Raman's Blog

'Thookkam' as part of a 'Kaavadi' procession - a scene from Karamana in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday; a sight that is not rare in South India. Three men hanging with hooks piercing their back on a moving vehicle and the chains they are holding to helping to distribute their weight. Tags: kaavadi , kavadi , thookkam

Since WHO staged the first World AIDS Day in 1988, many things have changed. Yet as we know, a vaccine or a cure is still out of sight and much is needed to be done for prevention and in care. Today, HIV is concentrated in the sub Saharan Africa with about two thirds of people living with HIV and three quarters of the total deaths. More emphasis is to be given in the prevention of mother to child transmission and providing access to antiretroviral drugs to the affected.  A message from Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General is posted on the WHO website to mark this occassion. Tags: aids , day , who