'Red Ribbon Express' to spread message on Aids awareness

The Red Ribbon Express - an exhibition train spreading awareness on HIV/Aids and health-related issues as part of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)- would reach here on May 4, official sources said today.

During its two-day stay at the railway station here, altogether 360 people from different sections of the society would be given training about the deadly disease, chief district medical officer (Koraput) Rabi Narayan Das said.

The aim behind the project is to bring the HIV/Aids-affected persons to the mainstream for socio-economc development then merely showing it as a medical or public health issue, Das said.

The eight-bogie train was flagged-off in Delhi on December 1, 2009 on World Aids day and would cover 124 railway stations spread across 24 states before ending its journey on December 2010.

In Orissa, the train would travel for 21 days and halt at nine important stations including Rayagada, Koraput and Berhampur.