'AIDS can destroy a nation'

by Anushka Nanayakkara

AIDS can destroy the energy of a nation which is mainly youth and priority should be given to carry this message to the youth, said Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake addressing the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) conference yesterday in Colombo. HIV/AIDS prevalence is the lowest in Sri Lanka compared to South Asia, he said.

The Prime Minister said the number of AIDS patients is not that alarming but all measures should be taken to prevent the disease. The Prime Minister said that the disease can spread through insecure blood transmission and improper conduct of sexual activities. People who are infected would face a horrible death so "Prevention is better than Cure".

Minister of Health, Nimal Siripala de Silva said the government has invested on free education, free health services and many other programmes to educate the society. The challenge Sri Lanka faces is to prevent HIV. He said the Ministry has taken all possible measures to combat this deadly disease.

He said steps have been taken to educate political leaders, media, schools and non governmental organisations.

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