A new train of thought

More than two decades into the Aids epidemic in India, people from various cross sections of society have finally begun discussing the condition. The credit for this goes to the Red Ribbon Express (RRE), a campaign train that has been traversing the length and breadth of the country for almost five years.

RRE, the brainchild of S.Y. Quraishi, former director-general of the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO), is now in the third phase of its journey to remove the stigma attached to HIV in society.

Quraishi conceived the idea of RRE in 2004, visualising the impact it would have on the country. NACO took a big step, and in association with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the Ministry of Railways and Unicef, launched the Red Ribbon Express in 2007.

Coinciding with World Aids Day, the train was flagged off on December 1 from New Delhi. The special exhibition train on HIV/Aids and other health-related issues covered 172 stations in 24 states, traversing 37,000 kilometres in the first phase.

In the second phase, in 2009, it covered more than 25,000 kilometres, touching 162 stations in 22 states.

The train is now on its third round across the country. This time it was flagged off on National Youth Day last January 12. With plans to stop at 163 stations in 23 states, the mission is to reach out to the youth and bring about health awareness.

Mohnish Kumar, CEO of RRE, who has been associated with the train since its inception and who has worked as a volunteer officer during the first phase, seemed optimistic about the progress of the campaign when he spoke to Weekend Review from southern India.

“The youth are the target audience, and there is lot of excitement among them,” he said.

“A discotheque-like ambience has been created in one of the coaches by setting up lights and a music system. It’s a good way to make them sing, dance and participate in various programmes, and at the same time educate them on ways to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids and related diseases.”

Kumar said the train comprises ten air-conditioned coaches, which include those with exhibits on HIV and Aids and one dedicated to NRHM, with exhibits on various health issues, infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, reproductive and child health services, and hygiene. The other coaches are reserved for medical services, counselling and training, and for the officers and supporting staff of RRE. There is one coach that serves as the pantry car.

Syama Prasad, joint director (IEC), Department of Aids Control, said: “NACO had paid Indian Railways more than Rs100 million (Dh7 million) to hire the train. The idea was to reach out to the remote and inaccessible parts of the country where print, electronic and social networks had not been able to find a way to.”

With a single-point agenda, to reach out to the country’s rural population, the mission seems to have met with success.

“The initial phase did not see many people opt for counselling, and discussing HIV/Aids was almost unthinkable. But gradually people opened up. Today 90 per cent of the rural population is getting HIV tests done,” Kumar said.

More than 30,000 people have undergone tests in the past few months alone, he said.

“Given the vastness of the country and the varied geographical terrain, it was not an easy task to work out the route,” a health ministry official said. “Moreover, the plan was restricted to a year, and the designated route had to be covered in that time. The route plan was based on the rate of HIV infection in certain areas, and states and districts that recorded high infection rates and vulnerabilities were put first on the agenda.”

The train spent sufficient time in these places, reaching out to people who came to the railway stations, and to the villages in the vicinity.

RRE, has been given a special look and feel, very different from the regular trains in India. Painted a cheerful sunshine yellow with a hint of blue and red, the train communicates the complexity of Aids — that though everyone is vulnerable to it, it is preventable.

“Since the country is so diverse, with dialects and the audience changing every few 100 kilometres — there are men and women who are rural and urban, literate and neo-literate — the information needs to be provided in the local language so they understand,” Kumar said.

An advertising agency is put in charge of the print and the audio-visual material on display at the exhibition. The language on the charts and the posters is also changed accordingly, whether it is Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Manipuri or any other.

The coaches which display the exhibits use a communication style that is highly interactive and packaged as infotainment. These include audio-visuals and touch-screen games, which make the exhibit attractive to the younger audience. Also, music videos and public-service advertisements featuring youth icons, such as film stars and cricketers, are immensely popular.

“People visiting the train have been instrumental in spreading the message and creating awareness,” Kumar said. “There are some stations where the Indian Railways cannot reach. But the message nonetheless is travelling far and wide by word of mouth.”

A huge network of volunteers fan out at stations, using bicycles and buses to zip across to villages to inform residents of the arrival of the train. Even while the train is stationed at the platform, a range of activities, such as plays and video films related to HIV and Aids, takes place in the vicinity.

Dhirendra Kumar Verma, operations manager of RRE, said: “Every halt is a different experience. While some days can be boring, others can be very hectic, where the crowd becomes very difficult to manage. Since the train’s security is of prime importance, we have to assist the police in controlling the crowd. People come with their families to see the train, and it looks as if some fair is on.”

Nilima Pathak is a journalist based in New Delhi.