Orissa Government seeks religious leaders’ support in its combat against HIV/AIDS

Bhubaneswar – The State Government of Orissa has sought support from leaders of all religion in its battle against HIV/AIDS, Christian Today has confirmed.

"If our religious leaders advise people on HIV/AIDS, it will have a tremendous impact," said Mayadhar Panigrahi, director of Orissa State AIDS Control Society, who wrote to the heads of all the religions in the state, seeking their “blessings.” The society is a project of the state's Health and Family Welfare Department.

According to Panigrahi, the objective of his department is to educate people on the dangers posed by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS and on the various ways to prevent it. HIV usually leads to AIDS, which has no medical cure and is almost always fatal.

Currently, Orissa has a low HIV/AIDS infection rate, but it could change for the worse as neighboring states like West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh were “highly vulnerable” to the dreaded disease. Many people from Orissa go to these states to work as daily laborers.

The major reasons for the spread of HIV/AIDS in Orissa are related to the migration of laborers and tourism, Panigrahi observed. He said his society planned to target people above 15 for AIDS awareness programs.

According to Panigrahi, the health department requires the cooperation of all, especially “religious heads in Orissa,” as the battle cannot be fought alone.

Christian Today has confirmed that the religious leaders have welcomed the request from the government for their assistance as the disease cuts across religions too.

While Church of North India (CNI) Bishop Reuben Senapati of Cuttack has promised to support the program in every way, Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack–Bhubaneswar Archdiocese has called the collaboration with the government and leaders of all other religions in the state an "innovative idea."

Swami Agnivesh, chairperson of World Council of Arya Samaj (a Hindu reformist sect) and a recipient of several international Human Rights awards, has commended the program, calling the collaboration as one of the "rare chances" for all religions to work together, forgetting religious differences between them.

Muslim leader Sahid Abdul Khan said he was eager to join the awareness program, while Anand S. Prabhat, a Buddhist, predicted "phenomenal" results when "religious heads team up for this noble cause."

A Sikh leader, Pratap Kumar Singh, said the religious heads could impress on their people the need to adopt self–prevention and thus control the disease.

According to Panigrahi, the government has proposed holding an interfaith round table and a conference of religious leaders on September 17–18 in Puri, Orissa. It has invited Swami Agnivesh to chair the program. The government has also urged the religious leaders to ensure that important people from their respective religions attend the conference.