxa tells this to another HIV positive person, the is shunned away if he does not abide by what we f
impact is altogether different for the advice comes tell," she says.
.Li
Then there is a person. working
in Surat
’s dia- <jh u ■,
wnu iiao
.«uj suffered.
xutu
----------- o -■ ^jm
from anomer
another peibun
person who
has cuac
already
In Gujarat that has over one lakh HIV positive . mond industry, Ghanshyam Patel. He is the only h 5| persons,'•the strength of people like Daxa is in- HIV positive member iq the family. “I have been!]
creasing with each passing day At Gujarat State counseling people like me but it is difficult to
|l
Network of People Living with HIV positive vince neighbours that the disease should not be f. i,
(GSNP+), there is a small army of 90-odd members seen as a social stigma and that it does not spread t.
•
by social interaction,” he said.
I
counseling other HIV positive patients.
The awareness has been created but the sociRegistered in February this year, the GSNP+ is
the Gujarat chapter of the apex body at the nation­ ety’s approach hasn’t changed totally. As Daxa puts
al level. "Normally we have seen that the family it, “you can make out from the fact that not many ■
members have been easily accepting the member HIV positive people like to come out in the open.”
-'ho is HIV positive. But still there is social stigma.
From Nandini Oza
DH News Service

h is

„7___

__
•X Right OH track-■■ Asex worker looks out of the window of a decorated tram as part of an

---

’AIDS prevention awareness campaign on World AIDS Day in Kolkata on Monday.

“^''~'-'''»fCCArfEERALD

:? ' g

——— ----- - —

•-a”'-."-'-, -a,-’. -

_____

**^21

—

pGaiiesli, Saraswati stotras can prevent AI
-J

I

The conference, under the
aegis of the Unicef Regional Of­
fice south Asia, is bringing for
{ KATHMANDU. Dec 4
the first time leaders from the
[ Reciting Ganesh and Saraswati major religious communities in
stotras can go a long way in com- the region to help combat the
1 bating HIV/AIDS.
killer disease.
r Major Bharat Kesher Simha,
An estimated five milion peo­
j President of the World Hindu ple in south Asia live with
t Federation, told a three-day in- HIV/AIDS with India being in
; ter-faith
consultation
on the forefront of countries threat­
I HIV/AIDS in South Asia that ened by a new wave of the ep< started in Kathmandu today, demic. "Such an extraordinary
j that moral and religious educa- situation demands an extraordi­
| tion was being neglected in nary measure," said Dr Sadig
j schools. This, he said,-was one Rasheed, Unicefs regional direc­
| reason behind the growing inci- tor. The measure took the form
j dence of HIV infections among ,of . Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim,
I young people ui south Asia. . : ?■ ■’‘i
: i

.-S’

From Sudeshna Sarkar
DH News Service

-Assail-!

PHCCAH

ALD

r*'

——r"?-—

[jpe ^3

■
<

I
I

11

**-' — —

CEC 2003
9

1

sn
r

Arya Samaji, Christian and Ba­ Samaj, Mr L Lilabanta Singh, lamabad in January.<
"My HIV positive friends in <_
ha'i community leaders meeting President of Manpur Network of
in Kathmandu as well as reli- Positive People and Dr Usha Goa have a cross tattoed on their ’
gious leaders from Africa to pool Ubale, coordinator of the Unicef hands to remind people after .
in their experiences.
. and Mumbai municipality's their death that they are Chris- •
COMPASSION
THE
KEY: health project for schools in the tians and should be buried and (
not cremated," said Mr Lilabanta
"Compassion for the afflicted is business capital of India.
the key element in all religions," : The conference draws heart Singh, making a passionate ap- j
Dr Rasheed said. "Religious lead- • from the fact that the llthSaarc peal for religion to intervene to y '
t
ers enjoy the respect of the com­ Summit identified HIV/AIDS in­ help the infected.
"I mean their faiths are not remunity and will be listened to tervention as one of the three top
spected even when they are dead,
when they say the sufferers need priority issues.
The declaration made at the . let alone when they are alive. We,
consideration and compassion."
The Indian contingent taking end of the faith leaders’ meeting the people living wth HTV/Aids,
part in the conference includes will be submitted to the Saarc want to see religion transforms
firebrand actvist Swami Ag- Secretarat here to be placed be- public attitudes and policies to
nivesh, who is also President of . fore the heads of the seven states protect the civil liberties of all
the World Council of Arya ■ at the-12th Saarc Summit in Is- people with AIDS." ■ ■

;1

J

h-

I

■I

J

I

I

-n-, December 4,. 2003,
!7*;-,'|< . 1

*..'>•'

--------

• f.W’t’S.r.rr

SCIENCE/ r'
I

therapy

Ils

E3

s

... ,
if ways reported higher prevalence rate eminent realised- this soon and
C of HIV/AIDS were branded as prom- . factored the cost in to the pro­
miscuous states. Today these states grainme.
T stand to gain. It has long been ar- . ' To
Tn begin
Epair with one lakh patients .
5 gued that the sexual behaviour of In- are ,to be provided free drugs. But
in other • how will drugs for just one lakh cover
dians will be no different i"
all the infected in the six states? "Ac­
cessing government health system to
nice should serve as a
avail drugs for HIV is new to the Indi­
an public. We anticipate one lakh ‘
)es ahead with the
people to do so to -start with,” she
phasis has to be laid onL pointed out. "But whoever comes to
'. v
us will be provided drugs.” Having
hl. > 4
d discrimination. Can
said that, it is just making a begin-,- ? •’ Wx’.’/ •
ning and needs some’time to get a’
Snson to do the trick?
handle on the programme. "As we
'.proceed we may not deny treatment
:.U*''jr‘‘’'.’-'d I
?• states and lower reportage was nott for anybody. Nobody will be turned
»
lower prevalence
11 truly a rreflection
r“^ont'r,r’ of Inwpr
nrpvalpnrp away," she clarified. The govern­
■W
ment sees no point in announcing a
H of the disease.
u,
b]
[ To start with, children below 15 megaplan to cover the entire infect>;hv
f years and mothers will be accorded ed population and not be able to de- .
i top priority. Rightly so, as safeguard- liver the goods. Brazil that provides
i. ing the health
l._
-f fixture
f .’.
u
j.._ j..
of
generations
free drugs to every infected ._
individu■- ksi ■
Children below 15 years and women will be accorded top priority.
[J
.........
! is important. At the same time the .al has been......
able
to do so as it started1
Men
will
stand
to
gain
too.
■
;
.
n
--.
.
..
the
programme
just
as
the
disease
government has no intentions of denroeramme iust
». nying drugs for infected men. But the was taking root in the country. That
receiving
free drugs will is the price the country pays for tak- companies on our behalf. We can do tinuity of these trained doctors in the J]
h criterion for
f-------r.
— ing
• a belated
jt ourseives," she retorted. But the respective hospitals.
decision.
' I : be a CD4 count of less than 200.
fact remains that, as the Ranbaxy
Stigma and discrimination •have'*^‘‘
; Though one school of thought “hit Issue of price
Managing Director pointed out, it - been the two evils HIV/AIDS persons
-p early and hit hard," recommends iniThis delay becomes all the more agreed for lower price due.to high suffer from. Does the governments'^
• tinting drug therapy when the CD4
J count is around 500, the Indian gov- glaring as the^country is borne to voiumes assured by the Foundation, have any ace up its sleeve to tackle^,’-,
pharmaceutical
..—i companies manu­
Magnanimity by the Confeder- this plague? This is an aspect that has k
{• ernment feels safe to follow the WHO _i
for thp
the cupppcc
success nf
of thp..
th^?^j
’’guidelines.. Problems with starting facturing generic ARV drugs and ation of Indian Industry to donate to be tackled fr.r
Nearly therapy are an earlier onset of supplying the same to other coun- 150 machines to measure CD4/CD8 programme. "Stigma and discrimi-Sra ■
( drug resistance and side effects. The ■ tries. The paradox effected by Bill, has given a boost to the programme. .. nation were rampant even in the-H
; last mentioned is very important as Clinton’s William J. Clinton Presi- 'These machines will be used solely ’• case of TB. But when treatment be-A^
Foundations to reduce the t0 monhor (jie health status of those came available they disappeared,
•; most of the infected fall under the dential
price
of ARV
atjents receiving
price of
ARV drugs
drugs to
to 38
38 cents
cents per
per p
patients
receiving drugs
drugs and
and not
not for
for Ms.
Ms. Ghosh
Ghosh reasoned
reasoned out.
out. But
But in
in BraBra- PI■
under nourished.
day rfrorn^ the already discounted
scre
purposes.
this ’ the
’ zil where
free treatment
is availably -E
screen
jngening
purposes.
With' With
this the
zil where
free treatment
is available^:';
■” Importance of nutrition
number w,
of niuvuun-u
machines uvunuwiv.
available i<,
in the fo r a.11, stigma and d I scrIm 1 ii a t io n ■ f'J,
<price of 80 cents per day
- •per •person iiuinLZK.1
Under
Um
— nourishment has a telling for supply outside India has been country will shoot up to 175.
Cll has still persist. Stigma in the case of I:,'
175 .Cll
! effect as the effect of the drug and now nullified. I he Indian govern- not sstopped
tOpped with providing these ( HIV/AIDS is often due to its correla^ a
' : in ment is bargaining to get a further machines. While thef pharmaceutical tion with one’s sexual behaviour ana
hence the side effects are greater
■ j to
these people. Better nutrition can by reduction in price for its procure- industrv
industry will....
provide trainine
training
orovide
to ■hence cannot be wished away just Lt
■ itself improve the body s immune ment. But could it have imagined to (prhnirians
technicians and nhvsirians.
physicians, C.1I
CII ■will because drugs are available. Tt^ \
■system and keep the infection from succeed in the absence of Clinton p]
ay the
]e o
•system
would be wise if India takes a lea. ‘
play
the ro
role
off aa* facilitator.
facilitator.
blowing up. Chances of co-infection Foundation not reducing the price to
. .
,
. .
. from Brazil's experience. Brazil soon
J are directly linked to immune status. 38 cents per day? "It is purely a hypo- 1 raining pnysicians
lecuve way to
iv luuj
realised that an effective
comf*'
(Having said so, the present scheme thetical question," she said.
Co-infection with t^L^.
—1.
tuberculosis
bat stigma was to get popular ."t,
------figures
’ J y.
Again would it have gained by be- and hepatitis C being on the rise, who are HIV positive
live to come out in-,
in;. H
]//,
; has not looked at providing nutrition
• open and• serve as ambassaj^
.
>11 4. «
jto those availing Anti Retro Viral. ing one of.the countries to benefit knowledge of different drug re- to the
'! "We are looking at that aspect. But from Clinton Foundation's pro-, gimens and protocols is a must. The dors. For a start Indian government If
? we don’t know how we would be able gramme? “We had started the dis- issue of'co-infection has been fac- is trying to get popular Bollywood |?
u mantle. How effect
_
to provide nutrition under this cussions with our pharmaceutical tored in to the programme and stars to doni that
scheme,” she said matter of factly. companies even before the Clinton hence all combinations will be made ^tjve jt WOuij be remains to be seen. I;
t
But for being successful, nutrition Foundation came into the picture, available. Training of physicians’
r’- a- therefore becomes imperative. More
• R. Prasad
j has to be an integral part of ARV pro- That apart, we don’t want the Foun« 1It
1 ..
. ri r'
if
r
rl
t i m tn
n wo <1a rl
i 1 r»m i o mtn
Ii* gramme.
would be’ wise
if f-Krt
the govdation
to Inhave
dialogue
with mr
our important is the need to ensure con,n ChennaL.Vi

