West Bengal initiates fight against HIV/AIDS

The West Bengal State Aids Prevention Camp Control Society (WBSAPCS) under the guidance of the Department of Health and Family Welfare is planning to involve hoteliers of Darjeeling to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The society's joint secretary, Dr. Dipendra Narayan Goswami, told ANI, "Targeted intervention programme is basically target towards the high risk group, meaning female sex workers (FSW), truckers, injectable drug users and man having sex with man (MSM) and transgender populations who are basically spreading the virus to the general population."

"Awareness is the only solution to fight it, so, we are trying to involve some intervention with the hotelier association, involving them for general awareness to the tourists and the availability of protective devices," he added.

Echoing similar sentiments, Roshni Chettri, Councillor, Federation of Society for Environmental Protection (FOSEP), Darjeeling, said, "Darjeeling is a tourist spot, many migrants are coming every day, some of them may unprotected or may not be, but to control the HIV its need to aware Female Sex Workers (FSW) about the protective devices."

The struggle against HIV/AIDS is a monumental task. In India, the disease is on a growth path.