Palakkad Indias First Literate HIV Aids District

Palakkad has been declared as the first complete HIV/AIDS literate district in the state, thanks to the joint initiatives of civic authorities and KESS-HAPPI, a voluntary organisation.

In view of increasing number of HIV cases reported in Palakkad, the district panchayat had drawn up a door-to-door campaign programme to educate people about the perils of the disease and the need to discard discrimination against its victims. The six-month project, titled 'Jyothirgamaya', has covered 91 village panchayats and four municipalities in the district.

T.N. Kandamuthan, the district panchayat president while talking to the media persons said that the district earned the title with the help of a project that was implemented for the last nine months.

The project was undertaken by the Palakkad district panchayat and KESS-HAPPI, a voluntary organisation.The name of the project was Jyothirgamaya. 91 gram panchayats along with the help of four municipalities cooperated to implement this project in the district of Palakkad.

This particular project was aimed to increases awareness about AIDS and educates people regarding the discrimination and the social stigma associated with the victims of AIDS.

The governmental officials have spread a message which aims to protect the affected people and to rehabilitate them for a better life to come up to the mainstream of life.

The officers who were responsible and were in charge of the project visited every remote place of the district to provide the information to the uneducated people. The local people have gained a lot of valuable information from the initiative taken by these people.

Pamphlets were distributed to every remote village and household. Classes that were aimed to increase awareness amongst the people were conducted under this project.

Several rallies and quiz contests were also organized by the workers of Asha, Anganwadi and Kudumbasree. Several voluntary organizations also joined hands to make this project Jyothirgamaya a success for the district.

Seminars and awareness classes had been conducted and pamphlets had been distributed in every household, educational institutions and other establishments in these areas with the support of the members of KESS-HAPPI.

The declaration was made in a function last week, district panchayat president T N Kandamuthan said. The core objective of the initiative is to bring down the number of HIV cases in the district, he said.

"According to the available figures, there are 1200 HIV affected patients in the district. The objective of our mission is to check its further spread by educating public about its dangers," he told PTI.

The project is also aimed to remove the society's stigma and discrimination related to the disease, he said.

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