BSS, Dhaka :
President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday called for creating awareness about fatal disease AIDS in the country as they issued separate statements on the eve of World AIDS Day.
Both the president and the premier wished success of all programmes of the day and called upon the civil society and others concerned to join hands to spearhead a campaign against the outbreak of the deadly disease.
The President said AIDS has emerged as a serious threat to the world humanity and added “there is no alternative to creating awareness among the people to prevent this disease”.
“People can protect themselves from AIDS by following religious edicts and strengthening family ties,” the President said and called for civil society engagement in the anti-AIDS campaign alongside the government and private initiatives.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her statement, said the government has been implementing various programmes for the prevention of AIDS.
“Identification and treatment of AIDS/HIV affected people are underway among the vulnerable groups under an initiative to attain the goal of MDG-6,” she said.
Sheikh Hasina said the government is pledge-bound to bring down the prevalence of AIDS to zero in the country and noted that Bangladesh initiatives in preventing the deadly disease earned worldwide appreciation.
She urged all concerned, including donors, international organizations, development partners and government-private organizations to take joint efforts to stop social discriminations against AIDS patients, reduce HIV/AIDS infection and AIDS-related deaths.
