\n
NAHARLAGUN, 29 Aug:<\/strong> Phurpa Yangzom and Kesang Drema of Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya (VKV), Kitpi-Tawang clinched the top honours at the state-level Red Ribbon Quiz Competition 2025, organised by the Arunachal Pradesh State AIDS Control Society (APSACS) here on Friday.<\/p>\n The all-girls team from Tawang edged past tough competition from across the state to lift the coveted title.<\/p>\n Mercy Towong and Bini Yumum secured the runners-up position, while the duo of Banneneyng Romey and Lune Kening from VKV Sunpura, Lohit, claimed the third spot.<\/p>\n Organised under the aegis of the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and executed by The Birds and Bees Talk, the quiz sought to blend a competitive spirit with a powerful social message – raising awareness on HIV\/AIDS among young people.<\/p>\n Addressing the gathering, Health Services Director Dr Marbom Basar called on students to take ownership of spreading awareness beyond classrooms.<\/p>\n “The youth force must join hands with society to fight HIV\/AIDS. You are the most powerful change agents we have. Arunachal’s youths have already proved their worth – last year our state team secured second place at the regional level,” he said.<\/p>\n Dr Basar also drew attention to the challenges facing the state, pointing out that nearly 60 percent of AIDS patients in Arunachal fall in the 25-40 age group.<\/p>\n “This is the most productive section of society, which means HIV is robbing families and communities of their future. More awareness and, above all, ending the stigma associated with HIV\/AIDS is the need of the hour,” he said.<\/p>\n Sharing the broader intent behind the competition, APSACS joint director (IEC) Tashor Pali said that the event was not simply about winning or losing.<\/p>\n “Quiz is a way to make youngsters learn, reflect and then take that knowledge back to their friends and families. Our aim is to create a chain of information where each student becomes a messenger of awareness,” he said.<\/p>\n Earlier, joint director (BSD) Dr Annong Borang and assistant director (youth) Bomter Basar underlined that such initiatives not only inform but also empower the next generation.<\/p>\n “The fight against HIV\/AIDS cannot be won by doctors and policymakers alone – it needs young hearts and minds,” Dr Borang said.<\/p>\n For Yangzom and Drema, the win was more than a trophy.<\/p>\n “We prepared hard, but more importantly, we learned so much about HIV\/AIDS and how it affects people in our society. We want to share this knowledge with others,” the duo said after their victory.<\/p>\n The pair will now represent Arunachal Pradesh in the upcoming regional competition scheduled in Sikkim next month.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NAHARLAGUN, 29 Aug: Phurpa Yangzom and Kesang Drema of Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya (VKV), Kitpi-Tawang clinched the top honours at the state-level Red Ribbon Quiz Competition 2025, organised by the Arunachal Pradesh State AIDS Control Society (APSACS) here on Friday. The all-girls team from Tawang edged past tough competition from across the state to lift the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-269776","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-state-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}