**********************************************************
SAATHII Electronic News Letter
HIV NEWS FROM INDIA

SOURCE: www.newindpress.com, www.patnadaily.com, The Indian Express,
The Economics Times, The Hindustan Times, The Lucknow Newsline,
www.spiritindia.com, The Hindu, www.dailyindia.com, and The Times of
India.

Posted on: 04/08/2007

COMPILED BY: Randhir Kumar, B. Vilasini, and L. Ramakrishnan
SAATHII Chennai office.

Note: this compilation contains news items about HIV/AIDS
published in the Indian media, as well as articles relevant to
HIV/AIDS in India published internationally. Articles in this
and previous newsletters may also be accessed at

===============================================================

1.Gay. So what?(New Delhi)
www.newindpress.com, July 7, 2007.
http://www.newindpress.com/sunday/sundayitems.asp?id=SEH20070706055258&eTitle=Cover+Story&rLink=0

2.AIDS Activist Honored.(Patna)
The Patna Daily, July 10, 2007.
http://www.patnadaily.com/news2007/july/070807/aids_activist_honored.html

3.This doctor knew India's AIDS numbers were highly inflated.(New Delhi)
The Indian Express, July 11, 2007.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/204678.html

4.`Integrated action needed to protect children with AIDS'.(New Delhi)
The Economics Times, July 11, 2007.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/India_looking_for_its_own_AIDS_crusader/articleshow/2160548.cms

5.HIV-testing centres using bad kits: researcher.(New Delhi)
The Hindustan Times, July 11, 2007.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/redir.aspx?ID=57bcc168-22b8-47b9-9d32-b497494392de

6.Youths most vulnerable to AIDS, sex education a must: Activists.(Lucknow)
The Lucknow Newsline, July 12, 2007.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=245078

7.Larger HIV prevention programs are cheaper.(New Delhi)
www.spiritindia.com, July 12, 2007.
http://www.spiritindia.com/health-care-news-articles-11329.html

8.A music concert to promote public awareness on AIDS.(Chennai)
The Hindu, July 13, 2007.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/12/stories/2007071250500200.htm

9.UP village threatens to banish AIDS victim.(Uttar Paradesh)
www.dailyindia.com, July 13, 2007.
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/156753.php/UP-village-threatens-to-banish-AIDS-victim

10.'Sex education is important, youth need to be aware of HIV'.(Lucknow)
The Lucknow Newsline, July 14, 2007.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=245901

11.Insurance cover for HIV+ likely.(New Delhi)
The Times of India, July 14, 2007.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Insurance_cover_for_HIV_likely/articleshow/2196144.cms

===============================================================

1. Gay. So what?(New Delhi)
www.newindpress.com, July 7, 2007.
http://www.newindpress.com/sunday/sundayitems.asp?id=SEH20070706055258&eTitle=Cover+Story&rLink=0


New Delhi: Gay. So what?


In June 2007, Baljit Kaur and Rajwinder Kaur of Amritsar made headlines
when they tied the knot despite violent opposition from their families.

"We love each other and will die for each other," the women declared.
They've threatened to run away to Canada if the families continued to
be difficult and in the meanwhile, plan to start a family of their
own, by adopting a child.

Baljit and Rajwinder are yet another example of a lesbian couple who
have dared to defy social norms and a legal system that criminalises
homosexuality. In 2006, Wetka Polang (30) and Melka Nilsa (22) of
Orissa actually managed to get their union blessed by their community.

Wetka and Melka, day labourers who belong to the Kandha tribe, got married
in a traditional ceremony presided over by a Kandha priest after paying
a fine ? a barrel of country liquor, a pair of oxen, a sack of rice
and hosted a family feast.

"They wanted to prove that they can live without the help of men. They
also love each other very much. So we decided to forgive them," said
village elder Melka Powla.

These are rare yet defining instances of defiance in a society which
still hesitates to talk about sex and where homosexuality is a crime,
courtesy Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

In a social setting where same sex love often leads to social ostracisation,
police harassment and even suicide, members of this hitherto silent
community are now making their voice heard.

Last year, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of Rajpipla, Gujarat, drew
international media attention when he publicly declared himself to be a
homosexual. "I wanted to open a Pandora's box," says Manvendra.

"That could have happened if only there is some controversy. I thought an
Indian prince openly talking about his sexuality would make news."
and it did.

