The Hindu : Front Page : Tribal people falling prey to HIV/AIDS

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 13, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Tribal people falling prey to HIV/AIDS

Special Correspondent

Lack of awareness of the disease is greater cause for concern

— Photo: P. Goutham

An activist talking to tribals in Sengadu near Yercaud. — Photo: P. Goutham

YERCAUD: Tribal communities are becoming increasingly susceptible to HIV/AIDS.

Thirty year old Pandiammal (name changed) of a remote tribal habitation in Shevaroyan Hills has little to look forward to in life. A farm labourer with her three children, this Malayali has been struggling for a living in a plantation here. Pandiammal has also been waging a lone battle on another front. She tested HIV positive a few months back. Her husband, a truck driver, died of the disease last year. Fortunately, their children have tested negative.

Four persons in Yercaud died of AIDS in four years. Two Paliyar tribal women in a village in Kodaikanal hills also died reportedly of AIDS.

More than the prevalence of the disease, the tribals' `ignorance' about it is cause for concern. The lack of awareness threatens to nullify the vital gains health agencies achieved in their battle against AIDS.

The socio-economic factors play a crucial role here. The pestering drought and the increasing intrusion by those from the plains alienate the indigenous population from land and forests, thus forcing them to migrate. They are now construction workers, textile workers and truck drivers.

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