Red Ribbon Express is an

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

awareness campaign train by the

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

. The motto of the Red Ribbon Express is "Embarking on the journey of life".Citizen News Service - CNS: Red Ribbon Express: On track to good health
/ref>

History

The Red Ribbon Express was launched in India on

World AIDS Day World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired immun ...

, December 1, 2007. The seven coach train was flagged off by

United Progressive Alliance United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party ...

Chairperson

Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi ('' née'' Maino; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest serving president of the Indian National Congress, a social democratic political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independ ...

. The Red Ribbon Express became the first time information and awareness about HIV/AIDS was disseminated through a train service, Indian Railways. Initial talk of the HIV/AIDS awareness train began over two years before its launch.The Hindu : New Delhi News : Finally, it’s green signal for Red Ribbon Express
/ref> The idea of the Red Ribbon Express was developed by the

Rajiv Gandhi Foundation The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation was established on 21 June 1991. The foundation works on a range of issues including literacy, health, disability, empowerment of the underprivileged, livelihoods and natural resource management. Its current focus ar ...

, the

National AIDS Control Organisation The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), established in 1992 is a division of India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that provides leadership to HIV/AIDS control programme in India through 35 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Societie ...

and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan in 2004. The Red Ribbon Express' second phase was flagged off by Sonia Gandhi on World AIDS Day, 2009. This second phase aimed to reach out to a larger portion of the rural poor and the government hoped that more people would get tested and treated.Red Ribbon Express: Reaching out , NDTV.com
/ref> The train was designed and fabricated by JWT (Delhi Office, INDIA). The train was designed and fabricated by DESIGN C (JWT). It was operated and maintained whole year during phase-1(2007–08) and phase-2(2009–10). Dr. Daman Ahuja (National Incharge- Field Planning) from NACO has coordinated the Community Mobilization part all across the three phases of its run across the country.

Campaign

The Red Ribbon Express seeks to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS, promote safe sex and reduce discrimination against AIDS victims in India, especially those in rural regions. India has the third largest population of HIV/AIDS victims worldwide (with over 2.4 million people affected in 2007), after

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

(5.7 million) and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

(2.6 million). On-platform and off-site communication activities such as exhibits, street plays and demonstrations are used. Treatment and counselling services are also available on the coach. The projects target audience was broad, including youth groups, women's groups, student communities, urban slum dwellers and farmers. In its first phase the train was expected to travel 27,000 km, reaching 180 stations and holding programmes in over 50,000 villages. To reach outer districts, buses and bicycles are used. The Red Ribbon Express, in its second phase, also devotes information to general health, hygiene and communicable diseases such as

swine influenza Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As o ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and reproductive and child health services. Government has Launched Third Phase of Red Ribbon Express in New Delhi on January 12, Union Health & Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad launched the National AIDS Control Organisation's Red Ribbon Express Phase III

Partners

Partners involved in the Red Ribbon Express HIV/AIDS campaign include NYKS, NACO, Indian Railways,

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

, State AIDS Control Societies (SACS), National Rural Health Mission,

Ministry of Railways (India) The Ministry of Railways is a ministry in the Government of India, responsible for the country's rail transport. The ministry operates the statutory body Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport and is ...

, Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust, and the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.

Response

The response of the Indian public to the Red Ribbon Express has fluctuated since its inception. In November 2008, ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'' reported the response to the Red Ribbon Express' two-day visit to the district of

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

as "overwhelming".Its work done, Red Ribbon Express leaves city - Indian Express
/ref> The turnout in Chandigarh was over 10,000 people, the highest of any metropolitan area as of November 2008, with over 1,000 visitors receiving guidance from the counsellors on board. Bombay News.Net also reported an "overwhelming" response in the district of

Guntur Guntur () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Guntur is spread across 168.49 km square and is the third-largest city in the state. It is situated to the west of the Ba ...

in 2008.Bombay News - Bombay News Updates , Daily Coverage from Bombay News.Net
/ref> However, according to

NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...

, as of December 2, 2009, the Red Ribbon Express had not generated as much response as expected. To increase the public participation in the Red Ribbon Express campaign, the Indian government began offering medical services at stations.

Notes and references

External links