Monday, October 15, 2007

Prashant Tamang to be roped in for AIDS awareness



New Delhi: After winning the hearts of millions and attracting frenzied passion in the north east, Indian Idol stars may now be roped in for a purpose.
The National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) is planning to use their star appeal in the north east, to propel their AIDS awareness campaign.
“This is aimed at those young people who continue in such risky relations but they should not get HIV in the process at least,” says NACO Director General Sujata Rao.
No confirmation has come from the stars yet, but this social marketing is only one aspect of the AIDS program.
The Australian Government has committed $8.9 million to the four states of Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram for tackling AIDS, with the help of the UN and the Government of Sweden.
“The UN is there to organize this technical assistance and capacity building. We are fully behind it,” says UNAIDS country coordinator Denis Broun.
It’s a known fact across northeastern states that the churches decry the usage of condoms.
Therefore for the teams working on the AIIDS program and also perhaps for the Indian idols, if they agree to carry on the campaign, a tough road lies ahead.