His effigy was burnt and the royal family threatened to disinherit him.
Though it was legally impossible, the resulting controversy triggered
national debate on homosexuals and their rights.

Interestingly, it is the emergence of AIDS in India that has enabled
public discussion about homosexuality. "The HIV/AIDS issue has
flushed homosexuality out of the closet," says Sunil Menon, founder
member of Sahodaran, an organisation in Chennai that works with MSM
(men having sex with men).

Aditya Bondopadhyay, legal advisor to Naz Foundation International
(NFI), a London-based NGO that helps set up and support community-based
NGO's working with MSM, agrees. "It was recognised by the state that
HIV is a problem and MSM are a high-risk group," he says.

"Groups initially started low-key, just spreading awareness, but soon
realised that they cannot do it without addressing rights issues. For
instance, if someone wanted to visit a drop-in centre, they had to be
confident that police would not haul them up."

This does not mean that there has been no backlash. In July 2001, four
HIV/ AIDS prevention workers from Naz Foundation and Bharosa Trust,
Lucknow, who work with MSM groups were arrested by the Lucknow police,
sparking off a controversy.

"In a way it is a milestone that helped the movement in India as it
motivated all groups in India to come out and protest; it proved that
Section 377 is a law that needs to go," says Aditya.

The Internet is another factor that has helped fuel change. "There are
e-groups and discussion forums," says Aditya. "Gay Bombay, a yahoo group,
is now the largest group with over 16,000 members from India. This helps
rope in professionals like doctors and lawyers from within the community."

Today, all over India, there are a number of groups that offer support,
counselling and also focus on rights issues. But "coming out" is still
a sensitive issue which can have far-reaching consequences.

First of all, you have to come to terms with your own sexuality. "You
need to have access to information and interact with other people with
similar feelings and behaviour," says Sunil. "Most people know they are
gay but suppress it for they will not get any support from the family."

The burden of living a lie can take its toll. "I did get married," says
Prince Manvendra. "I thought I could become straight, that was my understanding
of my sexuality in those days." The marriage didn't last and they divorced
soon after.

In 1997, he established the Lakshya Trust, a community-based organisation,
which has been working in the HIV/AIDS sector since 2001. In 2002, Manvendra
suffered a nervous breakdown. "The burden of lying to everyone was too much,"
says Manvendra. "I was hospitalised and first spoke about my sexuality to my
psychiatrist who told my parents."

Coming out publicly can change your life forever. For Dr Hoshang Merchant,
who teaches at the Hyderabad Central University (HCU), it was loss of his
inheritance. "But I got my freedom," he says. His open sexual orientation got
him "kicked out of 17 houses in 11 months."

"I was also kicked out of my job as a Reader at Pune University when they
realised I am gay; in seven years I changed 11 jobs," says Hoshang, editor
of Yaraana, the first anothology of Gay Indian Literature published by
Penguin in 1999.

That's why coming out is advisable only if you are independent, especially
financially. All the more so if you are a woman. "Where is a girl to go if
she is disowned by her family?" asks Malobika, founder-member of Sappho,
which was established in 1999 as an emotional support provider group for
lesbians. "Coming out is still a very big deal." In West Bengal, a young
girl was tonsured recently for displaying "man-like" behaviour.

Sappho, which runs helplines from 10 am to 9 pm, has more than 200 members now.
"Many of the spouses of women who contact us have no idea of their dual life,"
she says. "Some of them just want our help and stay in touch over the phone or
by mail as they say their husbands are wonderful and don't want to leave them."

"In India it is fine to be gay or lesbian as long as you don't ask for
identity,
validation and legitimacy," says leading gay activist Ashok Row Kavi. "It is ok
to be a gay man as long as it doesn't threaten the family."

He established the Humsafar Trust in Mumbai in April 1994 to reach out to the
gay population. He also published the Bombay Dost, one of the oldest gay
publications in Mumbai, to serve as a platform for sexual minorities.

Though it wound up a few years ago, Kavi is thinking of reviving it, maybe make
it web-based with an annual print edition.

According to Sylvester Merchant of Lakshya Trust, even today, discrimination is
largely due to ignorance. "For instance, many people think all homosexuals are
pedophiles," he says.

But attitudes to sex and sexuality are changing. Kavi cites the example of a
young boy who likes to dress up like a girl. "It is really admirable how his
mother is handling it," says Kavi. "She has explained his behaviour to
the school
which is also sensitised and learning to cope."

