Religious leaders’ role sought in preventing HIV

Punjab AIDS Control Programme, Primary & Secondary Healthcare Department conducted a workshop on ‘Prevention of HIV and role of religious clerics in collaboration with UNAIDS, UNDP and UNICEF’.

Religious scholars from all over the Punjab attended the workshop. Punjab Health Services DG Dr Ilyas Gondal was chief guest. Addressing the participants, he said that the aim of the workshop was to enhance the role of religious scholars in the prevention of HIV-AIDS. He said the government was giving priority to the consultation and support of religious scholars to eliminate all diseases from society, especially HIV. Project Director PACP Dr Muhammad Farooq said that the voice raised from the pulpit would be more effective to prevent these diseases. Speakers from UNAIDS, UNDP, and UNICEF briefed on various aspects of the disease, especially the rumours about the disease spread in the society, and highlighted the positive role of scholars.