Rallying to Stop AIDS in India

Nov. 30, 2006—This week in Ranchi, in Jharkhand state in India, schoolchildren have been preparing banners with slogans about preventing the spread of HIV and fighting AIDS.

Dec. 1 is World AIDS Day, and these students are getting ready for a big rally. 1500 students will run, march and participate in a one-day public workshop to raise awareness about AIDS in their communities.

Despite efforts to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS among youth in the region, the epidemic in India is growing among marginalized populations. According to the just released UNAIDS report on the global epidemic, India may soon have the world’s largest population living with HIV.

Women, youth and migrant workers in India are among the groups most at-risk for contracting and spreading HIV. In 2005, the anti-retroviral drugs proven to be effective in treating HIV infections reached only seven percent of HIV-infected Indians.

Tomorrow, when individuals, organizations and governments around the world renew their commitments to ending the AIDS epidemic, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand State in India will officially release new training materials developed by CEDPA to improve state AIDS education for schoolchildren.

CEDPA’s UDAAN: Towards a Better Future program strengthens AIDS education in Jharkhand State by providing technical assistance and training for master trainers and school teachers. It adds comprehensive life-skills curriculum into the existing AIDS education program for schoolchildren. Dr. Bulbul Sood, Country Director for CEDPA/India, will be one of the key speakers at the Jharkhand State World AIDS Day workshop, highlighting the significance of AIDS awareness programs and CEDPA’s approach.

In India, CEDPA also works with the Powerlinks, a public sector company to educate and change the behavior of migrant laborers working on that company's 1,200 kilometers of transmission lines across northen India. Transmission-line workers have limited access to HIV testing, information and services—increasing their risks for spreading the disease.

Learn more about CEDPA’s work on HIV/AIDS prevention in India. And, read about our other work to fight AIDS around the world.

CEDPA has produced many manuals and other publications on HIV/AIDS. These can be found here.

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