Awareness march to mark World AIDS Day in Tripura

Tripura marked the World AIDS Day on Tuesday with school children, security forces, NGOs, health workers, clubs and people living with HIV/AIDS and rehabilitated drug addicts carrying banners on AIDS awareness walked in a rally from the Umakanta Mini Stadium of Agartala.

The main aim of the rally was to mark World AIDS Day and educate the public about prevention and treatment for the HIV-positive and generating awareness.

Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education.

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World AIDS Day is important for reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

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In India's northeaster bordering Tripura state during the fiscal 2014-15 till September some 30 died of HIV infection according to official report of Tripura AIDS Control Society.

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Meantime, the state has registered over 950 HIV positive cases in two years.

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"Compared to other states the situation in our state is better but we want to eradicate it completely. The situation is not that frightening and our effort is to stop it," said Tripura Chief Secretary Y.P. Singh after inaugurating the AIDS/HIV awareness rally.

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According to UNAIDS estimates, at the end of 2014, new HIV infections had fallen by 35% since the peak in 2000 and AIDS-related deaths by 42% since the 2004 peak.

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In spite of lower diagnostic and treatment costs the progress of treatment of HIV/AIDS is unfinished, fragile and reversible and by the end of 2014, there were almost 37 million people living with HIV, and more than 2 million people were newly infected.

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The latest World Health Organization guidelines say that all people diagnosed with HIV should have immediate access to treatment and at present some 21 million people are going without the treatment they need - a death sentence that still claims more than 1 million lives each year.

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The vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in lower- and middle income countries. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.

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Health workers urged the lone way towards eradicating the fatal virus is by making people aware about it and stop it from spreading.

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"Along with other health awareness campaign we are stressing equally on AIDS awareness among the BSF battalions and sectors. We want that he troopers are aware and fight against it and stay away from it through awareness so that can serve the nation better," said BSF Tripura Frontier IG, M F Farooqui.

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The Indian government spends about one percent of its GDP on healthcare facilities, much less than some African countries, forcing millions to struggle to get medicines.

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Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmitted during sex, in blood and on needles and in breast milk, gradually wears down the immune system and can take years to cause symptoms Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). It has killed more than 25 million people since the early 1980s.

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India is among the top three countries with the highest number of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cases, alongside South Africa and Nigeria.