AIDS awareness through quiz shows in India

With number of HIV cases in the country rising at an alarming rate, government has embarked upon an ambitious project to spread AIDS awareness in the country. To make the country's youth more informed about the disease, quiz shows will be organised in 2016 schools in 252 districts of the country. Celebrity quiz masters Siddharth Basu and Mini Mathur have been roped in to act as anchors for some of the shows. "Quizzing as a learning activity has huge potential and correct information passed on through our shows will surely spread awareness about Aids," said Siddharth Basu. "Participants of these quiz shows will be drawn from different socio-economic zones, so that, all communities irrespective of their social or economic status gain from it," Aiyar said. The ministry of youth affairs and sports which has taken the initiative as part of its 'Youth Unite for Victory on Aids (YUVA)' programme expects the innovative effort to be a success in the rural areas also.

Aids Vaccine

More than 20 million men, women and children have died from AIDS.
AIDS now kills more people worldwide than any other infectious disease.
More than 40 million people are living with HIV. Nearly all will die from AIDS-related complications within the next two decades.
An estimated 5 million people were newly infected with HIV in 2003.
The world needs an AIDS vaccine
More than 95% of all new infections are in developing countries, making HIV/AIDS among the most serious threats not only to global health, but to global development.
Prevention programs-including education, condom and clean needle distribution and peer counseling-have slowed the spread of HIV, but have not stopped it.
Treatment advances have yielded important new AIDS therapies, but the cost and complexity of their use put them out of reach for most people in the countries where they are needed the most. In industrialized nations where drugs are more readily available, side effects and increased rates of viral resistance have raised concerns about their long-term use.
Only an AIDS vaccine can end the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
We can end the AIDS for all time
The scientific consensus is that an AIDS vaccine is possible. Non-human primates have been protected by experimental AIDS vaccines. Some people repeatedly exposed to HIV resist infection and mount HIV specific immune responses, providing important clues for the design of an effective AIDS vaccine. Other infectious diseases have been controlled by vaccines. Smallpox was eradicated in 1977 because of an effective vaccine. Polio has been eliminated in the Americas and projections are that it will be eliminated globally by the end of 2005. Measles and yellow fever have been controlled by vaccines.
The prospects for success have never been greater.
Advances in molecular biology and basic HIV research have led to the development of promising strategies for effective AIDS vaccines.
Imagine a World without AIDS.
No single organization or government can end the AIDS epidemic. Just as no country, no region, and no community is immune to HIV, all must play a role in the effort to bring the epidemic under control. With greater commitment from a range of governments, foundations, scientists and committed individuals the world will at last have a realistic chance of creating a vaccine to end AIDS for all time.
IAVI and its partners are committed to speeding the discovery and distribution of a safe, effective and accessible AIDS vaccine. Developing an AIDS vaccine to save lives and economies will be one of the world's greatest achievements. Not to do so would be one of its greatest failures.