Imphal, May 11: Recognizing the high incidence of HIV infection and AIDS in Manipur, the Bill and Milida Gates Foundation has, for the second time, offered to pump in funds to combat the disease to the State Government, while the United Nations has agreed to depute its representatives here to study incidents of drug abuse and crime.

Talking to The Sangai Express an official source said that the fund offered by the Bill Gates Foundation will come through the Emmanuel Hospital Association and added that representatives of the Foundation are likely to come to Imphal either this month or next month.

The State Government has already received a written intimation from the Delhi's office of the Foundation offering to pump in the fund to fight the spread of HIV and AIDS, said the source and added that the representatives from the Foundation will come here to calculate how much fund would be needed.

On a similar line, the United Nations will send a representative from its UN Office on Drugs and Crime (South Asia Regional office) Garg Lewis to study drug abuse and drug related crimes in Manipur.

Lewis is expected to arrive here on May 24.The UN representative will be here in connection with the a new project of the UN, "G-72-Formation of Peer Network to address HIV risk in injecting drug using population in the North Eastern States and metropolitan cities of India," added the source.

Earlier the UN had taken up a project christened E-41 under the theme, "Community wide drug demand reduction in the North Eastern States of India," said the source and added that this project was taken up in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Union Ministry of Health.

The UN representative Garg Lewis will be here from May 24 till 26.During his trip here, he is scheduled to meet the State Health Secretary, officials of the Narcotics Control Bureau, law enforcing agencies, police and representatives of NGOs.

The source further said that the Australian Government has agreed to release funds to combat HIV and AIDS in four States of India.

The four States are Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Delhi.

The fund from the Australian Government will be released through multilateral agencies.

Officials from the Australian High Commission at New Delhi have arrived at Imphal to work out the details of releasing the fund, said the source.

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