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A positive approach for HIV+ persons

BERHAMPUR: As homage to the Father of the Nation the Ganjam district administration organised an informal get together between HIV positive persons, elected representatives and district officials at Gopalpur on Tuesday.

Thirtyfour HIV positive persons, including 21 women, discussed their problems, including social stigma they are facing at the meeting with the dignitaries present. Union Minister of State Chandrasekhar Sahu, Berhampur MLA R.C.C. Patnaik, Khallikote MLA Sugnani Deo, Kavisuryanagar MLA Ladukishore Swain and Kodala MLA Niranjan Pradhan were present along with a team of district officials led by Collector V.K. Pandian.

Mr Patnaik, who is also a physician, said that HIV positive persons were now facing social stigma of the kind that leprosy patients used to face during the days of Gandhiji. Most of the HIV patients complained about lack of employment opportunity at their villages.

The women described how they and their children became untouchables for their own parents as well as in-laws. They alleged that they were not even getting their legal right over their parental property and property of their deceased husbands. They demanded the administration and government to start employment generating schemes for them.Most important demand of these HIV positive patients was provision of Anti-Retro Viral (ART) therapy for all HIV positive persons. The MLAs present declared to provide money from their local areas development fund for procurement of a CD-4 machine that counts the T4 cells in blood to ascertain the immunity level of a HIV positive person. The Union Minister promised to generate Rs. 50 lakhs for rehabilitation of HIV persons in Ganjam district.

The District Collector said a district level long-term strategy would be formed to check rise in HIV infection and rehabilitation of infected persons. Intensive HIV preventive programmes would be taken up in 12 HIV and migration prone blocks of Ganjam district. In rest of the 10 blocks extensive HIV/AIDS awareness programs would be taken up. Sunu Padhi (not real name), a participant, said the program brought in some hope in their minds. "After social ostracisation for HIV, I had never hoped to meet people who matter. Now I expect they would do something to alleviate our social status," she said. Loknath Mishra, director of Aruna, working for rehabilitation of HIV positive persons in Ganjam district, said more such programmes to get these persons close to people of different walks of life would increase their confidence to face life.

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