Ludhiana, May 30
There is growing awareness about the spread of HIV and AIDS in the rural areas. The people in the countryside are learnt to be keen on learning more about the disease. This was found during an awareness campaign on HIV/AIDS initiated by students of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana in 10 villages of Ludhiana.
The campaign has been organised as part of the collaborative US aid project, 'Culturally Sensitive HIV/AIDS Reduction Training Project in India'. Claflin University, Orangeburg, USA, has provided the financial support for this project.
According to the director students welfare and project director, Dr Tejwant Singh, the students covered two villages everyday and involved village youth to educate the population on HIV-the most dreadful disease of mankind.
They distributed pamphlets and pasted posters to make the residents aware against the disease. They used the person-to-person interaction approach to have open discussion about the misconceptions relating to the HIV/AIDS disease.
Interestingly, the villagers have been found to be quite receptive and forthcoming while asking the questions about the disease.
Dr Singh informed the Tribune that a campaign to create AIDS awareness among industry workers and truck drivers in the Transport Nagar of Ludhiana City would also be undertaken.
