The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will start a six-month certificate course and a one-year diploma course on "HIV and Family Education" from the next academic year starting July 2004. This is for the first time in the country that formal courses are being offered on AIDS education.

Addressing newsmen in Hyderabad on Thursday, Prof. Gracias Thomas , Director, IGNOU School of Continuing Education, said the literature on AIDS awareness available in the country was mostly copied from western sources, thus making it out of context for Indians. With this in mind the university had prepared "value-based study material that is in harmony with Indian culture and social structure," he said.

"What is applicable and acceptable in the permissive western society may not find many takers in India as our approach towards sex, marriage and family relationships are entirely different," Thomas said.

There was no logic in promoting just the use of condoms as they were not foolproof, he said, adding that advertisements promoting condoms were not the last words in AIDS campaign.

The courses will be offered at six IGNOU study centres in the state initially. Depending on the response and enrolment, the university will consider extending it to more study centres. IGNOU has signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the universities of Kenya and Namibia to offer the courses in those countries.

An introduction to counseling will form part of the course so that after the completion of the course and specialised training, the students can opt for AIDS counseling.

Meanwhile, the Hyderabad district administration is planning to launch a massive AIDS and family health awareness campaign from June 16 covering a total population of 12.5 lakh in the slums of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Addressing a district coordination committee meeting on AIDS control and prevention measures, Hyderabad District Collector Rajeswar Tiwari said in all 125 doctors drawn from various hospitals and 319 paramedical staff along with 660 anganwadi supervisors and 100 volunteers would be involved in a door-to-door survey during the campaign that will end on June 30.

The health department staff will conduct basti-level meetings, identify suspected HIV positive cases, sexually transmitted diseases and respiratory track infections. If any of these cases are traced, the patients will be referred to the nearby urban health posts for counseling or for treatment from June 23 to 30. Such counseling will be available in all the 60 urban health posts. The Collector said the state ranked 23rd in last year's performance indicators in spite of having the state-of-the-art facilities. He called upon the officials to be responsive and responsible.