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Stress on economic empowerment of women

Special Correspondent

Rangasamy inaugurates workshop on HIV/AIDS

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

AWARENESS MEET: Chief Minister N. Rangasamy addressing a workshop on HIV/AIDS awareness in Puducherry on Thursday.

Puducherry: Chief Minister N. Rangasamy said that the economic empowerment of women would help to relieve them from the impact of poverty and promote their health status.

Inaugurating a workshop organised jointly by the Puducherry AIDS Control Society and the Pondicherry Journalists Union to generate awareness among the media persons here on Thursday, he said that already the Government had launched a number of pilot schemes to pay monthly pension to the aged, the physically disabled persons and the members of weaker sections.

He appealed to the Health Department to evolve a scheme to extend monthly assistance to HIV positive persons. He said, wherever possible, they could be encouraged to start projects for their economic empowerment, particularly in the case of women.

He said that holding interaction programme with the media to generate awareness on HIV/AIDS was a step in the right direction.

The Chief Minister said that it was indeed a great relief that the prevalence of HIV/AIDS cases in the Union Territory had been far below that of other states. However, there should be no room for any complacency, as the entire efforts of the Society and the voluntary organisations should ensure that Puducherry emerged as an HIV free territory.

He said that the Puducherry AIDS Control Society had been sanctioned Rs. 2 crore a year to implement various awareness and intervention schemes. R Siva MLA, chairperson of the Puducherry municipal council, B. Sridevi and journalists and delegates of various associations participated.

Director of the Health and Family Welfare Services G.L.V. Chalapathi Rao and Project Director Puducherry AIDS Control Society Gilbert Fernandez also spoke.

Ms. Premila Principal (Nursing), Mother Theresa Institute of Health Sciences, Puducherry highlighted various programmes of the AIDS control.

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