[caption id="attachment_184407" align="alignnone" width="550"]
Participants at the International Candlelight Memorial Service in Zunheboto.[/caption]
Dimapur, May 21 (EMN): The District AIDS Prevention and Control Unit (DAPCU) of Zunheboto observed the International Candlelight Memorial Service for HIV affected people on May 19 at the Youth hall in Zunheboto.
The guest speaker of the programme, president of the Sümi Totimi Hoho, Zunheboto unit, Boholi, urged for cooperation to tackle the HIV menace. She also called upon the people to extend love and sympathy to the affected persons, stating that HIV / AIDS is not only a medical problem, rather it is affecting the people in all walks of life.
She said though preventive measures are being taken to reduce the infection and threat caused of HIV / AIDS, the role of society is needed to prevent further infection. Also, she said stigma and discrimination should be shunned to encourage the patient to enable them to deliver their testimony so as to prevent further spread to others.”Time has come for the society to stand up to fight the HIV / AIDS menace”, she added.
Boholi also pointed out that 70 million people are infected with HIV worldwide, out of which 30 million died of HIV infection and 62000 of AIDS. In Nagaland it is recorded that the 22000 people are affected with HIV out of which Zunheboto district has 206 affected people and 41 dead, she informed.