iOi

r-----------------

1:1 5:;

■

....

...

t

.,>■

,.S /i/A

r

J

.

1

r

1

»•

.1

.

.

J_

t~»______ .'I

*1____ _ ____________ ’J"j

dm•—

»'‘ <

h Ii
it

.J’

as -

11 E

q

DnCCAt: I1F.P.ALD

i;N: NG3

■
C?-

;.. 5____

I

]

lErjw©f ;oS 1

.

J
>

Sii

y, December 4, 2003

j

i
t-

j

a
a

Plan to fight .
HIV/AIDS is a positive step in this direction.,.
.HIV
.
in Africa ’i
Now the organisers are also trying to set up units 2 - —

>

■

....

.■An.

nA:A A'. AH

D

J
3
Ux

'■->

15
I
'■!

;o

A orc

I

- -.-C-T

-

i

. — -i-T—7

io-New-TDelhif-

■1

I

■5

r
/s

V
(

15

i

3'fir

fir

J

■'

■ ■' •Ba L

at state and district levels. India has a very strong Nairobi, dec. 3. Seven major in-j
network of local self-government institutions x ternational companies with op-P
and also a large number of women leaders
at^f erations Jn Africa, ©including V
1
grassroots level. Since women are the worst vic- Tata Steel, today said they ,3,
tims of discrimination and apathy these leaders & would expand HIV treatment,
can undertake a door-to-door campaign in the « and prevention programmes in.-,
rural areas and talk to people about the infection.
3 an effort to boost tlie .fight^
tire, disease. . ' ’ .?
i
\
.-■<
yLocal theatres, puppet shows and cultural events u against the
!
■ The companies — AngloA- ’ ;
'
? J can focus on these issues so that the message can
merican,
ChevronTexaco, :,
.’ fl’ • . • 'v© ‘
W reac11 easily to the masses.
S DaimlerChrysler, Eskom, Hei-J
Q. Why did you only visit Karnataka?
A. Karnataka is one of the six states in India that .y’i neken, Lafarge and Tata Steel ’■j
have been classified as having a high-risk gener- ;A — will run the programmes «.
alised HIV epidemic since 2000. If the state con- j] with their own money and ?
funds -from the Geneva-based I
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tu- ’
entire country. The very fact that it is one of the berculosis and Malaria, said the I
Global ‘ Business Coalition1 on
bunus lo sei up uie Legislators’ Forum
in HIV/AIDS in a statement.
HIV/AIDS shows that there is political commit- ■ The’ programmes will help .
”9 mental the highest level. The Chief Minister has i build health care infrastructure f3 also raised the issue during his recent y in Africa, where 30 million of 7
.. Janaspandana (reaching- out to the public) pro- i] the 40 million infected world- i
3 gramme. Training programmes for HIV/AIDS ’j wide
•
live. "We----------came to- Africa
to
for Panchayat representatives have also been;i increase private-sector engageDr Nafis Sadik
launched in the state. There has been expansion fj ment in.
' the
’ j war on HIV/AIDS,, V
R Nafis Sadik is special adviser to in the response to tackle the epidemic at all levels 1 and, this announcement is ex- I
the UN Secretary-General and including doubling of targeted interventions for 3 actly the kind of innovative idea j
I 1 Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Asia.
high-risk groups and an intensive care and sup-, I. we want to promote,’’ said the '
' Dr Sadik, a Pakistani national, is port programme to supplement the HIV preven©, ‘j U.S. Health and Human Servic- t
- involved in a major voluntarily fund- tion activities. Moreover, a pilot project has been ■_ i es Secretary, Tommy Thomp-J-1
k ed programme. She was in India recently to par- launched in Bellary district in north Karnataka i I son, in a statement.
"i.
i ticipate in an international conference •
1 ; "Leveraging the resources of p.
to contain the epidemic by 2007.
■■
' ‘Gender and Violence”. She visited Karnataka as Qj Whatt are the xxx
fe»xxB1.La vx
vuui 1 companies in this way is a great '!
highlights
of your
revie,w tJie
Pro- Karnataka visit, and your recommendations J new opportunity for communi- p
gramme in India. She
to rx
Deccan tt
Herald
ci, spoke x_
. , , regar(jing tjie ongoing projects and pro­ . ties, to. realise the opportunity
,of' the Global 1 Fund,”, said '1
. about her mission.
grammes in the state?
p
x
A- 1 had discussions with the Health Minister .Thompson, who, is leading a US .on a tour of Africa.
, r •bixc^'Pts:
and Project
AIDS ; (delegation
X iujcui Director
xyncuuui of
ui Karnataka
IXcU UclUlKd State
Oldie 'HlUd
AP
1
Q. You visited India last year to review the Prevention Society. I participated
uv,Faicu 1U
ccun 'i
in aa 1U
meeting
HIV/AIDS situation in the country - did you organised by the^CentrTVf Pubhc Pol icy Indian
Institute of Management, Bangalore ’ and i DECCAM HERALD
r notice any change this year?
, A. It is good to see that India has adopted a more Confederation of Indian Industries (southern ’
J< holistic approach towards the HIV/AIDS pro- .Region) on corporate support to contain the epi- !<
I gramme. IThere
here has been a lot of hullabaloo onderiiic. I would recommend strengthening of
> this approach as it has
multi-sectoral
; discarded the condom- r ■1
'jiji ■ r.r
response to the pro­
‘ centric campaign and
.......
grammes by expandJ has put equal empha■ ing the public-private ;
'■ sis on abstinence and
~
partnerships not only j
/• faithfulness. I had a
for awareness genera- /
r meeting with the Health Minister Sushma
tion, but also for providing treatment. Such an ‘1
< Swaraj and she assured me that there has been approach is also needed for setting tip clinical 1
I adequate emphasis on condom use and the fig- laboratories and care shelters for the patients.
?? ures have shown that there has been a considerAn up-to-date database is an absolute necessity |
F able increase in number of condom users over since information holds the key to intervention. I j
• last year. The new approach has, very rightly, think much more pro-active measures are. J
| focused on awareness generation about how required to protect adolescent girls and unborn
1 AIDS is contracted. In fact, last year authorities children from the infection. •
j were busy debating on figures. But this year, they Q. This ’’silent killer” is stalking not only
j have recognised that the infection is there and India, but also neighbours including f
r have moved into action.
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Do you©
I Q. But stories, about stigma and discrimina- think a common campaign can be launchedji
r tion of such patients are still pouring in... as in these countries to combat HIV/AIDS?
Special Envoy what are your suggestions to A. UNAIDS is working on such a programme for'
tackle the menace?
South Asia. The cross-border programme will «
A. The correct information about how the infec- highlight awareness generation, advocacy and i
. tion is contracted can go a long way to solve the special measures for the migrant population. We
problem. The pictures and TV bytes showing the are talking to MTV to chalk out a short duration •
minister or a celebrity hugging infected children programme on the HIV/AIDS issue. Eventually '
are very effective in dispelling fears from the peo- the common project should be fine-tuned and ■
: pie’s minds. There is a need to involve top politi- implemented by respective countries in consulta- *
, cal leadership in the campaign against social iso­ tion with their neighbours.__________________
lation and discrimination of patients and I think
Shrubha Mukherjee
setting up of Parliamentary Forum on

