Observing International Condom Day on February 13 , AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organisation providing medical care to the people living with AIDS, has come forward to sensitise people to safer sex behaviour.
Concerned about the condom supply shortage in States, including Haryana, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, which have relatively high HIV prevalence, AHF members along with representatives from India met senior Union Health officials to raise the matter and provide immediate measures. “This day, being a day before the Valentine’s, has been very effective in catching the public attention and effectively creating awareness of condom use in those parts of the globe which have had effective participation from all stakeholders. With the theme - Condoms are Cool - we are organising flash mobs, magic shows, and street plays on February 15 in Connaught Place as part of Raahgiri to observe International Condom Day” said Shyam Gupta, AIDS Healthcare Foundation India Cares official.
“India cannot afford not to do research in new drug discovery. Have confidence in the new rules and regulations; take advantage of them; and bring clinical trials back to India,” said Prof. Ranjit Roy Chaudhury, while delivering the keynote address at the inauguration of the 8th Annual Clinical Research Conference organised by the Indian Society for Clinical Research (ISCR) at Gurgaon.
“Clinical research needs to be built on a quality and ethical framework,” he said , while highlighting the need for research investments in antimicrobial resistance, predictive medicine or genomics, traditional systems of medicines, and mental health. ISCR president Suneela Thatte said, “It seems only logical that we as a country should have a clinical research agenda of our own. On the contrary, in spite of being home to 17 per cent of the population of the world and having a fifth of the world’s disease burden, our contribution to global drug trials is around 1.5 per cent and this has probably dropped over the last couple of years.’’
Heart Care Foundation of India, an NGO working in the area of health, on Friday announced its partnership with the Indian Medical Association towards the cause of saving the girl child.
Under the partnership, the IMA will adopt 32 girl children from across the country suffering from congenital heart disease, who are in need of surgical intervention, but unable to afford the treatment.
Heart Care Foundation of India president K. K. Aggarwal said, “Out of every 1,000 live births, one child is born with congenital heart disease. We believe that no person, irrespective of their financial status, deserves to die just because they can’t afford treatment.”
