NORTH EAST
|
ACCESS NORTH EAST |
| Major Events Vol. 3 Issue No. 33 | August 16-31, 2007 |
Oscar urges NE legislators to create awareness on AIDS Union Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Oscar Fernandez encouraged legislators from the region to talk of HIV/AIDS during their upcoming election campaigns to create awareness at the grassroots level. The Minister said if all the legislators speak about HIV/ AIDS, it would make a greater impact at the grassroots level as the legislators would be touring remote places during the upcoming elections. Assembly elections are scheduled in Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya next year. Informing about the Parliamentarians Forum on HIV/AIDS, Fernandez said legislators here in the region should similarly form such a forum to create awareness amongst the masses. The Minister was speaking at a legislators’ forum on HIV/AIDS here. “The Forum would also be a platform for self-education on the disease as many of the Parliamentarians and legislators don’t have much knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Funds for the Forum would be made available by the Centre”, the Union Minister stated. Highlighting on the diseases’ spread in the country Fernandez added that educated youths and even school children have been found to frequent red-light areas posing health risk. “A brothel was found having very few clients on a particular day as the University was closed”, the Minister said narrating a reported incident in the Union Capital. On the North East, he said more testing centres and awareness campaigns should be undertaken. He praised the efforts of Meghalaya which had managed to keep the numbers of people affected by HIV/AIDS under control. Sharing the dais, Chief Minister DD Lapang urged people to dispel all inhibitions and come forward and declare when affected by HIV/AIDS, as it was just another disease. “It would help in early and proper treatment of the disease | Headlines | Editorial | Cover story | | Travel Column | News Briefs | | OT Main Page | |
Your Visit No
Since April 20, 2000