Ik

J

a

............ /

£

rrV-TT—F------- ------ ?------- i------ X J '

' E3

IZ^

| GM launches Gates initiative^

I_________ _■ expertise ' in the field of and is intended to augment the
DH News Service

-•■■-g
AIDS: Ranbaxy 2 J
scores again-J;

HIV/AIDS prevention and added ongoing HIV prevention efforts
$ BANGALORE, Dec 5
that there was a need to scale up of the Karnataka State AIDS
’ ■•<U.^ J:
Karnataka has become the first the intervention to ensure com­ Prevention Society (KSAPS) and L
i .
By Our Special
"
;? state in the country to get Rs 115 plete geographical coverage.
■ its partners. The initiative will ! < '—Ponae::;^ •
fa crore grant from the Bill and
- Union Health Secretary J V R provide grants to three partners-'t
3 Melinda Gates Foundation proj- prasada Rao, who was also pres- the University of Manitoba, the >'> new DELHI, dec.';3? Ranbaxy j
j ect • to stem
spread
of
cten, the cnr
O^ nf
gaid Karnataka was the first Transport Corporation of India U< lias scored a major victory,
HIV/AIDS.
state to launch the initiative un­ (TCI) Foundation and Population < with the World Health-Or-*: t
The state has more than 5 der the foundation.f ganisation deciding to add
Services International. .•
lakh people infected with HIV- an
The disease had shown signs
. These partners will work in* one more of its anti-AlDS
adult prevalence rate of 1.7 per of stabilisation especially in collaboration with KSAPS to pro­ J drugs to the list of medi-v
t cent, which is one of the highest Mumbai and Chennai following vide
HIV prevention
pro- I cines meeting the'intema/7
> in India. A recent study in a high implementation of control meas- grammes to groups at high risk' ? tional body’s standards for;
' prevalence region in the state re- ures through the National AIDS of infection.
-f ? quality,^safety and efficacy..
ported AIDS as the single largest programmes. Anti retro viral ■
They will provide HIV coun- j With this,, six , anti-AIDS .
produced
by Ran- *
; cause of death among 15-49 age drug would be made available at selling and testing, behaviour / drugs
J
’
; group, accounting for upto 17 per government hospitals from April change comm unication, condom ;’ baxy have been included in.
’ •
■ cent of total deaths.
2004. Drug companies have social marketing and improved 1’ I the list.
The latest is the three- ' '■
’
Launching the initiative to- agreed to reduce the cost of the diagnosis and treatment of sexu: •;
' day, Chief Minister S M Krishna drug, he added:
ally transmitted infections cov- drug fixed dose anti-retro- j
underlined the need to create an
Mr Ashok Alexander, Direc- ering 15 districts as well as the viral combination product
■ environment that did not stigma- tor, Avahan, India AIDS initia­ national highways in the next Triviro-LNS, sold in the In-,
dian market as virolan. The -; '•
; tise and marginalise those suf- tive, Bill and Melinda Gates five years. ■ •''
•
•;' product comes in two po-' ;
• ; ■fering from HIV/AIDS.
Foundation, in his presentation
As part of the initiative tencies — 30 and 40 mg.’ It ? !
While thanking the Founda- revealed that the high preva- launched today, the TCI founda- 1
. tion for responding quickly to lence rate of HIV was reported tion will collaborate with the In* ; is a generic drug,;for' the '
first line treatment. Virolan?;.
the request for providing assis­ from 15 districts in the state.
dian Oil Corporation to establish»_______
is one of the three 'generic-.'.?
tance for HIV prevention activi- •
_ o
The new programme
is fund- HIV prevention centres at major ’ products "dlar have'been^
ties in the State, Mr Krishna said : ed Gnder theUates Foundation’s halt points along the national^ recently added by WHO Io
thejstate had adequate technical ' India AIDS initiative, AVAHAN highways.
.
'i| its list of approved anti-.
——— ---- ■ -».t AIDS drugs. Their intro- '.
£ duction is expected to in- •
.^crease the choice. ;of
• anti-AIDS drugs .
M <

t •1

I

T-X

1 - i *

i

. .•

V

V

CT

< <c

1 .s7

3

DECCAN HERALD g K QPC

I Pesficifle aelays sexual niatiirityT
j 'Mi'yomg Kerala males: Study i’

:

*

Science

r d

I
—

THE

<■-

OtC

a-

1

iYoung male children exposed to
dhe pesticide Endosulfan in a '
;
SOSUtBOR 10 IWmffiS
{north Kerala village showed de■
played sexual maturity, accord. NEW uuuiii.
DELHI: ui
In view
of aa
view (Ji
8
ning to a study.
large number of people in the 5
cerebral palsy, epilepsy, mental
!
Endosulfan also appears to
country suffering from Hepati- j
retardation, congenital handi­
• interfere with sex hormone
. . asthma and infertility
—. xx,
tisB, a disease that may lead to ' |
caps,
in;
according
to results
r synthesis,
eS1S’ accor
ding t°
Padre village was due to the
^ver cancer, experts today
i3
■
agLed 1049 use ot endosulfan. There are no asked for universal vaccination ]
/years in a community of
campaign to immunise every
I
. polluting industries in Padre
4 cashew plantations in
J nor­ person to put a check on its
<
and the village had a fairly
’^Kasaragod district, reports
mal health profile before the : - spread.
'1'.
;; UNI. The findings of the study : spraying started. • “Hepatitis-B alone kills as ;
* were published in the DecemResearchers evaluated 117 : many people in a single day as I
■i ber issue of the journal Envi'boys in the village where endo­ ' are killed by HIV/AIDS in a
‘jronmental Health Perspectives, sulfan had been aerially
year in the country Hence,
tja publication of the United
sprayed for more than 20 years
there is an urgent need to vac­
\ States Department of Health"
and 90 comparable boys from a
cinate every person against the f
>and Human Services.
nearby village with no such ex­ disease,” Head of the Depart­
y. The scientific study had
posure history. Therement of Gastroenterology at G ■'
added fresh impetus to the arsearchers conducted physical
B Pant Hospital and President
gument of the local people that
examinations and recorded
of Asian Pacific Association
onslaught of crippling diseases clinical history, sexual maturifor the study of liver Professor i'.’,
A^likejiyer and blood cancer, „. ty rating.
SKSarin

A

S4

4S

'*>

DECCAN HERALD -

t-

e

*

U7

;

-1

1

I

■

-

♦

X.”.—I ■- i 1

r 3——-

--

J 0?

STAVING OFF AN IMPENDING CRISIS

J

3

B
3
fl

a
J

'.<5/

o
'W

a

'V,

’5

3

d

0n
d••

j

■V

_ ; . _ _ 1____ __

>
'A

3

I 05
1
J -5

1
*

'

-

I— _ . . . .1. 2 mV.

• 1-. m

F
I

I

v.C

m z-1 m

T? . . ♦ 1i .nt

HelpUme set'up
for WV-rdated
information

.

..

.

H

j

Ion THE EVE of World AIDS Day, the Union important method of transmission. So break-.«
■d'Government announced that it would ^'tart ing the chain is going to require issues such as ?
j supplying antiretroviral drugs free of cost to visits to sex workers, promiscuity, condom us- ‘b
HIV/AIDS sufferers in the country. For tlie mo- age and men having sex with men being openly ?
ment the treatment will be available only in six discussed and addressed effectively. Similarly, J
States where tire epidemic is most widespread, there are’the problems relating to'injectible 'c
•[ but tire Government says it intends to extend drug use, another major route for HIV trans- .
■i coverage in course of time to the entire coun- mission. These'are sensitive matters; but ta- f
.j try. It is an important step forward, offering boos will have to be broken when necessaiy.
.• hope of a longer and less illness-racked .IJfe for Taking steps to increase condom use or providI those unfortunate enough to become infected ing clean needles to drug users must be not ;■
! with this modern day scourge.’ Without hope viewed as encouraging promiscuity or drug '■
! of treatment, people have little incentive to get use. As Nafis Sadik,’ the U.N. Secretary Gener- j.'
! themselves tested for HIV infection and the al’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia and the
J risk of their passing on this virus (if they are Pacific, remarked recently, India simply has no /
!• infected) is all the greater. But the antiretro- time for hypocrisy if it is to stave off impending 3
viral drugs do not cleanse an infected person . disaster.
"
;
The stigma associated with HIV/AIDS sty- j
: of the virus and therefore are not a cure. These
■ medicines only check the virus’ growth in the mies efforts to fight the epidemic. There is of- ;
body, thereby protecting the immune system, ten the feeling that this disease is the .price ;
I which the virus targets. So, in the absence of a people must pay for sin and, along with that, ;
i cure for HIV or a vaccine protecting people the belief that contracting it is something that
i against infection, antiretroviral treatment is happens
. -rjr- __only to someone else. Such smugness >
not by itself going to stem the AIDS epidemic creates dangerous complacency and under- \
: that is steadily spreading its tentacles in the mines prevention. In addition, fear of discrimi- j'
; country. There are already four million to five nation makes people afraid of finding out
. million HIV infected people in India, which is whether they are infected and discourages j
■ second only to South Africa in this respect. If them from adopting preventive measures or ?
HIV infection-rates are still low in India when seeking help. Nearly three-quarters of those |
. compared with many African countries where living with HIV/AIDS'in India say they have j
. the epidemic is most rife, it would be as well to faced discrimination, most commonly within |
• remember that those nations had similarly low families but also when seeking medical help. £
■ ' The case of two orphaned HIV-infected chil- Y
rates of infection just a decade ago.
Prevention holds, the key to curbing HIV/ dren in Kerala being stopped from attending
$ AIDS. World experience, including the experi- school is not likely to be an isolated instance, j
• mce of developing countries, has shown that . Legislation is required so that those infected {
{-.omprehensive preventive strategies are effec-' with HIVr can approach the courts to prevent J
i
•
’
’’
- ’ - when
"----------ive. Preventioncan
’ only
work
the prin- discrimination and protect their human rights, i
Jcipal means by which the virus spreads are But there must also be a widespread and sus- |Y
. fl blocked. In India, jexual contact is the most tained campaign to stop such discrimination. 1

L

3
3
n

..

