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Spreading awareness, fighting the stigma

Staff Reporter

Red Ribbon Express will cover 180 stations and hold programmes in over 50,000 villages across the country

Second-line drugs to be given free of cost to the poor
We must resolve to do everything to save lives: Sonia

. — Photo: Shanker Chakravarty

Combat mission: UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi with Railway Minister Lalu Prasad flagging off the Red Ribbon Express at the Safdarjung Railway Station in New Delhi on Saturday to mark the World AIDS Day

NEW DELHI: The Red Ribbon Express — a specially designed seven-coach train to spread awareness on HIV — was flagged off from the Safdarjung Railway Station here on Saturday on the occasion of World AIDS Day.

It was flagged off by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi along with Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss.

Commending the initiative and cautioning about the social, economic and developmental implications of HIV, Ms. Gandhi said: “No disease has had such a catastrophic impact on the lives of so many millions in such a short time. On this day, we must resolve to do everything we can, in whatever manner, to save lives and reach out to all those who are living with infection.”

To help people living with HIV, the government announced provision for free second-line treatment at two centres of the country.

“Our commitment to reach one lakh people on anti-retroviral therapy has been achieved. We are now getting ready to provide second-line treatment to those who may have developed resistance to the first-line drug. Tambaram Hospital in Chennai and J.J. Hospital in Mumbai will provide second-line drugs free of cost to those below the poverty line. As we gain confidence in providing quality care, access to second-line treatment will be expanded,” Dr. Ramadoss said.

Objective

The train conceptualised by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and implemented by the National AIDS Control Organisation is aimed at spreading awareness on HIV, promoting safe behavioural practices and fighting stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV. The Ministry of Railways, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports) among others are the other main partners in the initiative.

During the year-long journey, the train will traverse over 27,000 km, cover 180 stations, and hold programmes and activities in over 50,000 villages across the country. Travelling with the train will be two exhibition buses and cycle caravans that will cover the peripheries of the districts and reach out to people in the rural areas.

“Ideal medium”

Pledging the support of the Ministry of Railways, Mr. Lalu Prasad said: “The Indian rail network serves as an ideal route to roll out a mass mobilisation initiative intended to reach every nook and cranny of the nation. We stand proud and committed to be partners in this initiative that is unprecedented in its scale and well-conceived in its objective of raising awareness against the HIV epidemic.”

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