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AIDS education in M.P. schools

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL AUG. 11. The Madhya Pradesh AIDS Control Society is launching a massive AIDS education programme in schools throughout the State from August 16.

Though Madhya Pradesh is considered a low-prevalence State, available data, especially from districts like Indore, Ujjain, and Neemuch, indicates that the prevalence of AIDS is on the rise. There are presently 1019 full-blown AIDS cases in the State and the dreaded syndrome has already claimed 60 lives in Madhya Pradesh.

For building up awareness about causes that lead to HIV and AIDS, the Union Government-funded Madhya Pradesh AIDS Control Society had earlier started an AIDS education programme in schools spread across 18 districts. Taking off from this experience, the Society would now be launching the AIDS education programme for students of classes IX to XII in all the 7,000 higher secondary schools across the State.

The State AIDS Control Society has written to the District Collectors, District Education Officers (DEOs) and the school principals for cooperation in carrying forward the School AIDS Education Programme. The DEOs have been requested to visit schools and talk on AIDS. The teachers, who have been given training on AIDS, have been asked to speak to the students on this subject for at least an hour or two every week.

An advocacy workshop on AIDS is also being convened here on September 5. Besides senior State officials, including those heading the Health, Women and Child Welfare, and Education departments, the donor agencies like UNICEF, DANIDA and UNFPA would also be represented at this workshop.

Meanwhile, the State AIDS Control Society has set up tele- counselling facilities through the Voluntary Counsel and Testing Centres and nodal officers in 39 of the 45 districts of the State. In the remaining six districts, the counselling work is being carried out by NGOs.

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