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Call on Indian Railways to put HIV into training curriculum
10 October 2007
Two Indian railway unions are to propose that HIV and AIDS form an integral part of all training for railway workers across India.
The ITF-affiliated National Federation of Indian Railwaymen and All India Railwaymen’s Federation pledged to put the issue to the Indian Railways board. The unions, currently representing some 70 per cent of the entire Indian railway workforce, made the promise during a South Asian ITF HIV planning seminar in Kolkata, India, on 25-27 September.
Indian Railways runs a substantial number of schools for drivers and guards where they undertake induction courses and ongoing “refresher” training. The unions are hoping the board will agree to include HIV and AIDS in the curriculum.
Nishi Kapahi, ITF Delhi Office, commented: “Making HIV part of the training curriculum will mean railway workers will become more aware of the issue and this should bring about behavioural changes.”
Delegates also heard a report about the progress of a project initiated earlier in the year, run by the maritime affiliate the Forward Seamen’s Union of India. It has integrated HIV/AIDS into its own training module aimed at seafarers.
Some 2.5 million people in India are living with the virus.
Dr Asif Altaf, ITF Global HIV/AIDS Project Coordinator, stated: “This region is epidemiologically very important because countries are interconnected by a porous border where migration is high. This means infection can travel very quickly from one country to another."
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