AIDS scare for 2 lakh kids

The estimates, given by the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), paint a grim picture.

On Friday, as the world will observe the 18th World AIDS Day, in India, the occasion will be marked by the sombre realisation that nearly two lakh children below the age of 15 have already fallen prey to the disease.

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The estimates, given by the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), paint a grim picture. Therefore, to create awareness about HIV/AIDS, a large number of children from various NGOs gathered in the Capital on Thursday.

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HIV/AIDS initiative First ever National Paediatric HIV/AIDS Initiative launched by Bill Clinton The initiative will benefit 10,000 children in India Kalavati Saran Children's Hospital, Delhi, first centre to offer free anti-retroviral therapy for children At the paediatrics centres set up under the initiative, free CD-4 count monitoring, a test for HIV/AIDS, till the age of 15, will be done

In keeping with the theme of accountability and the slogan ‘Stop AIDS: Keep the promise’ for the World AIDS Day this year, the children took part in a ‘Twilight Glow Walk.’

“It is important for every child in India to know how AIDS is transmitted and how to avoid being a victim,” said Deni Braun, Country Coordinator, UNAIDS. Pradip and Ranjeet from the Bal Panchayat of Sangam Vihar, Badarpur and Madanpur villages, said that a person suffering from AIDS can not live there.

Pooja, a 16-year-old from Government Senior Secondary School in Kalkaji feels that “this is a good way to create awareness. In our school, for instance, only students of class IX and above are taught about AIDS.”