RANGPUR, July 15 (BSS): Speakers at an advocacy meeting here have stressed on creating adequate awareness through disseminating education, knowledge and social values among the vulnerable group people in preventing spread of HIV/AIDS.
Rangpur Drop-in-Centre (DIC)-2 of Help & Education for Least-privileged People (HELP) organised the meeting on 'Effective Implementation of HIV/AIDS Response in Bangladesh' at the Jatiya Rickshaw-Van Sramik Union Office in the city on Tuesday.
Members of the district unit of Jatiya Rickshaw-Van Sramik Union, transport workers, community leaders, social workers, religious leaders, civil society members, hijra community people, journalists and local elite participated in the advocacy meeting. Businessman Aiyub Ali presided over the meeting arranged with the assistance of the National AIDS/STD Programme of the Directorate of Health Services of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, the Global Fund and Save the Children.
Coordinator of Rangpur DIC-2 of HELP Mamunur Rahman narrated the HIV/AIDS situation and activities of the organisation in expanding essential services to the transport workers, street-based, floating and hotel/residence-based sex workers in the city.
Outreach Supervisor of Rangpur DIC-2 of HELP Ahsan Ali Khan delivered welcome speech narrating goals and objectives of the meeting and called for creating adequate social awareness to prevent further spread of the deadly diseases.
Rickshaw and van cart drivers Harunur Rashid, Moynul Hossain, Abdul Hye, Tofazzal Hossain, Golam Mostafa, Abdul Hakim, car drivers Saiful Islam, Milan Rahman and Kina Miah took part in the open discussion, among others.
The speakers said the killer HIV/AIDS diseases have been posing formidable threats to human life and social health with possibilities of further spreading, as the situation in the neighbouring countries is already vulnerable.
