VISAKHAPATNAM: The Vice-Consul for Public Affairs in the US Consulate-General for South India (Chennai), Christopher M. Wurst, said here on Tuesday that a two-pronged approach should be adopted to tackle HIV/AIDS by focussing on preventive measures as well as extending support to the infected persons to lead a life with dignity.

He was speaking at the VUDA Children's Theatre at the inaugural of a four-day poster show titled `global struggle to overcome HIV/AIDS.'

The exhibition will shift to YMCA from Wednesday.

The event is being organised with the co-sponsorship of Green Vision, a local NGO, and Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA).

Film screened

The show contains 24 large panels with over 100 photos illustrating both the worldwide human suffering and devastation wrought by AIDS.

It also investigates finding solutions and looking into the future with hope.

Later, a 90-minute feature film, `A Closer Walk', was screened. It depicted humankind's confrontation with the global AIDS epidemic. Its Academy-nominated director and producer, Robert Bilheimer, gave the Consulate permission to screen the film.

Stress on support

In his speech, Mr. Wurst said that the Atlanta-based Centre for Disease Control (CDC) was committed to building capacity for promotion of extending proper support to the infected patients, strengthening the infrastructure on training, care and voluntary counselling and national response through AIDS control societies in India.

According to him, 58 million people are suffering from HIV/AIDS and among them half a million are in Andhra Pradesh. He underlined the need for urgent measures to prevent further spread of the disease.

``The first case in India was reported in 1986. Today the number of high-risk population is spreading at a fast pace.

Coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh are facing the threat of HIV/AIDS epidemic,'' he said and called for a war against the spread of the disease.

The Joint Collector, Sandeep Kumar Sultania, said that controlling the spread of the disease was no big deal.

"We have to take preventive measures and spread the message of safe sex methods to arrest the spread of the virus,'' he said.

The district nodal officer for AIDS control, D. Rajendra Prasad, the Green Vision president, G. Prabhakar, and the YMCA city unit president, David Bhaskar, spoke.

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