WebIndia - AIDS activists see red over universal symbol

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Bangalore | October 04, 2005 12:06:24 PM IST

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AIDS activists see red over universal symbol


An AIDS convention in Bangalore has decided to abandon the red-ribbon symbol, saying it is discriminatory.

Over a HIV-positive people across the country attended the two-day convention.

The organisers of the convention claimed that the red ribbon the, symbol of AIDS and HIV, has created a negative impact about victims.

"We have decided in the convention to abandon the AIDS symbol, the red ribbon, which acts as a negative in our minds. If a HIV person sees the AIDS symbol red ribbon we feel like committing suicide," Veena Dhari, an organiser at the convention said.

Veena Dhari, the first woman in the country to declare her self as a HIV Positive person, also said that the convention has decided to give impetus to the HIV/AIDS networking across the country.

"The second thing is the convention has passed a resolution to increase the HIV networking people across the country," she added.

India accounts for about 5.1 million HIV-positive people, next only to South Africa. The northeast has been declared as one of India's high-risk zones with close to 100,000 people infected with HIV.

In a recent report the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said if the misinformation and stigma about the disease continues at the scale it is now, the number of Indians with HIV could quadruple by 2010. (ANI)