Land of Jewels (Sana Leibak)

The news that HIV/AIDS infection in the three hill districts of Manipur bordering Myanmar -- Churachandpur, Chandel and Ukhrul -- is on the increase mainly due to commercial sex workers from that country spreading the dreaded disease should be taken note seriously by the authorities. Myanmar is a country where the incidence of HIV/AIDS is 1.3 per cent of the total population (240,000 out of 47,373,958) while it is 0.3 percent is case of India. Myanmar ranks lowest among countries worldwide in international assistance per capita and among lowest in the world to get antiretroviral treatment access by the patients. Currently, fewer than 20% of HIV-positive people in need of drugs receive them -- either from international groups or in small amounts from the government -- according to a report of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) released in November 2008. More alarming is the fact that an estimated 42 per cent of Myanmarese women in the age group pf 15-49 carry HIV by the end of 2007. So, ne...

CM stresses need for commitment, determination: Imphal, Dec 28: The Chief Minister of Manipur on Friday gave a call for firm determination and commitment to meet the challenges of HIV/AIDS in the state. The CM, inaugurating the one day state level convention on HIV/AIDS at Panchayat Bhawan, said that collective effort with mass participation is the answer to the prevention and eradication of HIV/AIDS. Ibobi said that the elected legislative members are going to show their commitment and participation in fighting HIV/AIDS. He said that the MLA Local Area Development Fund Act has been amended to enable sanctioning certain amount for HIV/AIDS related programmes in each assembly constituencies. However, he said that percentage of fund to be allocated is not yet decided upon. Inspiring the zilla parishad members and pradhans to get actively involved in the issue of HIV/AIDS, the CM said that each member of the panchayat should look into the details in their respective villages and do time b...