■

jt-

1

l-x «

o

.

r-

i

“

Cl

i <r! <1

- --oraAi > ■ r--: r .

* .

-r- z

t

■s.
, By Our Special Correspondent
tK '

) bangalore, DEC. 4. The Population Educa-’
[lion Resource Centre, Bangalore Universi-4
■jty, supported by the United Nations^
.] Population Fund, has set up telephone'!
phelpline service (3212548) exclusively fori
\ HIV/AIDS related information and adoles-’l
cent problems.
i
Information and counselling on sexually •!
h transmitted diseases, reproductive andj
child health, emotional and adjustment-1
problems, or any other help will be offered J
over the helpline. The service is available^
m between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. from Mondays'
P through Friday on all working days of the3

'

i'-A LTC /sUB the nuKHJi.

4

1
ILS

r

.....
H O Faced with a rapidly growingSThe Indian Medical
g(;
W army of HIV/AIDS patients, ^Association will hold a 1
| the Chinese government has P four-day exhibition in •
ft lifted the ban on condom adver- ^connection with World H .
| tisements on state-run tclevi- 3 AIDS Day on December ifi
/

r
tfPAtmPnt
li tjciu i

.rc.
U
>,
i
j

Dy Our Legal Correspondent

gassssss

C

^initial appearance on Chinese Sr hfe for infected, persons, h .
40.year.oid unemployed, HIV positive?,
; ^television screens on Tuesday. OmfecUvity, safe sex, and7 ^; a
h compiaincc] to die Commission^
JThe pioneering 30-second com- PJCV“
L on September 18 that he had been denied?]
*mercial, shown on the National 4k-there wil! be onsite
proper treatment both by government and*
T China Central Television '
:..»h counsetJ10se
. non-govemment hospitals in Delhi. He alsojtl
J«CCTV) network, aims to raise '■ <3 needing 1L c^t 5268901/ Ji aueged tbat sjnce he had been diagnosed with'i
^awareness of HIV/AIDS. It is .
5266441 for de tai s. _ . having stones in his kidneys he had apA,
proached
hospital
abeing screened ahead of world
~1 a government v— for dialysis;,
3HIV/AIDS day which falls on
!
‘
i but was refused. He then underwent dialysis:
^December 1. Condom advertise111Jb 1 L'J U
• at a private hospital here after incurring huge*; expenditure but no surgery was perfonned for’t
^ments have been banned in the
wast in China where the killer'/ o j-\
... '' the removal of the kidney stones. He then gotj
ijdisease is spreading rapidly. g \r U •’’V V '
' himself admitted to another government hos-»
J pital. The Commission pursued the case with|
q die hospitals concerned and requested that;,
^proper Jreaunent be given, to . the patiem.^..^
ICO

feArm/XD
NO'./

I

1 Cause for concern

I

| The UN report on AIDS should make everyone p
sit up and think, ' ' ' ■ ’

In

<

j

Jll

114^

IXJMMVja

~

f

' the HINDU;; r > > V C

Aids Day goof-up ;|
Children participating in a march faint due Vf
to official apathy
I- • f; |

’TT'Qhe latest report brought out by the Joint United Na- 0 1
uring the observation of the World Aids Day in Gul$
| lions Programme on HIV-AIDS (UNAIDS) and the
I World Health Organisation (WHO) has worrying news
9 ybarga on Monday, the district administration organ-| •
|-^Uie world is losing the war against AIDS. According to the
J L/ ised a procession of thousands of children to the dis-.
1 report' the global epidemic is showing no signs of abating, d
generai hospital, where an Aids Awareness Day func-V
func-t
I
gFive
tion was SC
scheduled
held. ^u..
But the —
^ildren^and
teachqrsj
KFive million people become
oecome infected
nuecteu with
wiui HIV
m v worldwide~ and l:j i-tlon
neauieu to
iu be
uc nciu.
----- —------. j
ptthree million died of the disease this year alone — the high- d
not told
t0^ w
here cA<iCu.y
exactly to go m.ucr
after they -reached
a *promi-|
were noi
wheie
----------?
gest ever. About 40 million people worldwide are living with •; hient
i
..................
-- —
circle in the
town. -u.
The children, who had ^thored
gathered ford
for, ■
HHiuo, 2.5 mmxoix
~ rof 15. . ^the march at.7.30 am, got tired of waiting at the circle. They g
?4AIDS;
million ux
of them are------------------children below the age
$The situation in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 70 H |-ihad not been fed. Around 10 am some sat down. Some
j^per cent of the world’s AIDS cases, is alarming. AIDS is the p ,4The health department officials, who were to guide the chU-^
’?first cause of death in Africa. But the rest of the world, where g l’dren to the district hospital, did not turn up. An information^
Sit is the fourth cause of death, cannot sit back as the situation b
:.department official, who came to know of a rasta roko by J
^worldwide is no less worrying. Young men still bear the u ( teachers and children, turned up and asked the children og
Sbrunt of AIDS. But 33 per cent of those infected at the end of
I:disperse. The function at the district general hospital xvas a
Sthe 2002 were women. The report warns of a new wave of
j’gcaceless function, without children. The food prepared torn
^HIV epidemic threatening India, China, Indonesia, Russia ; !’Jbe cbddren went waste. It was disgraceful to see the organt--and
V-and Eastern Europe.
Europe. In
In India
India’’s case,
case, while the nationwide «, ‘idsers desperately going to schools near the district hospital to J
------- ------„anAnUcichninwnnpnRrcent.
'
$
^prevalence of,-x,.the disease
among
adults is below one per cent, J’ Vet children at the last minute.
3
There is more to the ritual than just the failure of the »|
• the figure is above this in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Mahakhealth department officials to guide the children to the right • i
'•rashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Its prevalence among pregnant <
J?women in these states is over one per cent.
jt ''■■destination and provide them with breakfast. Making chil-j:
scorching
sun is an inhuman thing. Particuf
?■
Describing the AIDS epidemic as a weapon of mass de- | i’jdren march -in
-----------o------.
■■•struction, UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan has pointed out ;f [;larly Guibarga, where it gets pretty hot early even during .
’’■that the world is not winning the war against AIDS because J hwinter. The practice of inarching children in hot sun on days
.‘leaders are not engaged enough in the effort to tackle' the £ Hof nationai importance and other days is a colonial one. j
^’problem. The report points out that Uttar Pradesh and other J Sphere are reports that the education department has issued a
'r’North Indian states do not have adequate information about
’/circular against making children stand or march in hot sun j
ithe
Athe prevalence of the disease. When the government lacks ac- ,!,1 during occasions like VIP visits but the practice continues.
’curate figures on the spread of the disease, what planning j'‘ ;;nesides the health department officials, the entire Guibarga >
- - it?• ~
rdistrict administration
iniministranon will
win have
Have to
tu take
xcuxc the
uxv blame for the
- ----lean it do to fight
. f:•j
.
urno FlaocroH nfT pt thp.
’s ***
march
atA the de^t„y /
i!
Any effort to fight AIDS must first tackle the immense ig- ;, 1 ciclent
3.S pthq- children*«-/
kz»—was
--—
^commissioner’s office
and
several
in­ "#•
_ ___
I -- ' departments
' I
thorance about the disease. In India few are aware that unsafe
World Aids.,.Pay.
tsex and use of infected needles are the main reasons for the
Jyolvet
volved in the observance
------ —of —
• - Apparently,
‘spread of the disease in this country: AIDS is often dealt with , Ijhe're1 was no co-ordination between them and an impressive * ,
$
rjis a moral issue. Consequently, few are willing to admit that * anarch
h----- 1 was marred by what happened to the children,
r. . • --n «i, - ft r. v
- r, . ,
------------Jihey are suffering from it and end up infecting more people
Owith the virus. It is time India woke up to the fact that sex..THE HiNPlF
fivorkers and intravenous drug users are not the only ones.
Vulnerable to AipSJUs.spreading among, people hkeu^^J

c.

c
£.

c

A

A

*

c
>
W

*»
'

U9

C

I

c

t.
—

r ■;

............ , .

