In a first in the country, NGO launches single window helpdesk for people living with AIDS/HIV.
People living with HIV/AIDS need not run from pillar to post for help anymore.
From now on, they can avail the benefits of government welfare schemes, thanks to Utkarsha, an initiative by Swasti, a Bangalore-based non-governmental organisation.
Swasti, in association with National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched Utkarsha, a single window clearance system to help people living with HIV.
The first of its kind in the country, Utkarsha will not only create awareness among such people on government welfare schemes but also work as a single window to provide them integrated support.
Volunteers of Utkarsha will collect applications from people living with HIV and send them to the government departments concerned. They will do follow up of those applications and ensure that HIV positive people get the benefits of such welfare schemes.
“We have an office at Yeshwantpur. It will improve access to social protection and employment for people living with HIV,’’ said Chandrashekhar Gowda, director, Swasti.
Utkarsha is implemented in Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Chikkaballpur and Kolar districts as a pilot project.
“We are confident of its success in these districts. It will be extended to other districts in the state based on its success in the four districts. In Karnataka, the prevalence of HIV has come down due to the efforts by the government and NGOs. There is a need to help the vulnerable communities by joining hands with different departments to cater to their needs,’’ said Gowda.
Generally, people living with HIV would hesitate to visit government offices due to the stigma attached to HIV in society. Utkarsha will facilitate social protection and deliver social entitlement for people living with HIV and communities vulnerable to HIV such as female sex workers, transgenders, same-sex oriented groups and drug users. “The government has to work closely with NGOs and the networks to provide and facilitate these vulnerable communities access to social entitlements,’’ said Saroja Putran, who has been living with HIV for the past 12 years.
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