Gilada PI, Gilada TI; International Conference on AIDS.

Int Conf AIDS. 2002 Jul 7-12; 14: abstract no. D11108.

People's Health Organisation (India), Mumbai, India

ISSUES: AIDS scenario has assumed dangerous proportions, affecting mainly youth. Denial of this trend and apathy has made India top the world in HIV.This nightmarish problem can be effectively countered by realistic confrontation on warfooting using all possible cultural and artistic avenues. Teen education should focus on factors that leads to risky behaviors as they would be sexually active earlier due to wide gap in puberty and marriage, urbanization and lax mores and may face the risks of pregnancy,STDs/HIV. DESCRIPTION: Our voluntary work,started at age 3, with a pioneering AIDS NGO, helped us conceive Healthy Youth-Healthy India movement for students in 11-20 bracket that represents 25% of population(250 million).Warm-up events around World AIDS Day were held in Mumbai; which will culminate in a 2-day mega-event,supported by the State Youth Directorate,followed by exhibitions,street-shows,wall-journals and contests aimed to save youth from hazards of Tobacco, Alcohol, recreational drugs and HIV/AIDS. Programs cover health education,exercises and yoga,constructive revolution, brain-storming for national development, crisis management,the sequel of events following risky behaviour. LESSONS LEARNED: Inculcating healthy behaviour in youth through importance of fitness,sports,nature loving helps them live most productively and free of many diaseases that step-in as invited troubles. Youth potential could be used in constructive revolution, in technology mission as think tanks and in making them watchdogs. RECOMMENDATIONS: The need to educate teens is enormous as they are more likely to experiment and risk. It is easier to prevent changing behavior pattern than to modify once it becomes habit. Using innovative cultural and artistic input in peer-education is cost-effective. We must avoid ritual delays in preventive efforts. If negative aspects of addictions are highlighted prior to experimentation,it makes a lasting impression in teen minds to resist pressures.

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• Adolescent
• Behavior
• Demography
• Female
• HIV Infections
• HIV Seropositivity
• Health Education
• Health Services Needs and Demand
• Humans
• India
• Population
• Pregnancy
• Sexually Transmitted Diseases
• education

Other ID:

• GWAIDS0016457

UI: 102253955

From Meeting Abstracts