.

-......
•'JtS* T T.%VX.'

PECCAN^^IIEKALD

I

7

■»r? ?...

•- R

3

rK~ f

$

W

'.•iiar.srwxvj^zra.u*^?y^rt^.tr/K*wiMM«5Brasi

ARTICULATIONS |

.1 ____

^Reza, an internationally-famed photographer known
for his searing images of children affected by
scourges like war and AIDS, is now concentrating
on rebuilding the lives of Afghanistan’s unfortunate
children, says UTPAL BORPUJARI

I.....

c

I

X'7 ' '
; <4

.2

47 4-74tfe.£<,

■

.■4 ■/"7

parents in the tribal clashes in Rwanda
and Burundi around 1996. "We gave all the
children particular numbers, fed the
information in computers and displayed
the photographs in refugee camps. And
within four months, 3,500 of these chil­
dren were re-united with their parents or
relatives," says Reza, whose portraits of
■ AIDS orphans in Africa have also earned
worldwide recognition.
He was appointed a consultant to the
United Nations humanitarian pro­
gramme in Afghanistan in 1989. In the
year he debuted his personal photograph­
ic work on the plight of the world’s chil­
dren, which was the starting point of his
involvement with UNICEF.
He is now concentrating on rebuilding

'<

Reza the master photographer (left)
and some of his pictures (right)

J-

./■4£;;7 7v;'.;'

US.

■-V44 4-

1|;74

..

§

--...nr,

; *7^

fe )
. . W5r
X
S5

IXTEEN-year-old Reza, in pre-

Revolution
Iran,.........
was enamoured of
> ...........
.......

photography and journalism. One
day he clicked pictures of policemen
extorting money from petty shopkeepers
in a local fish market in his hometown
.'i Tehran and published them in his selfdesigned, small-time newspaper. Two days
’V later, he was summoned to the police sta■j' lion. He thought he would be rewarded for
exposing corruption. He was arrested by
' V the secret police and beaten up severely.
Reza had realsied the power of information. Today he is an internationallyfamed photographer known for his sear♦ ing images of children affected by
< scourges like war and AIDS the world
•xJ* over, more particularly Africa. Iranian■i born Reza is based in Paris, where he
H chose to go on self exile after being
3 hounded by the authorities for exposing
massacre of Kurds by the post-revolutionary Iran’s new regime.
Having worked for prestigious publications like Time, Life, Newsweek and
that today
• Geographic, Reza says
. .......
- tv’■< rNational
^5
lie :is________
more interested in the ‘why’ behind
q

LlL/llO

111\ v

1 11 * 1C (

Lniv,

L , 0 '• O

Cl J J Vi

....

■

a conflict rather than the ‘what’, which
governs a news report's philosophy.
During my journalistic career, I got the
opportunity to work on many stories in
hotspots around the world. But since 1990
when I started working with National
Geographic. I could focus much more on
stories, doing research and going to places
like
Middle-East,
Lebanon,
the
Philippines, Afghanistan and China on
difficult missions. As I worked, 1 became
more aware of the religious issues. When
everybody is looking for the same God,
why are there so many religious conflicts
in the world? That induced me to take up
the story on Mecca titled 'Secrets
Unveiled’. I wanted to give a totally differ­
ent picture to Islam and to show people,
including Muslims, that this is a religion
which actually preaches peace and broth­
erhood," says Reza.
Reza’s most-satisfying work, till now,
admittedly has been his project with
UNICEF and International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC), tinder which he
photographed over 25,000 children who
had got orphaned or separated from their

s

ti
■

£
IB

13
the lives of Afghanistan's unfortunate.!
unfortunate.. 1
children, ravaged by years of war and fun- 'J |
nlicf vuln
Aim .• whirhr?
damentalist
rule fhrnimh
through Aina
whichuf
tnirrnr’’ -- nn
’n wnirn.H,
means ‘’mirror
an NGO tnt-niK
through
whichrj
he is trying to give a new meaning to the 4
homeless young citizens of the mountain-4
ous country by giving them education and j
imparting them the knowledge for earn-jl
ing a livelihood. The NGO is also involved Xi
in training local journalists and help local«1
writers, poets and intellectuals find a plat-f
form to express their feelings.
p.
"Aina is a mission to help the war-rav-la
aged people. While we are helping in’,i
training Afghan journalists in new tech-j'
nologies like use of computers and learn-;;
ing English, we are also helping the near-j,
ly 40,000 street children in Kabul to earn a' ’
respectable livelihood by selling newspapers and magazines instead of begging
and picking garbage. We are also coordi- 4
nating with an NGO specialising in edu- -i
cation to give these children education," ft
says Reza, who was in India recently to 4
promote his films on Mecca andkAfghanistan in the highly-acclaimed^
National Geographic series "Secretsj
Unveiled".
fl
Aina is also helping local film-makers;^
produce and direct films, including small^
films on various public-interest issues V
like education and health which are being?!
shown in remote places of the country^
which have fallen behind the times thanks^
to decades of war from the Russian piva-Sj
sion to the Taliban rule. Aina-backedp
Afghan Media and Culture Centre inf
Kabul is a platform where journalists and j
artists meet, train and work together.
’1
The photographer, whose work has fi
adorned such prestigious publications^
like the Stern, The Observer. Thea
Independent, El Pais, New York Timesfl
Magazine and Newsweek, is also passion-g
ate about the land-mine issue.- “I aniS
among those who are trying all countries.3
including the United States, to sign Iheg
treaty banning use of land-mines," saysS
Reza, a winner of awards like the World3
Press Photo Prize, the Hope Prize from?
Corbis for his work on the Portraits of the#
lost children in Rwanda and other hon-g
ours for his pictures on Afghanistan.
§
Reza's recent visit to India was his sec-3
ond visit to the country. "1 had come here 3
first to cover the Non-Aligned Summit in f
1984, when I photographed Indira Gandhi a
just a few months before she was killed. I
India is such a big ocean for me, and I am *
very interested in doing some project here 5
as I feel very close to the people and cul- j
ture in India." For the man who has been j
arrested, beaten up and jailed more thani
once for his stories and photographs, 1
there surely is still a long way to go.
, I

■

I
!

i!

*
’O'-'-'

t

I"
J 3d

I
-XX^

■ZUk

■■

61' Saturday:De^to 6^2003
■ K. Sunil Prn>-<

■

Foundation opens Gates
I for funds to Karnataka'.. tea
' Times News Network '
Karnataka has been chosen for the funds
Bangalore: Karnataka has become the first due to the serious nature of the epidemic
beneficiary of the Bill and Melinda Gates an^
°f funds for such programmes.
Foundation's $200 million HIV/AIDS preThe $25 million grant will be channelised
vention package for India.: ■ : •. ■
. . : through three partners — the University of
Under its India initiative ’Avahan,’ the. Manitoba, Transport Corporation of India
foundation will provide $25 million (Rs 115 and Population Services International,
crore) to the state over five years to scale up. These three partners will, along with
”’ -prevention
' — pro­
KSAPS, initiate counselling, be­
the TT
HIV
haviour change communica­
gramme.
tion, condom marketing in 15
BMGF's project in Karnataka
districts and on highways.
was launched by chief minister
Union health secretary J.V.R.
S.M. Krishna at Vidhana SoudRao hoped xxcxx
Karnataka,
■Aid
lUciy. ’jkiioillia,
.
— xPrasada
luoctuu i\av
uaiui\U|
ha Uli
on 1'1,
Friday.
Krishna, aiou
also i——
chairman of the Karnataka State Aids Pre- ' which has 1.7 percent HIV incidence among
vention Society (KSAPS), promised total general population, will, like Maharashtra,
commitment to the programme. "We are '. Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, be able to
, painfully.aware that HIV is a major problem . stabilise spread of the disease. “Two tp
in the state. Karnataka is far ahead of other '' three years of effort will be able to achieve
I 'states in many respects, but being ahead it.”.
••
> •
•
I with respect to HIV/AIDS pains us."
’ ■
The Centre’s free anti-retro viral treatj
HIV/AIDS goes beyond the realm of pub- '‘ment for 1 lakh HIV positive persons in the Chief minister S.M. Krishna greets director of Bill and Melinda Gates Founda^»
i . lie health and has developmental impnea- country will begin in ApriL2004 and Indian tion’s India initiative (‘Avahan’), Ashok Alexander, at the launch of the Karj
| tions, he stressed.
. pharma companies have agreed to provide nataka HIV/AIDS prevention programme in Bangalore on Friday. Infosys
j! i
BMGF director Ashok Alexander
------- au said
LLL U£d the
diddrugs
VCi y AWW
at abUol,
veryA AC
low
dUVACLA.
cost, he
.. added.
r Foundation
uui luauui I o’sxJuuiia
Sudhainui
Murty,
ty, aa i iiciiiuui
memberuiof then»anai
Avahani mwqi
board,
vj, looks vi
on.i. . ..
il**

