December 04, 2008	Thursday	Zilhaj 5, 1429

HYDERABAD, Dec 3: The Sindh Health and Education Development Society (SHEDS) and Association for Betterment and Development of Human Beings (ABAD) organised a seminar at the Hyderabad press club on Wednesday to mark the World Aids Day and create awareness among people against the killer disease.

Executive Director ABAD, Ms Rafiya Bangash advocate said that her organisation was working to create awareness, particularly among women about their rights and against HIV/AIDS as lack of knowledge was fast spreading this disease.

Project Coordinator of SHEDS, Dr Zahid revealed that more than 25 million around the world had succumbed to this disease while another 24 million were suffering from it. He further said that 50 per cent patients of the killer disease were women and children.

He said that there were around one-hundred-thousand people suffering from AIDS in Pakistan according to an international organisation’s survey but the National AIDS Control Programme puts the figure at 4,500 only.

He said that AIDS was attaining an alarming proportion throughout the world and it was as dangerous as a nuclear bomb.

Dr Tufail Ahmed Bhatti, Dr Seerat Shaheen and others also spoke on the occasion and dwelt at length on the causes and prevention of the disease.