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Look at these statistics which have
appeared in various dailies on the occasion of World AIDS day, 1 December. There will be
at least five HIV-infected persons in the cinema hall that you visit. There will be more
than 1,000 people (HIV-infacted) travelling in the Mumbai suburban trains every hour.
There will be about five million Indians who are already HIV- infected ... all portraying
that India is the epicentre of an AIDS volcano or even worse, that India is close to being
the world’s AIDS capital.
Keeping aside the issue of validity and
reliability of these statistics, there is no doubt, whatsoever, that the AIDS scare is
becoming the biggest threat in the community and ostracism being the order of the day.
Condom alone cannot become the symbol of a new civilization. Medical fraternity and
industries all have to corroborate in dispelling fear and subduing ostracism. And E-mail
and on-line can be no less a platform to spread awareness than just the dollar-driven
shows and advertisements. A big plus point for the Net is that it is a medium where people
will not feel inhibited in expressing opinions and sharing their experiences.
Recently, in its crusade for life, Green
Universe, a dedicated on-line forum for life threatening diseases, launched in its first
phase, an on-line site—www.greenuniverse.com—to create AIDS awareness. The site
generates awareness and facilitates on-line interaction, operating free E-mail service,
on-line medical counselling for AIDS patients, and hosts a global directory of doctors,
counsellors, and healthcare institutions. A site in English will not suffice the cause
that the forum is fighting. It understands this and is also working towards hosting
multilingual information on AIDS on its website, which would provide detailed information
on AIDS, the HIV virus, spread of the disease, rate of spread, prevention, counselling, as
well as medical research on the subject. Will all such sites join hands in fighting
terminal diseases, please?
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