NGO spreading AIDS awareness in Indo-Myanmar border

Moreh (Manipur), July 16 (ANI): A voluntary organisation in Moreh town of Manipur has recently set up an AIDS awareness centre to educate people about the spread of the deadly virus.

Dedicated Peoples Union under Project Orchid (a foreign voluntary organisation) has been working round the clock in their relentless awareness campaigns on AIDS. They are helping people shed their inhibitions in use of condoms to prevent transmission of the disease.

Moreh is a commercial centre bordering with Myanmar.

The NGO aims to educate people, especially the youth, women, tribal class and the worker class to motivate them to use condoms, avoid drug abuse.

"Because of the coming up of this centre there has been a big change in the area. Earlier we couldn't spread much awareness on HIV but now things have changed. This is a border area and a lot of activities happen here. We then try to bring awareness among people like distributing syringes," said Khangenbam Markar Singh, Project, Manager, Dedicated Peoples Union.

The beneficiaries of the programmes include intravenous drug users, people living with HIV/AIDS and their families, widows of AIDS sufferers, sex workers and their clients, migrant labourers and also young people in general.

"We are getting a lot of benefits with the coming of this NGO. Whenever we get sick we are provided medicines from here," Thanboyi, a youth.ndia has around 3.1 million men, women and children living with the human immuno-deficiency virus, commonly known as HIV.

The highest HIV prevalence rates are found in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu Karnataka Manipur and Nagaland. By L.C.K Singh(ANI)