Red ribbon is an effort by Alee Club which is a registered voluntary organization established with support of like-minded people crusading against all the social ills plaguing our society.
Alee Club (Regd.), a society duly registered with the registrar of societies NCT Delhi and also a pride recipient of the 'LIMCA BOOK OF NATIONAL RECORDS' is genuinely and seriously engaged in combating social evils with special emphasis in creating awareness and awakening amongst masses especially the Youths of this country. The Alee Club is formed by a group of likeminded people, crusading against social evils plaguing our society. The Alee Club has the credit of numbers of campaigns against social malpractice and dreadful diseases like- Polio, Hepatitis and HIV/AIDS. We are planning to open hospitals equipped with modern medical facilities as well as spiritual development centers for holistic development of individual and community health.
More than one third of reported cases of HIV/AIDS in India are among youth and 60 percent of these reside in rural areas. Assessment of the awareness of HIV/AIDS in the youth is important for determining the impact of previous and current awareness programs as well as the need for interventions. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of rural youth regarding HIV/AIDS and to explore the epidemiological determinants of awareness among them.
Methodology: A community -Based cross-sectional study was conducted among youths aged 15-24 years in rural areas of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, India. A cluster sampling design was u sed, surveying 50 subjects from each of 30 clusters. Data was collected through house-to-house visits using a semi-structured questionnaire. Proportions and logistic regression were used for analysis.Results: Out of a total of 1,237 subjects who participated in survey, 60% knew something about HIV. Of those who had heard of HIV, more than 90% subjects knew the modes of transmission and more than 80% were aware of modes of prevention of HIV/AIDS. One fifth of the subjects had misconceptions in relation to HIV/AIDS. On applying multiple logistic regression, age, education, occupation, and mass media exposure were found to be the major determinants of their knowledge with regard to HIV/AIDS.Conclusions: Basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS is still lacking in two fifths of the rural youth. Literacy and media exposure are factors that determine awareness of HIV among them and can be helpful to raise their knowledge regarding this scourge.
HIV is most often transmitted through unprotected sex with an infected person. AIDS may also spread by sharing drug needles or through contact with the blood of an infected person. Women with HIV can transmit it to their babies before or during birth or through breastfeeding. HIV-infected people taking antiretroviral therapy can still infect others through unprotected sex and needle-sharing. Incapable of surviving long outside the body, HIV cannot be transmitted through routine daily activities, such as using a toilet seat, sharing food utensils or drinking glasses, shaking hands, or kissing. The virus can only be transmitted from person to person, not through animals or insect bites. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates more than 1 million people are living with HIV in the United States. Twenty-one percent of people living with HIV—one in five—are unaware of their infection. According to CDC statistics, an estimated 56,300 Americans become infected with HIV each year. The World Health Organization’s latest figures pinpoint the total number of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide at 33.3 million.
