Bicycle Marathon to Spread AIDS Awareness in Remote Areas

As cyclists make their way through rural Bengal, they will discuss about the stigma associated with HIV and talk about discrimination and gender-based violence.

To spread awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in the remote areas, over a hundred cyclists, including transgenders and sex workers, pedaled off from Kolkata to the Bangladesh border in West Bengal.

"Initially, the plan was to ride all the way to Dhaka where the International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) will be held. But due to certain reasons, the event has been truncated till Petrapole, the Bangladesh border on the Indian side," transgender activist Santosh Giri of the community-based organization Kolkata Rista, a key partner in the cause, told IANS.

HIV/AIDS Rates Increased In Sub-Saharan Africa Before a War: Brown University Study
The study analyzed HIV incidence statistics in 36 sub-Saharan countries from 1990 to 2012 and correlated them with periods of conflict and peace in each country.

‘A bicycle marathon to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in the remote areas was flagged off from Sonagachi, a red-light district in north Kolkata.’

"But it will not affect the purpose of the marathon to encourage youth to access HIV services, without fear or prejudice, protect and promote human rights," Giri added.

The AIDS RIDE 2015 is a mobile awareness campaign, a part of the 12th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP). The bicycle marathon was flagged off from Sonagachi, a red-light district in north Kolkata.

The participants, including those affected with AIDS, will pass through high prevalence districts and pockets of HIV to generate awareness of access to health services such as diagnosis, treatment, care and support. Also joining in are sex workers and members of Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (a sex workers’ collective).

4 in 1 Combination Pill Receives USFDA Approval for HIV Treatment
Drug Firm Gilead’s Genvoya drug has been approved for for patients aged 12 and older and for adult patients whose HIV had been suppressed by other treatments.

Giri said as the cyclists make their way through rural Bengal, they will discuss about the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and talk about discrimination and gender-based violence. The target group is adolescents, particularly girls. The cyclists are expected to reach the border on November 19.

Source-IANS

Hepatitis A Virus Likely of Animal Origin Like HIV and Ebola
A large-scale study looking into the evolutionary origins of hepatitis A virus suggests that the virus is of likely animal origin like HIV and Ebola.

HIV Treated by a Shot? An Injectable Combination Drug Does the Magic in a Month
A new drug being developed by the ViiV Healthcare and Johnson & Johnson has the potential to treat HIV with a shot once a month or two months.