Inter-College Play Competition on HIV/AIDS by SACS

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INVC,,

– The Chandigarh State AIDS Control Society organized an Inter-College Play Competition on HIV/AIDS in the auditorium of the GCG, Sector 11. 10 teams from various colleges of the city participated. The competition was inaugurated by Special Secretary Finance-cum-Director Higher Education, Sh. Ajoy Sharma.

While addressing the gathering he said “of the over one billion youth (ages 15-24) worldwide, some 10 million youth are living with HIV. Every day, an estimated 6,000 youth are infected with the virus. Out of 2.47 million estimated population infected by HIV in India, 88.7% are in the age group of 15-49 years. The age group of 15-29 years account for 31% of AIDS burden. The epidemic of HIV/AIDS continues to shift towards young people. Therefore it is very commendable that this activity is being organized by Chandigarh SACS and it is a novel way of spreading the message of protection against HIV/AIDS”.

The Project Director, Dr. Vanita Gupta informed that to combat the problem of HIV/AIDS in the youth, the Chandigarh State AIDS Control Society has established 18 Red Ribbon Clubs in various colleges of the city. These clubs aim at harnessing the potential of the youth by equipping them with correct information on HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care, Support and Treatment. It also aims in building their capacities as peer educators in spreading messages on positive health behavior in an enabling environment and increasing voluntary blood donation from among youth.

The awards were given to the winning teams by SDM (S), Ms. Prerna Puri. She stressed on the importance of following the principles of HIV prevention. She said that it is very important to think globally but act locally and mould the actions to culminate the epidemic as per the local needs.

Post Graduate Govt. College (GCM) Sec. 11 came first, Govt. College for B.Ed., Sector 20 got the second position and Govt. College, Sector – 46 bagged the 3rd Prize. The other colleges which participated included Govt. College for Girls, Sector 11, Govt. College for Girls, Sector 42, Chandigarh College of Engineering & Technology, Sector 26, Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Pharmacy, Sector 26, Brahm Rishi Yoga Training College, Sector 19, Govt. College of Commerce and Business Administration, Sector 42. These teams were given consolation prizes.

Ensuring safe blood is also one of the major activities to control the spread of HIV/AIDS. The activity coincided with a Voluntary Blood Donation camp in the premises of GCG-11 wherein, 103 units of blood were collected.

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