Wives of defence personnel to create AIDS awarness

Chandigarh, Jun 14 (UNI) In an endeavour to combat the alarming spread of HIV/AIDS in the armed forces, a thrust programme has been launched under which the women of the forces are being enrolled to fight the menace being termed the enemy within the ranks.

A two-day workshop which concluded at New Delhi last evening emphasised upon the significant role that the wives of serving soldiers can play in disseminating awareness on this issue among peer groups.

The workshop has been organized by AFMS and the US Pacific Command, in association with two NGOs-SOMA India and Partners in Development Initiatives (PDI).

The participants of the workshop were wives of soldiers drawn from the Armed Forces Wives' Welfare Associations, who will form Peer Group Leaders and further spread awareness among the wives of soldiers in the field units.

Ms Anupama Singh, Ms Maria Teresa Mehta and Ms Zareen Major, Presidents of Wives' Welfare Association of Army, Navy and Air Force respectively also attended the workshop.

During the workshop, Surgeon Vice-Admiral Yogendra Singh, Director General, Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) released a three-booklet set and a CD containing 40 questions and answers which throw light on the subject in a simple and lucid manner. The booklets and the CDs were distributed to more than 100 participants at the workshop.

Underlining the role women could play in checking the spread of HIV, Admiral Singh motivated the participants to create wide-spread awareness on the issue. ''The youthful, exuberant and aggressive attitude of our troops combined with the long separation from families and high mobility has compounded the risks faced by them,'' Admiral Singh said in his inaugural address.

Some of questions that form a part of the booklet include: Is it true most of the women infected with HIV are prostitutes? The answer provided in the booklet was that most women infected with HIV are housewives and a majority of them, over 70 per cent in fact, get it through their husbands.

Since the first detection of HIV in a soldier returning from a UN mission in 1992, the virus has affected 0.028 percent of the forces' strength. According to statistics submitted to the government, 104 HIV-infected soldiers were discharged from service in 2004 alone.

UNI