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Grand finale for a great awareness walk

Special Correspondent

Unprecedented year-long journey around the country to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS menace ends today

PLAY FOR AWARENESS: Street play in progress near Nizamuddin Railway Station on HIV/AIDS awareness on the eve of World AIDS Day in New Delhi on Wednesday. — Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

NEW DELHI: On December 1 last year the India chapter of Project Concern International launched an unprecedented year-long "AIDS Walk for Life" journey around India to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in the country where over 5.1 million are now infected with the virus.

On the same day, today -- observed as World AIDS Day - this year, the 30-plus walkers will complete their remarkable journey, returning to the Capital from where they began, having walked over 6,700 kilometres through 13 States and spread the word about AIDS through educational leaflets, street theatres, videos and counselling.

During their 362 days on the roads, the enthusiastic group organised 1,475 awareness events, educated 702,418 people, distributed 1,420,206 leaflets and 975,454 condoms besides counselling 51,055 people about the killer disease and providing general health care to another 10,550. Through the walk, the team also made a special effort to reach out to women, who are especially vulnerable to the disease.

The walkers will be welcomed to a grand finale at the Indira Gandhi Stadium on Thursday, where the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi will be among the many who will appreciate their achievement.

Brought in from villages across North India and trained as AIDS educators by Project Concern International/India, the walkers covered about 20 kms each day, braving mosquitoes, monsoon rains and temperatures as high as 49 degrees C. "The walkers forged on, day after day, determined to educate as many people as possible about HIV/AIDS,'' said Henry Alderfer, country director for Project Concern International in India.

"In a country where so many people still know so little about the disease, the AIDS Walk for Life has been a dramatic and effective way to spread awareness in parts of India where conventional campaigns have not succeeded or reached yet,'' he added.

The campaign was organised at a critical juncture when over 5.1 million Indians are now infected with the virus, according to the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), and large numbers of people still lack basic information about how to protect themselves.

If the rate of transmission remains as high as it is today, it is feared India would soon have the largest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world.

The walk had been supported by NACO, the national and state networks for people living with HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS, USAID, CARE, and a wide array of corporations, foundations and individuals.

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