HIV/AIDS

to

PROJECT

la

| Bagalkot folk artistes set mood for AIDS talk'!
ByByJohnson
’ ;
JohnsonT.A.
T.A.'
Times News Network

aspects
ctopcuio
IHY/niUU,
LUUmood
111UUU
aspectsofU1
ofHIV/AIDS,
HIV/AIDS,the
the
mood , UU Monv
Manvvillotfnc
villntfpQom
arp
IVidliy Vllidgtb dre .
in the goodly crowd shifts, from
telling
members
of Indiaembarrassed
to
curious.
] Bagalkot: The sun has set over
HIV/AIDS
I the water that has submerged ■ Questions about
, forward. By Canada Collaborative Prosafe sex are put
much of the land around the and
tuc enu
uic wcuiug,
vil­ ject that they SllOllId have
end ui
of the
evening, me
the vfltiny Kankanwadi village in the
has had a rare discussion
Jamkhandi taluk of Bagalkot lage
on a disease they have seen come to them earlier.
j district.
claiming lives around them.
Then, many lives could
• At around 7 pm, as people
Almost every evening, at vil­
trudge home from the sugar­ lages all over Bagalkot district have been saved”
cane fields, an evening of folk in north Karnataka, barefoot
1 music gets under way at the vil- folk performers who have ral­ come earlier — that many lives
- lage
laee temple
temnle vard.
sone lied under the tutelage of the In- could have been saved,” say loyard. The first song
that fills the air is on the urgent dia-Canada Collaborative HIV/- cal field workers like 52-ycar-old
need for condom use by all cou- AIDS Project (ICHAP), sing Kasturi Bai, who travels from
pies, to prevent HIV/AIDS.
about the need to fight the village to village educating
Ij;’ When the song ends, Rajesh- HIV/AIDS epidemic.
women on HIV/AIDS.
wari, a 21-year-old local
ICHAP has chosen Bagtllkot
As per the 2002 state sentinel
HIV/AIDS educator, steps up to to create a replicable HIV/AIDS surveillance, 2.8 per cent of all
the microphone. She talks about project due to its reputation as pregnant women in the district
.. HIV/AIDS ' are testing HIV-positive at ante* safe sex practices — avoiding one of the six high
u multiple partners, fidelity and prevalence districts in Karnata- natal care clinics against a state
.j condom use.
ka. AIDS has, incidentally, been.. average of 1.62 percent.
j ' At the district
’s Jamkhandi
At first there is silent won­ reported as the leading cause'
district's
Jan
17 per
derment that the message is for death — nearly
r
. cent,
. , and Mudhol taluks. HIV/AIDS
on nrruin
group in
in ♦kinrlicthe dis-'' nnuncnllina
counselling onrl
and fncf-intT
testing nnnfrnc
centres
coming from a woman - such a in the 15-49 age
one too. But as the trict, by a recent ICHAP study. — Karnataka's first taluk-level
“At almost every village, peo-. VCTCs — nearly 50 per cent of
evening wears on and the folk
musicians sing about various pie are telling us we should have people are testing HIV-positive.
1I
i

? _ __________

Traditional practices such as tions in India are urban-bas^ -B
the Devadasi system and recent and address the needs of high-in
developments like the construe- risk populations such as sex a
-g
tion of the Almatti dam have workers, truckers and
contributed significantly to the grants. With the penetration ur «
epidemic in the area, say ex- the epidemic into rural areas; H
projects like th is are critic?® ’• |
perts.
Submergence of agricultural says Dr James Blanchard, the:»
land due to the dam has spurred resident Canadian coordinator H
|
migration. Cash compensations for ICHAP.
The results from the first yea.
have triggered an increase in al­
cohol consumption and seeking of a five-year project has been u
encouraging so far, according.4'’ 0
of paid sex.
“Evidence of the almost sud­ ICHAP officials. Within a h».
den affluence in the area is the months of the introduction of K
appearance of wine stores at three VCTCs in the district,^e |
every corner. More people are number of people going to tb»J K
visiting sex workers and extra­ has doubled.
marital affairs are on the rise," , In many places, the campaign
says local social worker Ganesh has even seen temple priC* “
Muthapgol, who supervises a throwing open their courtyards I
community AIDS project in to discuss the sensitive subject, t
For folk performers, the pr<£ t I
Mudhol taluk.
Through
the
Bagalkot has provided the chance to re- «,
Demonstration Project, ICHAP • vive their,dying art.
rvinp tn
is ttrying
to (TPHtP
create fin
an innnvntlVP
innovative ------------------ - -----------------■* " I
(This story has been published urroei
model for rural HIV/AIDS prevention and care programmes. ; . the KSAPS-ICHAP press fellowship ' ||
forHIV/AIDS) ’ ‘
“Most HIV/AIDS ir.tcrvor.
interven-

A

131
C-

0-

cs0‘

t’"
I

'WO.

-

3

Drug price control:
no relief for poor

■3

>.5
£

isfy the health care needs of
The number of drugs
the majority of the population;
under price control has
they should be available at all.
come down drastically
times in ’adequate amounts I
‘ over the years, seriously « and, in appropriate dosage i
affecting public health . forms, with assured quality y
and reliable information, and ?
at a cost that the community 2
and individual can afford.
3
This concept of Essential
u Tn the last few months the
h I media has been so much Drugs of WHO is extremely rel- d
3 JLseized with the issue of sub- evant in the Indian context, u
J standard and "spurious medi- where millions of people with- $
(j cines", including the sensation-' in this country are the below ft
j al news about death penalty for poverty. ’line and’ many more p
*• spurious medicine manufac- around it. Medical care has ••
turers that’major issues con- emerged as the second-com-j
'j cerning medicines - seem to monest cause of rural indebt-;!
:l have been totally sidelined. In edness. And also it is estimated
fact the issue of medicine pric- that major part of the family's
'J ing is much more scandalous ' expenses
and diagnostics goesontodrugs
non-essential
or|l
•J and invites equal or even much
H greater attention.
' hazardous medicines. This is'J
■j
Medicine pricing and its estimated from 60% (the most |
o policies have only at times at- conservative) to over 90%. Giv- |
tracted global media attention.' en these situations it becomes 4
The best known...
example is extremely important that the ;
that, when an Indian drug com-1 government implement the Es- r‘
f;. pany, Cipla brought down the ’ sential Drug Policy on the
*-t prices of the much needed guidelines of WHO. The pric- j/
•j medicines for A1DS/HIV. The ing of drugs should not be left ,
>-J price came down from $1000 to market forces.
/ per person per year to just $ 350 Half-hearted gesture
"j per person per year. Even at
Let us look at the DPCO of ;?
-i these prices it has been guessed
that Cipla would have made a 1995, in which the Government j
profit of 200 %. This act by an of India came out with a list of -i
i. Indian drug company exploded drugs for price control in re- j
> the global myth (often perpetu-. sponse to the various emerging 1
.ated by giant multinationals public health problems. Unfor-1’
'•j drug companies, most of them tunately the DPCO does not s
j, ' being American and Europe- dwell on these major health issues, but
j<, based)
uuseu; umi
uui on the
mu other
vuivx hand
mmu the
mu A
that guuu
good anu
and quam;
quality sues,
r medicines cannot be manufac- list includes drugs that are usehured.a^,low,prices..The need -'.'- less and even some hazardous p
‘,'kforthese medicines is immense ones. For example the DPCO I;
.J and urgent as in Sub-Saharan does not mention any price reg- L
I Africa ■■ where The disease is ulation drugs for iron deficien- \
■ £ rampiKlt.- • - - ‘ -------- ------- cy anaemia, HIV/AIDS, filaria- \
Though India has con- sis, coronary artery disease, i’
pftributed its might to the global rheumatic valve heart disease. * .
-'•'•challenges of medicine pric- It also does not mention price 'j
$ing, back at home in India the regulation for oral rehydration
p picture is not one of content- salts, cancer drugs and many K,
• ijment especially for the com- vaccines (for rabies etc). It also »
i mon man and the poor. Because looks half-heartedly at TB by “ '
( ‘with decreasing government including just one drug (which 1,
Dspending
f u spend ing on health, increasing is Rifampicin)!
,of drug prices,
The list on the other hand J
zJ ’’ deregulation .of
i;the private, expenditure on contains many drugs which ,
Hthe
hpalth has increased tremen- are totally unessential like Vit- /1
;■ ’‘health
amin E, Vitamin B2, Naproxen T
; dously.. (an outdated pain killer) and 4 .
Foothold of equity .
Sulphadimidine'(an outdated1’,
The National Pharmaceuti­ anti-infective) so on so forth as j
o ______
_ , (NPPA) the list is quite exhaustive. To '■
_____
cal
Pricing
Authority
pTset-upJnXgg? q^as established t add to the misery the list in- ft
' by Gatermncni;'of’ India to eludes ••even’ few- di:ugs_Jjlq. <
fi monitor the compliance of the Analgin (a pain killer) that are
'i DPCO (Drug Price Control Or- even hazardous.
(
der). It is observed that . Successive DPCOs from 1979 4
, through these bodies in gener- onwards have only reduced the J
1 al the number of drugs under number of drugs under price
i price control over the years has restriction. During 1987 the (
number of price controlled j
■} come down drastically.
)
The concept of Essential drugs were 142 and was re-fl
i Drugs was realised by the duced to 76 in 1995 and in 2003 it !
World Health Organisation is expected to slump to a mere 1
. during the year 1977 and was couple of dozens, the reason ■
strongly based on the foothold being that there is immense4
of equity which is central to pressure from drug manufac-.'i
\ public health and ensures that hirers. These companies have a t
■ the people who need the drugs good excuse, as the Governthe most are not denied access ment of India has to change it& I
' < to them. This concept has been patent laws by 2005. And th^5
widely applied and many devel- multinational drug companies^
u oping countries have drawn up are after the government to«
j their Essential Drugs lists. Es- change its Patent Act, so
■ < sential Drugs are those that sat- they can make more profits.

rt By Gopal Dabade_______ _

;A

i
'>

’.3

-1

'J

I

’

4

<

3 ■:5

I

« XSV

b

3H-

‘KT. A I-

— t.

