I started this last April and then completely forgot about it.
I was glad to have caught the Red Ribbon Express that arrived in Chennai Central on April 1, 2010. Chennai Central is the largest railway station in Tamil Nadu, with tens of thousands of passengers coming and going from different parts of India every day and night. It’s a strategic location for the Red Ribbon Express.
The Red Ribbon Express (RRE) is a 7-coach train, touted as world's largest social mobilization campaign against HIV, launched by the National AIDS Control Organiztion (NACO) in 2007. It is now on its second phase that flagged off in Delhi during the World AIDS Day (December 1) last year and had been to states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala before reaching Tamil Nadu.
The train was stationed at platform 11 for two days. Unlike the other trains i've been on, this one didn't have bunks to sleep on and was not meant to ferry passengers from one point of India to another. The train was transformed into an integrated venue for information and education, counselling and testing center. At least three coaches were bedecked with multi-media HIV awareness materials, posters, pictures, videos, and my favorite, telephones that when you lift the handset you could listen to canned messages explaining more about HIV. There were at least 6 phones and each one catered to specific needs of young professionals, familied person, women, and others. There was also counselling and testing center in one of the coaches. Anyone who needed counselling and wanted to be tested for HIV could go right there and then.
Unfortunately, everything was in Tamil, I could have raved more about it had I been able to comprehend their messages. What’s amazing is how much sweat and preparation were put into it by NACO, other HIV organizations and volunteers, because all the materials were produced in different languages and scripts and appropirate materials would be mounted for every state.
Outside the train, over 50 booths were set up for various organizations engaged in HIV issues. The entire platform 11 was a market of condoms, contraceptives, info materials, and some knick-knacks produced and sold by people with HIV. I didn’t know there was that much organizations concerned with HIV in Tamil Nadu.
But that’s not all, medical practitioners and volunteers also went to proximate districts and villages while the RRE was stationed in Chennai Central, to reach more people. They also brought with them HIV testing kits. According to a report in The Hindu, Chennai edition since phase 1 of this campaign, over 16,000 people have voluntarily submitted to testing and about 50% were identified as positive.
There’s an estimated 2.6 million cases of HIV in India, half of this has already been identified and recorded in NACO. I am not sure how many of them are in Tamil Nadu, but this is definitely one state with high prevalence of HIV. Years of arduous advocacy and networking with government, and education at grassroots level helped curb further HIV transmission in this state.
It was interesting to note that in Chennai Central Railway, throngs of people came to see the RRE and came in close contact with people in HIV manning (don’t know a gender neutral synonym, apologies) the booths, a good indication that there is reduced stigma and discrimination, the main adversary of the people with HIV.
Photo from http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20081108/aplus.html
more photos later
