HIV/Aids programme attracts teens, adults

Condoms and brochures lined the tables. Teenagers and adults alike eagerly absorbed the information given to them by various non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It was an enthusiastic response to the initiative of the Office of the Prime Minister which hosted an HIV/Aids awareness programme at the Croisee Promenade, San Juan, on Friday. It was the third HIV/Aids community outreach programme held this year.

The first was in August in Arima and the second in September in San Fernando. Dr Beverly Andrews, an associate professional in the Office of the Prime Minister, and the event’s co-ordinator, said Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for HIV/Aids Rodger Samuel wants to reach a million people with the message of prevention.

Andrews said the Government would soon be setting up a national Aids co-ordinating committee. The last one was disbanded in 2010 after the World Bank funding had ended. Seventeen NGOs attended the event to educate the public on the disease, among them Mothers to Mothers and the Red Cross Society.

The theme of the programme was “HIV is everybody’s business.” Andrews said she was pleased with the community’s response to the event, since she saw approximately 200 people or more visit the tents with the various NGOs present.