PLCCAK herald
7 i

DEC 21)03

131

o

c

o

c

.□

o

' o

Ci^.

•

-*

-

-

■

~

..

■.

.

-.

. •>,

..

„.____ ..

.

.

stiMciSm^'oi AIDS Wtim alter death’ stirs Churcfe
\u-From R Gopakumar ' - '
'! deserves a decent burial. I am told the spokesman said. When contacted, the . ' few instances had been reported in y beside the' place where the.jbody#was
: ■ nH Now'? Sarvico 1 •
. - .A- priest could do very little but to abide by Kerala AIDSControl Society clarified
recent times." he said.
’
/'controversially buried?'This was inje-r.
—--------------------------- —------ — ■ the majority decision of the parish com‘u
"‘ Jdead
~'-A bodies
,i-- of
-f .AIDS
•rr'1' .--r.-.-a
that
infected
PASTORAL LETTER: According to Fr - ’preted-asineantformoresuchpeoit—
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. Dec 8
mittee,"
Fr
Paul
Thelekat,
people did not spread infection.
Thelekat. the incident has now promptThe youth who died was a truck
The social stigma attached to AIDS .. spokesperson for the Syro-Malabar
"When it was first reported in the ed the Church to lay down the proce- .driver and his wife had died of AIDS
victims during their tortuous and un- •' church, told Deccan Herald.
country, the bodies were required to be - dures to be followed in dealing with ’’ two
" years ago. He was taken care
certain span of life continues to haunt ■ However, as it transpires, the in- wrapped in polythene bags and such cases after collecting the relevant
his last stages at the Divine RetTTil
, at least some of them even after death pident had little to do with sin and more ..bleaching powder applied on them.
information.
- ■<:
.umumun.
’ Centre at Angamaly.
• ;
as a recent instance in Kerala reveals. . /.with scientific reasoning. The question
However, now we need to take only
v Vithayathil
_
lc ua
ac nwouac
m the
me oi
"Cardinal Varkey
(head
As is i.the
case
elsewhere in
State,
The incident happened on December r ’that troubled the parish committee was
-------- ' will issue a pastoral
U ucuig
emdk^ and(
those precautions which we adopt for ' of the church)
his family
is uouauiavu
being ostracised
of the Syro^l,
dead body
an AIDS victim ' other dead bodies... like not touching letter -in •>tthis
, the'Elavoor parish
:.: Will
-----the---------------of------------------’ regard> to
• the
•• over 300
--- ■'■ two children
- -who are also HIV positive
.ilabar Church at Angamaly in Er- •; spread the infection and if so, for how ■ the fluids which emanate from them.”
:--------------------are now being taken looked afterjby a
parishes coming
under the Ernakulamnakulam,district when one ofr •’its
* young . ’long? •
said Mr Joe Joseph, project officer in
Angamaly diocese next month,’ he said.
close relative in a different cornMRtf
members'who. died of AIDS was not ? “There is confusion on this aspect esthe society.
The incident was brought to the notice ■theState..
• ■■■. ■ ■
only denied a formal burial with church- pecially in the villages because when
He recalled that during the initial
of the cardinal after certain parish
' Fr Thalekat pointed out'that the
rites but his body was even buried in a •. the victim is alive he is seen by the so- years there were a few instances of members wrote to him asking ’.him
.1... - Church had several' organisations.
separate section outside the cemetery ' • ciety as a live wire. There is no clarity of similar discrimination against bodies ’ whether AIDS patients are" considered which took care of the terminally ilA
: if “itv
It was a needless action as an AIDS ■ procedure on how to handle the body of which were to be buried. "These were dinners. Sources said that there were •' eluding AIDS patients and there was'no
■ victim is not considered a sinner and • a persoi) who died of AIDS," the later taken up by the NGOs. But very even two other new graves dug out '' - discrimination against the latter.
J “

Jffi

>

y-<

1 _i-, *

.......................................................................................................................'.................................................................... —

’

H.

I State, among.highest j
■;S
-.carriers'
I

e

■} T T"arnataka is one among six states with a high prevalence of 1
< P/^ HIV positive cases in the country. The estimated number B
z
1 2003' has highlighted an al^rm'-1L Juof HIV infections was 3.77 lakh in 2002.' Parliament was |
| ing trend of increasing spread of
i told today. The other states on the high list are: Andhra Pradesh
] HIV/AIDS among young people.
; (9-86 lakh). Maharashtra (6.85 lakh), Tanjil Nadu (5.03 lakh), Ma/ particularly young girls. Mr Raja
) nipur and Nagaland. ':
■f told the house in another written
? Minister of■ State for'Health A Raja told Mr K B Krishna- ..
4 reply.
pnurthy (Cong) that the HIV sentinel surveillance data collected.;
]
He. however, denied that the
,in 2002, showed the prevalence rate among pregnant women in j
Indian data was in line with the
'Karnataka attending anti-natal clinic at 1.75 per cent. The esti- <'
“ global trends As per the reports
hnated number of pregnant women infected with HIV in the state a
received from States on reported
^3S21'000- , |X_
| 1.1 HUI........ ......... 1111 11 "
j-'
AIDS cases in the country the
AIDS/HIV: The recent^ report by 4 female count was 26.3 per cent of
the United nations Population total reported AIDS cases till Oc­
'^ C-A A tlimA
Fund (UNFPA) entitled The tober 2003. The age distribution
State of the World Population of these cases is 5.5 per- cent
J ■■

S9

'•

\ •.*• • -* — •• *-

«4 ~

e

»

J*.

j?n-

among 1-14 years age group and \ from Aprir^m^OoT^rTTo^
46.1 per cent among 15-2 years ernment hospitals of si:: high
age group, the Minister said.
prevalence states, namely,
In order to prevent and Andhra Pradesh. Karnataka,
control the spread of HIV/AIDS- Maharshtra, Manipur. Nagaland
in India a comprehensive Na­ and ' Karnataka in a ‘ phased
tional Aids Control Programme manner.
‘
is currently under implemen- •
Deliberations are underway
tation throughout the country as with Pharmaceutical Industry
a centrally sponsored scheme, producing anti-retroviral' drugs
the house was informed. ..
. to evolve
’ modalities for
• reducing | At
The government had pro- the
i
prices of anti-retroviral n
posed to provide treatment of
eldrugs
----for
treatment of
igible HIV positive children. HIV/AIDS patients. Mr Raja told
<*'.
below 15 years of age with effect ... the House.

mccaj.: nr;RALD

i

1
J

e-

£9

e
c.

L

e

e
eeet

cc

e *
c

c
c- *

^_.l

.......

J
J

.

. —

■

j
I

T was "lying in the cans for
three years. Now it has been

'£ 1 •

B*ven ncw lcasc

....

i w>

’ *0 re’

J • ■4 cover production costs. Also
| Ld to infuse a sense of belongBut what about songs and stars? Mausam we hope to put the prob$ing, care and hope among the HIV on a pedestal, making value or
moral judgement? Who’are we to "The idea is to spread Aids aware­ lem in a different perspective and |
J afflicted.
| The first foray into film-making look at them (Aids afflicted) with ness and message through fun, joy help' audiences understand the |
We have used the film
|by ActionAid, Ek Alag Mausam any disdain? It could happen to and tears as in a regular formula issue better.
to reach out to not only
|dwells on taboo subject — Aids. you or me,” points out Almedia fare. They have been judiciously medium
I Produced at a cost of Rs 50 lakh, justifying the lopping the film has . and consciously incorporated to HIV +ves out there who are feeling
draw the common viewer apart isolated, but also a large cross sec­
I the 140-mmute running time film, seen.
“It is not. a hatke story but is from the discerning audience,” he tion of people,” he observes.
I directed by noted film-maker K P
And target audience is your
|Sasi, with screenplay and dia- still a very different story span­ says, adding, after all, the 21st cen- average
Hindi film-goer — yuppie
^logues by Mahesh Dattani, stars ning a wide spectrum of human tury scourge affects all. Also, we college going
teen crowd (most vul­
] well-known faces — Anupam emotions. We have not got into cin­ are coming of an age where good nerable section
of our society
cinema
is
being
watched
by
audiema
in
a
mindless
sort
of
way.
It
jKlier, Nandita Das, Rajat Kapur,
today),
professionals
and
J Renuka Sahane: It also
urban populace besides those
| boasts of six songs.
willing to contribute their
| ActionAid and. films?
mite to society and social
'4 "Yeah! sure”, says ActionAid
causes.
ij India
Society
• Chief
But does not fund-raising
Executive and Director
model reiterate tire impresI (Fund Raising) Jeroninio fr”
r.,, sion for NGOs that such
I (Jerry) Almeida in an infer- | .
social issues are a front to
k mal tete-a-tete with Deccan j
1 solicit funds? Conceding
(Herald.. “What’s wrong? <
! NGOs have lost out on crediEven God is peddled isn’t
bility and empathy on this
He,” he retorts in playful ,
I score, he says, “We must salbanter on ActionAid’s first k
! vagc our respect and credibildefinitive tilt at tinseldom.
j ity. This is a maiden attempt
Even as you frown Aids
1 at that, besides Kami Mitr.
• and commerce, he says,
“Presently we are target­
“Ofcourse. Why not recover
ing metros with 35 to 40 prints
money we invested (music
then mini-metros moving on
7................
rights' have brought in the
From left: Nandita Das, Rajat Kapur and Renuka Shahane
to smaller towns. Thereafter
production moolah), and also___
TV channels. The film is slat­
get our message across. We
release this week.”
have basically adopted fund rais­ carries message of justice and a ences irrespective of them com­ ed for
Whether commercial tinge to
ing model. Anything extra it caring society,” says Alemdia on mercial value.
Ek Alag Mausam, is basically a serious theme will go well to drive
stepping
into
makes will go to fund issues that ActionAid
"reality
show” about Aids by home the homily hi succinct man­ !
Bollywood
boots.
"Perhaps
main­
we will take up later on.”
maintaining
values. "It will make ner is moot-point.
stream
producers
can
emulate
our
Why the revival? “It has been
people
sit
up
and start thinking
re-edited, made much more concept and champion social caus­
Subrahmanyan Viswanath
crisper, tighter. We have sliced out es”, he avers on ActionAid taking about the issue seriously. So far we
statements that were quite^censo­ to time-worn trite Hindi movie . have only seen the marginalisation • ■ t
of such people. Through Ek Alag
’
rious in nature. Who are^ye^tp' sit marquee’s formulae format. •-

