'Raise awareness about AIDS among vulnerable groups'
Speakers at a seminar said risk factors that cause HIV to spread are present in Bangladesh. Raising awareness among the youths and the vulnerable groups together with providing the means to combat HIV can reduce the risk of AIDS in the country, they said. Trust for Social Development (TSD) in association with Rotary International Bangladesh organised the seminar on 'AIDS challenges and the new generation in the 21st century' at Women's Voluntary Associations (WVA) auditorium on December 1 to mark the World AIDS Day . The seminar was supported by UNFPA. About 200 young men and women , mainly students, took part in the participatory seminar. They said information about HIV/AIDS is inadequate to understand the disease in a meaningful way. They also stressed the need for youth-friendly atmosphere for easy access to counselling in order to reduce the risk of contracting the virus. Regarding "blood safety" in HIV/AIDS prevention, they pledged support for voluntary blood donation. The speakers said the media can play a very vital role in raising awareness about the disease. Trust for Social Development chief Executive Luthfur R Choudhury, Rotary District HIV/AIDS Initiative Committee Chairman Rtn. Ahmed Farooque spoke at the seminar. Dr Hashrat Ara Begum of Marie Stopes Clinic, Dr Zahidur Rahman of UNAIDS, Rtn. Ahmed Farooque, Afroza Sarwar, chief of operations of TSD, and Lubna Zahan, lecturer of Northern University, moderated the technical sessions. Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, editor of The Bangladesh Observer, distributed certificates among the participants at the concluding session.
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