World AIDS Day

Date: 1^st Dec, 2023

Organized by: School of Social Science

Collaborating partner: School of Health Science

Resource person(s): Himakshi Chaudhury, Asst Professor, Dept of Sociology & HoD Dept of Education, Assam Women’s University

Tanmoy Acharyya, District Program Coordination, District Hub for Empowerment of Women, Women & Child Development Dept, Jorhat

The School of Social Science organized a talk and discussion on the occasion of 35^th World AIDS Day which was aided and led by expert resource persons from both academia and the industry. The session started with lighting of the lamp and a welcome address by Dr Gitumoni Konwar, Dean, School of Health Science, where she elaborated on how the virus spreads and affects the body. The resource person, Professor Himakshi Das, tried to connect identity intersectionalities with the public health issue of HIV AIDS and unpacked the idea of stigma. She highlighted the plights of the queer community, the black community, commercial sex workers and other vulnerable communities to HIV AIDS. She helped the students become aware about the existence of stigma and urged them to become conscious actors to dispel misconceptions. The platform was also graced by Dr Rajesh Jesudasan, Dean, School of Pharmacy who tied the role of pharmacists in dealing with the problem of HIV AIDS. The event was reflective of the collaborative spirit required between various agencies of the society to tackle the problem of HIV AIDS that still persist in our society.