By Sandeep Juneja, Chandigarh, 24th October, 2008 :Media Advocacy Workshop on Red Ribbon Express to be held at Commonwealth Youth Asia, Sector 12, Chandigarh. All the media persons are being invited to attend this conference cum workshop by Nehru Yuvak Kender Sangathan (NYKS), Punjab and Chandigarh Zone under the Ministry of Sports and Youth Welfare, GOI.
Sh. Satish Chandra (IAS) Secretary Health-cum-Project Director, State AIDS Control Society, Punjab is going to address the media and attendees. He will be followed by Additional Project Director Dr. N.M. Sharma, State AIDS Control Society, Punjab. Other dignitarories present will be Dr. Vineeta Gupta, Project Director, State AIDS Control Society ,Chandigarh; Sh. J.S. Kooner, Zonal Director NYKS; Sh. Sukhdev Singh, Deputy Director, NYKS; Dr. G.S. Bajwa, Distt. Youth Coordinator, NYKS, Chandigarh, Dr. Avnish Jolly, Zonal Facilitator, RRE and many other respectable guests. They will brief media about the motive and plans of their AIDS Awareness campaign through the Red Ribbon Express train.
Giving a summary of this project Sh. J. S. Kooner told us that the Red Ribbon Express Project, conceptualized by Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, is being implemented by NACO as a multi-sectoral project to spread awareness on HIV/AIDS and promote safe behavioral practices. It is a National Campaign to mainstream the issue of HIV/AIDS through a train that will traverse over programmes and activities in 43,200 villages. The concept is a broad based multimedia, multi-sectoral mass mobilization project in the country to make it a holistic and comprehensive campaign to mobilize people’s movement against HIV/AIDS.
He also told us that the Express train will reach Punjab by 27th of October, 2008 in Bathinda. This will be its fourth phase and first destination in Punjab. Crossing Bathinda it will reach Fazilka, then Ferozepur, Jalandhar, Pathankot and finally in Chandigarh on 16th November, 2008. In all of these destinations the train will show its exhibition displayed in it’s 7 coaches. Also, the artists will perform several AIDS awareness plays in 24 villages of each city. Village Pachayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have been informed of the dates of arrival of this train. They will further coordinate with youth clubs, anganwari workers, and health workers in their areas.
It will be responsibility of PRIs to gather people for nukkad plays to aware people of HIV/AIDS. There will be free Advice Centers (Salaah Kendras) in the train itself. And, he added that we have provided consultation with doctors at no cost. So, he advices that the maximum people could benefit from this campaign will be a success of this event.