World AIDS Day - December 1, 2017

With 2.1 million Indians infected with HIV infection, India accounts for the third highest number of people living with HIV in the world. The country witnessed 80,000 new infections in 2016. Despite the availability of free antiretroviral treatment , uptake remains low as many individuals face difficulty in accessing clinics.

These organisations speaks up about the pertinent issues faced by the PLHIV population of the country and stigma attached to HIV/AIDS.

Ending AIDS as a public health threat
Vulnerable status of sex workers in India and their children
Need for livelihood opportunities for their betterment
Spread of AIDS amongst the MSMs and transgender community
Impact of AIDS/ HIV and how PLHIV strive and struggle for livelihoods
Financial entitlements – Equal rights for financial support

Discrimination against HIV positive people in India, state of execution of HIV/AIDS Act – With ignorance, discrimination and limited opportunities, PLHIV are more likely to live in poverty, and have poor mental health. Despite having a full-fledged law which bans each kind of discrimination against PLHIV, the situation has not improved in the country. Despite having a full-fledged law which bans each kind of discrimination against PLHIV, the situation has not improved in the country.

‘Transphobia’ in Indian healthcare system –Transgender community, today, is failing to attain basic medical treatment. In spite of a free public health system, transgender community has reported to face complete denial, humiliation and exclusion from medical services. The matter becomes even more grieve when a transgender is diagnosed with HIV. There is high HIV prevalence rate among trans community at 7.5% whereas the general population has a prevalence rate of 0.26%.

HIV/TB and HIV/ HCV Co-infection –

o The risk of developing active TB is estimated to be 26 and 31 times greater in people living with HIV than in those who are HIV-negative. There is no official data on the magnitude of the TB/HIV co-infection in India. However, the data garnered from studies on HIV sero-positivity among adult TB patients in tertiary health care centers does provide an insight on the magnitude of the problem though it would be naive to assume the data to be representative of the problem in the community.

o Approximately 12 million people in India are chronically infected with Hep C. An estimated 2.3 million people living with HIV are co-infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) globally as per WHO. National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is planning a national programme on HCV on the lines of HIV/AIDS but data on HIV prevalence in India is yet to be collected from different parts of the country. AHF can talk about Policy intervention for Hep C, HIV/HCV, civil society and legal aid organisations in India.

Importance of Community HIV testing – The latest reports by The Lancet Journal suggests that young people with HIV may now have near- normal life expectancy because of improvement in treatments. The treatment of HIV is reliant on timely detection of the disease and it is possible only through reaching out to the vulnerable communities and detect the virus through testing. Community-based testing is a major initiative to reach out to such “isolated” vulnerable groups. The current state of expenses and life-expectancy involved in HIV treatment also needs attention.
India’s First Free Condom Store – Various State AIDS Control Society are facing massive shortage of condoms to distribute among the masses. As per NACP IV MTR report, only 16 per cent of the population has access to condoms. To address this situation, AHF India decided to launch India’s first ‘Free Condom Store’ where one could easily place orders for condoms and they would get delivered at their doorstep for free.
Funding problems faced by The Global Fund – The Global Fund is a multilateral partnership, primarily funded through donations from wealthy countries. Through Global Fund-supported programs, 11 million people receive lifesaving treatment for HIV (including in India) and 17.4 million have received treatment for tuberculosis.

Spokespersons:

Can share key insights in the issue and we can also facilitate an email/ telephonic interaction highlighting the above talk-points with relevant facts and figures.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation: Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, Goodwilll Ambassador and Dr. V.Sam Prasad, Country Program Manage
India HIV/ AIDS Alliance: Ms. Sonal Mehta, Chief Executive
Swasti Foundation: Shaonli Chakraborty, Program Director