DELHI, December 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
Today is #WorldAIDSDay. This year the theme is "Focus, Partner, Achieve: An AIDS-free Generation." Take a moment today to reflect on the lives we've lost to AIDS and how far we've come in combating this deadly disease.
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Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Ramesh Agarwal (Chairman - Agarwal Movers Group) & Chairman - AITWA said, "There will be no ending to the AIDS epidemic without putting people first. People should have full access to life saving HIV treatments and prevention services. Fast tracking the end of the AIDS epidemic is possible by working together, fostering innovation, securing commodity security and ensuring access to HIV prevention. If we continue to work together, we can get zero new infection, zero AIDS-related death."
According to a study conducted by a Delhi-based NGO, the workers in the hotel and tourism industry had the highest HIV prevalence among groups tested, followed by drivers. About 40% truck drivers were susceptible to having AIDS.
Some of the facts collected by Centre for Media Studies are that 95% of the truckers with AIDS were in the age group of 18 to 45 years and around 75% were in the profession for more than five to six years. This shows that more than illiteracy, ignorance and being away from home for long durations were the main reasons behind the spread of the disease among the truckers' community, they then brought the infection with them, often to areas where the disease had not yet penetrated.
Since truck drivers are always on the move to deliver on time, so whenever they want a quick nap or want to sleep, they park their trucks at the roadside or near dhabhas during nights. This is the time when bad elements are on the prowl for their victims. Since these drivers are away from their family for long periods of time, they are vulnerable and hence fall prey to these bad elements, thereby getting infected by the prohibited disease.
To prevent them from falling prey to such situations and get infected, Mr. Agarwal came up with an idea to provide a secure place for these drivers, which is not susceptible to brooding of such bad elements.
Our Driver Seva Kendra situated at the Jaipur - Kishangarh highway (NH-8) is one such place where truck drivers are secured from sex workers. Within the compound of Drivers Seva Kendra, the driver feels at home. The facility to sleep safely without being disturbed, at present, is being used by 450-500 truck drivers each day, numbering to 15,000 truck drivers per month. As a next step, confidence is inculcated among the drivers' minds through medical camps and educational CD's that they are the most essential and ultimate to their family members.
Mr Ramesh Agarwal said, "When a truck driver is affected by HIV/AIDS, the consequences are many in his personal, family and public life. He discontinues as an active earner of the family and has to be hospitalized. The burden falls on the shoulders of his wife and children who are disrupted from their routine in several ways. If young, their studies are profoundly affected. The stigma, which is attached to the particular person and his family members, is very unlikely and causes a deep negative expression in the minds of the members of his family, especially women. Guided by our national HIV/AIDS strategy, we are working to build an environment for our driver community where every person has access to safe living conditions, regardless of who they are."
About Agarwal Packers & Movers Ltd
Over the last 27 years, Agarwal Packers & Movers Ltd has become a company of national and international repute and has enormous credentials to its name including the highest accolade being acknowledged in the Limca Book of Records for the largest movers of household goods in the country. With 102 offices across the country, 6400+ employees, 14 lakh satisfied customers, the company is known for its innovative approach in the packing and moving industry.
More information is available at http://www.agarwalpackers.com
Media Contact: Sandhya Bansal, [email protected], +91-9350879556, Agarwal Packers & Movers Ltd.
Source: Agarwal Movers Group
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