The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Preventive care vital for fight against AIDS

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Monday, Nov 20, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Preventive care vital for fight against AIDS

Special Correspondent

Government adopting multi-sectoral approach, says Health Secretary

CHENNAI: The State Government was reaching out to school children in a big way to carry across the message that preventive care was the need of the hour in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Health Secretary V.K. Subburaj said on Sunday.

Out of the 52lakh HIV cases all over the country, Tamil Nadu had 3.4 lakh cases and the Government was adopting a multi-sectoral, interdisciplinary approach in tackling the problem, he said during the valediction of the Third International Inter-Faith Workshop on HIV-AIDS — Stigma and Discrimination organised by India Inter-Faith Coalition on HIV/AIDS and the The Voluntary Health, Education and Rural Development Society (VHERDS).

The Government was also targeting 55 lakh rural women through self help groups and all higher education institutions had already been covered. The Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram had evolved into one of the best centres in the world for HIV/AIDS treatment and a new centre was being planned in Madurai soon, he added.

Tamil Nadu lead the country in intensive investigation in statistics regarding HIV/AIDS, which perhaps accounted for the State reporting the highest number of HIV/AIDS affected in the country, Health Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran said. AIDS was a drain on human resources and the focus had to be both on prevention and treatment, he added.

Ponnambala Adigalar of the Kundrakudi Adheenam and Jaggi Vasudev of Isha Foundation appealed to faith leaders to sink all differences and unite in the fight against AIDS.

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