World AIDS Day seminar held at UoP

PESHAWAR: The Noor Education Trust, a women rights organization, arranged a seminar at the Pakistan Study Centre, University of Peshawar, to mark the World AIDS Day.
The students and faculty members attended the event. Speaking as a chief guest, Professor Dr Fakhrul Islam, Director of the Pakistan Study Centre, said that HIV/AIDS is an issue in the society. “Being citizens of this country, it is our responsibility to acquire and spread information about this issue through awareness raising seminars and other related activities,” he added.
A social activist, Arshad Haroon, shared his views about the HIV/AIDS. He also took the opportunity to talk about the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. He said from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day, this 16-day campaign is a time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world.
A guest speaker, Shahbaz Akbar Chaudhry, explained the causes HIV/AIDS and the precautions. An awareness-raising walk was also staged about HIV/AIDS. The students attended the walk by holding banners inscribed with various slogans. Sabahat Mushtaq, legal associate at the Noor Education Trust, and other team members from the organization facilitated the event.
Meanwhile, as many as 43 disaster management organisations showcased stalls in the 7th National Disaster Management Exhibition, which got underway at the University of Peshawar from Wednesday.Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Rasul Jan inaugurated the exhibition. He was accompanied by ACF Country Director Stephen Andrew Tailor.
The vice-chancellor visited the stalls wherein he was briefed by representatives of various NGOs working in the field of disaster management. Addressing a ceremony on the occasion, Dr Rasul Jan said that Pakistan was prone to natural and man-made disasters and in such situations, the services of trained disaster management professionals and organisations were imperative to minimise the volume of damage.
He added that after the 2005 earthquake, many organisations in the government and private sectors were established to manage calamities in future. However, the ideal results could not be achieved due to dearth of trained and skilled professionals.
The vice-chancellor said the university was working on the set goal of “Education for Peace” and will make all-out efforts to achieve it. He appreciated the participation of scores of national and foreign delegates in the exhibition and said the same would provide a networking opportunity to them to keep close liaison and benefit from one another’s experiences.