Red Ribbon Express a big draw with youth in Berhampur

By Sib Kumar Das

320 get tested for HIV during the two-day stay of the train at Berhampur

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  During the visit of Red Line Express in 2008, there was no testing facility
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  Inside the Red Ribbon Express there were five counselling units

The two-day stay of the Red Ribbon Express in Berhampur to reach out to inhabitants of Ganjam district, the most HIV-prone area of the state, made them break the silence. Before the train left for Bhubaneswar on Saturday night, 320 persons had got themselves tested at the HIV testing facility inside the train. A large chunk of them were youths. Some of them also got themselves tested for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) infection. There were also girls among the youths who opted for HIV test. These volunteers had to undergo TriDot test. One among them was found to be HIV positive. He was referred to the MKCG medical college hospital for confirmatory test.

ERHAMPUR: As a welcome change in psyche, common men especially the youths in Orissa have started to come out for voluntary testing to ascertain their status regarding HIV infection.

Inside the Red Ribbon Express there were five counselling units. Four of them were for HIV/AIDS while the other was for STD. These counselling chambers remained packed throughout the time when the train remained open for the public, said Manoj Kumar Sahu of mircrobiology department of MKCG medical college, who served as a counsellor. Mr Sahu said the greatest welcome change in attitude was that the persons who opted for the HIV test did not feel shy that they had opted for the test. There were many from rural areas who came back after a day to collect their reports regarding HIV infection, said Mr Sahu.

Lokanath Mishra, regional coordinator of the Orissa State AIDS Control Society (OSACS), said during the last visit of the Red Line Express to the city in 2008, there was no facility for HIV testing. But this time testing facility was a huge draw. “It is a welcome change that the youths who thought they may be having risky life style preferred to voluntarily approach the counsellors and opt for HIV test,” he said. According to him this psychological acceptance of HIV test among the youth would prove to be a great catalyst in checking HIV menace in this high prevalence area.

There were also some youths from rural areas for whom the HIV test was a thing of pride and importance. A youth from Khallikote area who used to work as a migrant labourer in a textile mill in Surat got himself tested to get a report that he was free from HIV infection. “For me this report that I am free from HIV infection would be a gift to my spouse who always suspects I may have got infected by the killer disease like some of my migrant labourer friends,” he said................ Read Full Story............ Source: The Hindu