New Delhi, December 1
The ‘Red Ribbon’ Express was flagged off today coinciding with World AIDS Day on a 9,000 Km journey across the country with volunteers, who would fan out in villages and far flung areas to spread the awareness about HIV/AIDS.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi waved the green flag to launch the special train, which would touch no less than 180 districts and more than 43,000 villages in the country.

She described it as a bold and innovative experiment to reach out to millions of people living in small towns and villages not having access to appropriate information or knowledge about HIV/AIDS.

Gandhi stressed that HIV/AIDS continued to be a major public health problem. No affliction has had such a catastrophic impact on the lives of so many millions in India and around the world in so short a time. Men and women in the prime of their youth had been lost to this disease. Sadly, through no fault of theirs children had become victims.

She said equally unacceptable was the stigmatising and discriminatory behaviour that continued to be practised against those afflicted by it. Incidents of denying HIV-infected or affected children admission to schools, providing care and treatment for the sick in hospitals and denying employment to those infected continue.

“While an anti-discriminatory legislation is under process, it cannot substitute social action. Each of us, individually and collectively, need to raise our voice against discrimination of any sort against those who are HIV positive. Women have been and continue to be the worst sufferers and need our special support,” Gandhi said.

The special seven coach train has three exhibition coaches, one each for counselling and medical services, an auditorium-cum-conference coach and a pantry car.

There are an estimated 2.5 million HIV positive people, including 70,000 children, in the country.

Union railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav said his ministry would ensure that another train was made available for the cause. The Railways network would serve as an ideal way to facilitate the initiative of reaching every nook and corner of the country.

A senior official of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) pointed out that the train would go into the hinterland, villages and little corners of the country to spread awareness about AIDS prevention and treatment.

Naco said the project was intended as an umbrella exercise to inform and involve people in a genuine mass movement against the disease.

The union health ministry and the ministry for youth affairs had been planning to launch the train for the past two years. The train would first travel to Haryana and Punjab before criss-crossing to other parts of the country.