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Telangana Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha on Thursday led a human chain on the Durgam Cheruvu Cable Bridge in Hyderabad as part of the 'Praja Palana - Pragati Pranalika' initiative to promote awareness about HIV/AIDS.
Speaking to ANI, the minister said the government organised an AIDS awareness "Red Run" programme to educate citizens and remove social stigma associated with the disease. "We have organised AIDS awareness red run program. AIDS should not be a social stigma and every citizen should be aware of what it is, how we can get infected, the prevention... It is generally a sexually transmitted disease and we must take all the precautions. Testing is important, particularly for pregnant women... It is not a social stigma anymore," the health minister told ANI. "We are running an awareness programme, so that every citizen should know what they are consuming, and avoid adulterated food. The government is with you, but you must start taking care of your health, and we start this walk with this message," he added. He further said Telangana has strengthened treatment and testing infrastructure across the state, as it has 33 Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centres and 127 testing centres. "Government of India brought an act in 2017, clearly stating that protecting an AIDS patient is the responsibility of society and the government. Telangana has 33 Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centres, 127 testing centres and we are providing free medicines to the patients. We are taking all the measures but the most important measure is the awareness among the citizens," he said. Earlier on Monday, the Telangana government also organised a large-scale Food Safety Awareness Walkathon at Necklace Road in Hyderabad as part of its flagship programme 'Praja Palana - Pragati Pranalika', under which Health Week is being observed from April 6 to April 11 across the state. The initiative aims to raise awareness among citizens about safe food consumption and the risks associated with adulterated food, with officials emphasising the need for individual responsibility alongside government efforts. Flagging off the walkathon, Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha highlighted the importance of public awareness in ensuring better health outcomes. (ANI)
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