Speaker Sazo leads 6-Member NLFA Team & 2 Officials to International AIDS Congress at Bangkok

By Oken Jeet Sandham

KOHIMA, Nov 16 (NEPS): A team of Nagaland Legislature Forum for AIDS (NLFA) led by Assembly Speaker Chotisuh Sazo has left Nagaland today to attend the “11^th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP)” to be held from November 11 to 22, 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The NLFA Team Members are Chotisuh Sazo, Speaker, Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) and Convener, NLFA, Er Levi Rengma, Deputy Speaker, NLA, Mmholumo Kikon, MLA, Ameba Yaden, MLA, Toyang Chang, MLA and Khekaho Assumi, MLA and also Dr Vinito Chishi, State Consultant on NLFA and Miss Hukatoli, an Official of the NLFA.

Mmholumo Kikon, who is currently at Hong Kong, will fly to Bangkok and join the Team tomorrow at Bangkok.

Talking to NEPS at Dimapur Airport before leaving for Bangkok via Kolkata, Chotiush Sazo, the Team Leader, said he would more emphasize on the importance of keeping strict vigil on the porous International border to Nagaland State as such HIV/AIDS also allegedly came to their side from across the International border of Myanmar. “We should adopt some kind of mechanism as to how we can prevent spreading of HIV/AIDS from across the International border,” he said disclosing that the State (Nagaland) has 250 kilometers bordering with Myanmar. “I am going to draw attention of the world leaders who are attending in this very important 11^th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific at Bangkok,” he added.

“I personally believe that once a mechanism is drawn up to check cross border activities in those porous areas, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS will reduce considerably,” he pointed out.

The Nagaland Speaker also stated that he would draw the attention of the world leader at Bangkok Congress to seriously ponder over the dangerous issues of Hepatitis B because this “menace” was always associated with HIV patients. “We have to find ways to solve this area too,” he added.

Dr Vinito Chishi, State Consultant on NLFA, while talking to NEPS here at the Dimapur Airport, expressed the hope that attending such International Congress on AIDS by their legislators at Bangkok would immensely give fruitful education to “our legislators.”