M A I N   N E W S

Ardh Kumbh to dispel AIDS myths
Tripti Nath
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 3
The Uttar Pradesh Network of People Living With HIV AIDS (PLWHA) is determined to make optimum use of the mass appeal of the forthcoming Ardh Kumbh Mela in Allahabad.

It has mobilised 200 men, women and children living with HIV AIDS from Uttar Pradesh and other state networks to visit the mela and shatter myths on HIV AIDS.

To make their presence felt in the midst of saffron robed saints and godmen, the network volunteers will wear white aprons with printed messages on HIV AIDS. The mela is scheduled to begin on January 1 at the Sangam, the confluence of the Ganga, the Jamuna and the Saraswati at Prayag.

During the mela (from January 1 to February 20), the volunteers will distribute IEC (Information, Education and Communication) material spared by the UP State AIDS Control Society.

The UP Network of People Living with HIV AIDS is one of the 22 registered state-level networks of the Indian Network of People Living with HIV AIDS, a nine-year-old organisation.

Mr Naresh Yadav, president, UP Network of People Living with HIV AIDS, told The Tribune here that there are about four lakh persons living with HIV AIDS in Uttar Pradesh.

According to NACO, the estimated number of PLWHA in Uttar Pradesh as in December 2005 was 1.71 lakh.