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| Sunday, 27 November 2005 |
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AIDS awareness a dire need by Shanika Sriyananda Although the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is still low in Sri Lanka compared to other South East Asian countries, the slow increase in number of positive cases indicates a dire need for more awareness campaigns and counselling programs to thin down the social stigma which hinders the virus carriers to come forward for treatment, Dr. Shantha Hettiarachchi of the National HIV/AIDS Prevention Project said. He told the Sunday Observer that the country needs more public awareness programs to educate the rural communities about the disease. "We had several awareness programs at village levels to educate the rural youth. What we see is, admits all these awareness campaigns on HIV/AIDS, still there is room for more such programs. Especially, the rural youth who have a keen interest in getting the knowledge about this disease and it is a good sign", he added. However, Dr. Hettiarachchi criticising the present system of counselling said the country need good counselling services which were not aimed at monetary gains. "Today many of the counselling centres are working for money", he claimed. He also said that there was a dearth of qualified counsellors who could give proper guidance and direct the victims to proper channels. He invited the politicians, academics, religious campaigns leaders, students and the public to take lead in HIV/AIDS prevention as there is looming danger in the future. |
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