'Shameful to desert children of HIV parents in Pratapgarh'

Terming as "shameful" the desertion of five siblings in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh district by their relatives after their parents died of AIDS, SAARC goodwill Ambassador for HIV/AIDS and renowned Bangladeshi singer Runa Laila today said it was cruel on the part of the villagers to throw them out of the village.
"It's a shameful incident and cruelty on the part of the villagers to chase these children out of the village. I just cannot imagine that still such things happen in our society," Laila said, addressing a gathering at Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital in Rohini.
After their parents died of AIDS, the five siblings, four boys and a girl, were forced to live in a village graveyard in Pratapgarh after their relatives threw them out of their house fearing they too may be infected with HIV.

During her visit to the country as SAARC goodwill Ambassador for HIV/AIDS, she said she aims to create awareness amongst people about the disease and to eradicate the discrimination against HIV positive persons.
"There is a stigma attached with the disease and lot of people have misconceptions that if you touch an HIV/AIDS patient you will contract the disease. AIDS is not a communicable disease and this is the message I have to put across," Laila said.
She emphasised on the inclusion of AIDS and HIV awareness programmes in the school curriculum.

Laila will also be visiting other SAARC countries as a part of her awareness programme.

Laila today also met Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad at his residence
During the meeting, various issues relating to HIV/AIDS for the benefit of marginalized people of the SAARC region were discussed.
They also discussed the need for enhanced scale of care, support and treatment services for HIV infected persons and the need for initiating regional action to tackle cross border issues on HIV/AIDS and TB/HIV co-infection.
Laila had arrived in India on July 31 and had also met External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.