/■

'V

V

u*

I

...

■

M 'K,

ft.

ti.

i

I

f
'v

;.'v

DECC.n • -

LD

‘J * 0<‘:

: xO

• '■V

-A

■f

^.ZA|

13^

. I

‘^A

I
-A

/<

]

■

..................................

•••":-

’........................... _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ .................................................................................................................................................................................................. ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

■

-

'

■5 ■■“■zT''‘rzz“~
,1

v;j?fiCCANJIERALD,TUESI)AY,pi^EMBISI<2,2qO3^r ’^3n"^^^

«’=

j

i

s

2

j

i

l x;

J -

.

[Saturday nig cJM
' I
I. redefined

. A ■ • ‘*1

7 73

A- fl-

J1

F-^r

■/-A

stiuggi

1

0

1

3*
1 S1

: A'gP.Pi' P'''Pg

L

"Tab '■!'

•li-----------'
;
The team of Saturday
Stage ■

f-

■ The Principal Secretary (Women and Child Development),
D. Thangaraj, and the Convenor of NFDW. Ruth Manorama
(second from right), with participants st the graduation
ceremony of the ‘First national leadership training’ course
for Dalit women, in Bangalore on Thursday.
— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murrfy

JJ

40 Dalit women
given leadership
•
training f

h

•

By Our Staff Reporter
en to send participants," she ;
Most of them are weekend ?!
said.
volunteers at Vision, an AIDS < ’ Bangalore, dec. 4. Victoria Rani
The NFDW received 400 ap- j
awareness youth group. And j : may be conservatively dressed plications asd chose 40. The j
as Shilpa says, “We like kids a .;and may look traditional, but trainees were taught in English
lot. The amount of happiness a she has just been trained as a and Hindi wfth translations in
tliat I get being with these chil-future "leader" for the women Telugu, Karmada, and Tamil.
■’
dren, I don't get it anywhere "i
^er community, to help them
Courses began at 6 a.m. and I
else. By offering gifts of love^-;
P,ain int0 power”.
ended at 11 p.m., and they covand joy to others, we fill our f, • 0n. Thursday, Ms. Ram and ered topics such as women’s t
own hearts with them too.” . lP39 other won]en in
20 to 45 movement, Dalit movement,
What is it that makes these I1 ^§.e group and from 10 States re- globalisation and its impact on •.
----for complet- Dalits and Dmt women, human youngsters so different?
They •‘ • ceived
•
a certificates
j
■ ^
w ership
a lO-day
JFirst
have something to offer. Theirj'; le
training
, national rights, Dalit culture and litera- <
course
f Mana|<-»ement
’- Cen
- - at
time and as Arjun says a ;
Frontier
. ture, role of Dalit women in In- I
rf
e
Management
thirst to do something for chil- ,
(FMQ at Hoysa]a N Cen- dia, and the basic usage of :
2'-o_r .computers. ..._____ ... -»
dren who have so few opportu-' .;he
here
^- :
. - °•
.. Present at ±e graduation cernities to showcase their tai- ' j yhe course was5 promoted by emony were Mohini Giri, forent.”
e L’- -'’ ••
’ ” *
the National Federation of Dalit mer Chairperson, National ;
The group of eight began Women (NFDW) with the pur- vv.mw
JaiUu for
jl Women,
wuincu tmu
Commission
and u
D. . ;
working with Diana Tholoor of pose of grooming future Dalit Thangaraj, Phncipal Secretary’ ‘
Chrysallis PoAnrmnnro
Performance Arts-.'
Arte women leaders.
Women
and
Child
‘
Women
and
'
MATILDA YORKE Centre. Like them, Diana, too, ■ The idea, said Ruth Manora- “Development.
has-been wanting people to ma, convenor of NFDW and ■ Mr. Thangsraj urged the trai-'
i talks to the people look beyond the children’s dis-. course coordinator, was to take nees
to work at the gram pan^,
their cause nationwide.,
chayat level They could also, he ■
behind Saturday abilities.
We are doubly disadvan- said, prepare for the civil serWhy did they name them-.:
selves ‘Saturday Stage’? “Well,. taged, as Dalits and as women”, vices examrf-rinns as there •
Stage, a unique
Saturdays spell fun. It is this she said and added that their were government schemes by
venture
spirit of fun which the chil-’ voices were not heard in the which SC/ST candidates got
~
Dalit free
coaching
for
the
dren will bring on stage. We male-dominated
movement.
examinations.
an institution for the physical­ are looking at all forms of per-,
The trainees, Ms. Manorama
They could even go abroad
formance and visual arts ly handicapped.
said, came from West Bengal, for higher studies and the State
Arjun, a garment manufac­ painting, dance, music, drama- Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Government
C_..._
would pay Rs. 10
turer, took a cue from his uncle and ballet to name a few.’’ Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pra- lakh as grant every year,"he addThough
their
first
programme,
who directed a play, in which
desh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil ed. The NFDWplans such trainthe cast was blind. “Though I will not be on a Saturday, the . Nadu, Kerala, and Pondicherry, ing every year." For details, call
next
one
in
February
2004
wi
...
„._
CU¥¥UU1C11
1U NFnw
did not see the play, I was
.■ ;“We
asked
women’s groups and
nn 6=42053 or D
rv,-,a |
NFDW bn
email
. enthused just hearing about The stage has been set, and the JngOs working with Dalit worn-- ru±@blr.vsnl.zet.in.
rt,-'h^blr.'.7snl.zet.in.
curtains
will
go
up.
Though
------. it.” He roped in Shilpa
TWC
• Dharmarajan, an HR profes- is not a Saturday the group is’.;
< Pi •'b
‘
« sional and together they sure that the audience and,’/
- ?
'■=
;■ formed the group that includes more so, the participants willt'
/ Kiran K C, a hardware profes- have a swinging time. Tickets^
J sional.and collegians Sindhu are available at all the outlets’^
Vijayanand, Manikantan Sha- of Coffee Day, Java City and arf
£ rma, Swapna P K, Rohini D N the venue and are priced at Rsj
100, Rs 135, Rs 175 and Rs 249. j
? and Shruthi Jagdeesh.
_ ----

he efforts of a group
of eight youngsters,
all between 19 and 26
years, have helped
physically and devel­
opmentally challenged chil: dren find a platform to express
• themselves.
■
For Arjun Swaminathan,
lihe person who got the ball
• rolling, the debut programme
y ‘LOVE- A Constant Journey’
■ on World Disabled Day,
J December 3, will be a dream
' come true. The programme at
’ Guru Nanak Bhavan will fea­
ture children from Vathsalya,
; a child welfare agency;
Ashraya, a home for the men= tally challenged and Kutumba,
!

•c
j
i

•4

1 0
3

5
0

* ‘9

I

W^<T/?**^,r**r***“‘’'*^>***o<~^*'**~''*4“'**jr‘‘x* Vx?

-

A'u;

-s. ; ,t

X< •>

DECCAK IIERAIsS ■; DEC dJ-.l.-;

i

£

c
c.
c
c

Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST)
N-601, North Block, 6th Floor
Manipal Centre, 47, Dickenson Road
Bangalore-560 042

Ph: 5583701
Fax:5583704
Email. isstban@,giasbgO 1.vsnl.net.in

A

A

A

r''

Head Office

Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST)
Upper Ground Floor, East Court
Zone 6, India Habitat Centre
Lodi Road, New Delhi - 110 003
Ph:24647873
Fax:24648724
Email: isstdel@giasdioi.vsnl.net.in
Website: http://www.isst-india.org

c t

ti

oi

u
eJ

c-l
C'-'-l

*

Position: 1 (1156 views)