World AIDS Day marked by warnings

In the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, about 450 people participated in an event that brought together about 20 people infected with HIV and hundreds of those not infected, with the aim of reducing the stigma attached to the virus.

A “Condom Fashion Show” featured outfits stitched together with condoms.

“We really need something like this so that people will understand more about the epidemic,” said Nguyen Minh Phuong, 37, who is infected with HIV. “It allows us to do something useful and help prevent the disease from spreading.”

INTERACTIVE The AIDS epidemic Cases and deaths around the globe

Public health authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir have found an unexpected ally in their battle against HIV and AIDS in the deeply conservative region.

The Jammu-Kashmir state AIDS prevention and control agency has enlisted hundreds of Islamic clerics to carry the message of safe sexual practices to Muslim believers, officials said.

Top Muslim cleric Mufti Nazir Ahmed usually preaches sermons at a mosque in Kashmir that urge Muslims to avoid promiscuity and homosexuality — widely believed to be among the major reasons for the spread of AIDS.

“Wherever I deliver a sermon, I talk about AIDS. Methods to prevent AIDS corresponds exactly with the teachings of Islam,” Ahmed said Friday. “If one follows the Islamic way, by no means can one contract AIDS.”

At least 37 people have died of AIDS in Jammu-Kashmir in the last decade, while another 931 people have tested positive for HIV or AIDS, he said.

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