‘Stigma kills more people than AIDS’

‘Stigma kills more people than AIDS’

Human Immunodeficiency Virus — sounds like any other complicated medical term, doesn’t it? Abbreviated as HIV, that causes AIDS, this virus interferes with the body’s ability to fight infections. The susceptibility worsens as the syndrome progresses. 

Is it treatable? The answer is — it can very much be controlled. 

What then is so grave about the disease? “Stigma,” answers Dr V Sam Prasad, country programme director at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

HIV, which is transmitted through body fluids of an infected person (semen, vaginal fluids, blood, and breast milk), gives rise to the AIDS syndrome in the advanced stages. Being HIV positive and having AIDS are thus two different things, doctors insist. However, given the nature of its transmission, people who test positive are often ostracised.

“Stigma kills more people than AIDS,” insists Dr Prasad. “Once they test positive, people go into hiding, for the fear of backlash. This worsens the situation, since they do not get treatment. We need to change this mentality. ‘AIDS is equal to immoral character’, people believe. This is wrong. Why are we such a hypocritical society, still overrating single sexual partner?” he questions.

He is not wrong! Mona Balani, a 41-year-old HIV positive lady, was diagnosed with the virus in 1999. “My husband had HIV and so his doctor asked me to test for it. I was 24 when I got to know I was HIV positive. It was immense mental trauma for my husband and me. For a year, we couldn’t tell our family. For them, it either meant death or bad character. I faced a lot of stigma. From 2001-05, when my husband was critical, my family ostracised me. People denied taking water or food from us. Our son was just six years old but he was also badly treated,” Balani, currently working as a programme officer, care and support, with HIV/AIDS Alliance India, narrates.

Not just family, even service providers were not very approachable, she says. “They would throw the injections from a distance at my husband. It was all very painful. But after my husband died in 2005, I got associated with an NGO in Rajasthan, learnt a lot about HIV, interacted with other HIV positive people and began to come out of my grief. Most HIV people were denied normal services like hair cutting, wound dressing etc. We worked towards getting them those,” recalls Balani who worked for the Rajasthan network of positive people for eight years.

Paresh*, another HIV positive person, found out in 2003 about his case through a free testing session. “I was completely shaken and scared. I cried a lot. But told my wife immediately and asked her to stop feeding our one-week-old son,” 39-year-old Paresh tell us. He was working for an NGO when he found out he was himself positive. “But working for positive people and being detected with HIV yourself are two very different things. However, my family and friends were very supportive,” says Paresh, who now takes regular treatment and works to help other HIV positive people.

“Regular and prompt treatment is the key,” Dr Prasad agrees, highlighting an important aspect of treatment, “Any HIV positive person who is on regular treatment, cuts transmission rate by 97 per cent. Therefore, with AIDS, we believe that treatment is equal to prevention.”

THE CLASS FACTOR
Swasti, another global health resource centre that works towards achieving public health outcomes for poor and marginalised communities, says that the situation is worse for the underprivileged section of society. “Communities marginalised by poverty, gender and other parameters struggle everyday to overcome significant barriers to realise their fundamental and human rights. They usually have little or no opportunity to plan for financial stressors, and an illness in the family — minor or major — can wipe out their meagre savings and push them in debt, further marginalising them. Often they are unaware of, or unable to access social protection schemes and thus benefit from entitlements allocated to them by the government. Working with marginalised communities thus, requires deep rooted empathy, commitment and out of the box problem solving skills,” explains Shama Karkal, CEO, Swasti.

“Communities are at risk of HIV/AIDS due to their vulnerable positions in society stemming from poverty, gender based violence and other forms of discrimination,” she adds.

NEED FOR AWARENESS
Awareness is thus the key. A recent television commercial featuring Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover, is a step in the right direction, believes Dr Prasad. “Celebrities giving messages regarding use of condoms is a great step. It’s high time we started having healthy discussions about sex and condoms,” he insists.

Dissemination of basic information — only blood or body fluids can spread HIV — and use of condoms are must, Balani seconds his opinion, adding, “I believe everyone should know their HIV status — get tested, get treatment and live a healthy life. Start treatment as soon as you know you are positive and beware of spreading it to other people. Please support people living with HIV,” she urges.

(*name changed to protect identity)

Enjoyed reading The Bridge Chronicle?
Your support motivates us to do better. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay updated with the latest stories.
You can also read on the go with our Android and iOS mobile app.

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
The Bridge Chronicle
www.thebridgechronicle.com