Reported By:
| Edited By: Maitreyee Boruah |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 12, 2011, 12:23 PM IST
All that 13-year-old Radhika (name changed) wants is an end to the stigma and discrimination she has to endure every day, as both her parents are HIV positive.
The Class VIII student of a school in Bangalore was speaking on behalf of People Living with HIV/Aids (PLWHA) in Karnataka at an interactive session on the status of PLWHA community in the city, on Friday.
The interactive session, with special focus on issues related to children who are both infected and affected by Aids, was organised by World Vision India, a voluntary organisation. “Both my parents are HIV positive and because of their status I have to endure stigma and discrimination. I worry, if my school and fellow students find out my parents’ status, I might be forced to quit studies,” said Radhika.
“I and children like me want an end to the discrimination meted to children because either one of their parents or both are HIV positive, or they themselves are HIV positive. Equal justice should be granted to all children,” said Radhika.
Narrating another depressing story, Solomon, a 12-year-old who is HIV positive, said that it was hard for him to get treatment at government hospitals.
“Treatment and diagnosis to deal HIV/AIDS has always been a problem for poor people, especially those staying in rural areas,” said Reni Jacob, advocacy director, World Vision India.
During the interactive session, people living with HIV/AIDS demanded to pass the HIV/AIDS Bill at the earliest so that their suffering comes to an end. The Bill, aimed at ensuring equal rights for PLWHA so that they don’t face discrimination at work, healthcare centres, in educational institutes and other settings, is pending for approval since 2006.
“The Bill is also expected to provide a safe working environment for healthcare workers, protection for risk reduction programmes, special provisions for women, children and young people. The Bill also recognises the right of children and young people to access healthcare services and information in their own hands,” said Daisy David, advocacy associate, World Vision India.
David, who is also HIV positive, said PLWHA community was also opposing India’s plan to sign the free trade agreement between India and European Union, which would deprive HIV/AIDS affected people from accessing medicine at subsidised rate.
About 11,000 children in Karnataka are currently living with HIV/AIDS and about 300 children died of the dreaded disease during 2007-2010.
The National Aids Control Organisation has marked Karnataka as a “highly prevalent state”. The Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society estimates that the state has 250,000 HIV-infected people and 33,000 are suffering from Aids.
An estimated 2.5 million people in India, aged between 15 and 49, are feared to be living with HIV and AIDS, the third largest in the world.
World Vision India is running a Bangalore Orphans and Vulnerable Children project with a target to improve the living standards of children orphaned and made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS.
The project, started in 2005, is said to have benefited about 1,000 children, by equipping them with livelihood skills.
