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Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006
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Church's anti-HIV campaign

B.V.S. Bhaskar

It has decided to distribute condoms despite opposition from religious heads

— Photo: B.V.S. Bhaskar

CREATING AWARENESS: Children at an exhibition on HIV awareness in the Evangelical Baptist Church premises in Churachandpur district of Manipur.

Churachandpur (Manipur): The Evangelical Baptist Church (EBC) of this district has decided to actively campaign against HIV/AIDS and distribute condoms despite opposition from religious heads. The Church also allowed some of the key NGOs working in Manipur to educate people during Sunday prayers in particular and at regular prayer gatherings.

During a recent visit by a few journalists from Andhra Pradesh and New Delhi, headed by Arati Pai of Center for Advocacy and Research, to Manipur-Myanmar border, high prevalence of HIV and drug abuse was found (almost one in each family is a drug user).

Reverend Dr. Luai Chin Thang; Dr. G. Chinkholian, Chairman of Lamka (new name of Churachandpur) Rehabilitation and Research Center (LRRC), local pastors Rev.M. Gon Sei and others said the EBC was founded in 1948 and it had 40,000 members in Manipur, Mizoram, Assam and Nepal.

The district is considered to be one with the highest prevalence of HIV among the Injected Drug Users (IDU) in the world at 72.93 per cent and among sex workers it was 80 per cent, according to a survey of NACO and Manipur State AIDS Control Society.

The first HIV case was detected in 1997-98 from injecting drug users. The advent of various harm reduction intervention programmes by Manipur Aids Control Society with the support of NGOs has brought down the incidence from 73 to 24 per cent among IDUs and among the sex workers, from 80 per cent to 11.40 per cent, according to NACO.

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