Even on the professional front, policies are becoming more liberal. "With MNCs
coming to India and Indian companies becoming multinationals, today
discrimination
cannot be made on grounds of sexuality," says Aditya.

Hoshang teaches a pioneering gay literature course in HCU, the second
such course
in India. The First Annual LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender)
film festival
organised recently in Kolkata by Sappho for Equality and Pratyay Gender Trust,
was a huge success.

Says Malobika: "We got an irate father-in-law who was very upset about his
daughter-in-law being a lesbian. Though he was a doctor, he thought it
was a disease.

We counselled him, and when he left two and a half hours later, it was after
donating Rs 200. The woman continues to stay with her in-laws."


A thorn in the flesh


Section 377 of the IPC states that: "Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse
against the order of nature, with any man, woman, or animal shall be punishable
with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment of either description
for a term
which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine."

This law, which was first passed in England in the 16th century to criminalise
homosexuality, was adopted by the British for India, when the Indian
Penal Code was
enacted in 1860.

It was repealed in England in 1967 but is still in effect in India
though it there
is an ongoing campaign to repeal it. The Law Commission of India, in its 172nd
report (on review of rape laws), recommended its repeal.

In September 2006, more than 100 celebrities like Nobel laureate
economist Amartya Sen,
Booker prizewinner Arundhati Roy and writer Vikram Seth signed an open letter
protesting against Section 377. The letter said the law had been used to
"systematically persecute, blackmail, arrest and terrorise sexual minorities."

===============================================================

2.AIDS Activist Honored.(Patna)
The Patna Daily, July 10, 2007.
http://www.patnadaily.com/news2007/july/070807/aids_activist_honored.html


Patna: AIDS Activist Honored.


Noted AIDS activist and the director of the Regional AIDS Training Centre and
Networking in India (RATNEI), Dr. Diwakar Tejaswi, on Sunday was
honored by retired
Justice Bhuwaneshwar Prasad for his contribution toward the treatment
of AIDS and
raising awareness about the deadly disease that takes thousands of
lives each year
in India.

"Dr. Tejaswi's selfless effort to raise awareness about the
HIV-related issues is
highly commendable and should serve as an example to other people,
particularly those
in the medical field, since AIDS remains one of the most misunderstood
diseases in
the world," Justice Prasad said at the function held at Patna's Hindi
Sahitya Sammelan.

Dr. Tejaswi, whose research papers on AIDS are to be examined by
International AIDS
Society later this month in Sydney, was being honored at a function
organized by the
Gramin Vikas.

Others present on the occasion included Patna West MLA Nitin Navin,
Patna Central MLA
Arun Kumar Sinha, Gramin Vikas Samiti secretary S. K. Srivastava, and
prominent Patna
physicians Dr. Gopal Prasad and Dr. Narendra Prasad.

===============================================================

3. This doctor knew India's AIDS numbers were highly inflated.(New Delhi)
The Indian Express, July 11, 2007.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/204678.html


New Delhi: This doctor knew India's AIDS numbers were highly inflated.


It became official last week that India's AIDS scare was exaggerated
far above the
actual infection number of 2.47 million. But before that, when the
country's estimate
of infected people neared 6 million, there was one man who knew
government surveys were
getting it wrong.

Dr Lalit Dandona, a public health specialist and now professor of
international public
health at University of Sydney, had first indicated in a paper
presented at an AIDS
conference in Canada that India could be overestimating its HIV/AIDS
figures because
of the estimation method used.

Investigators from his team collected blood samples from 12,617 people
aged between
15 and 49 in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur ? one of the worst affected areas
in the state
to come to their conclusions. Their method estimated that there were
45,900 people
living with HIV in Guntur, less than a half of the official number, 112,600.

He extrapolated the findings from Guntur to say that there may be
between 3.2 million
and 3.5 million adults with the infection in the entire country, much
closer to the
official figures released last Friday.

"It's good to see corroboration of what we had suggested a year ago,"
Dandona told the
The Indian Express from Sydney. "I had looked at my data again and
again and checked
it many times over before I went to the world with it."

Unlike the individual samples that Dandona's team collected, the
official "sentinal
surveillance" method used data from ante-natal clinics, sexually
transmitted infection
clinics and public hospitals.

The government's estimates were inflated because the clinics are used
by the segment
of society in which HIV is most prevalent, said Dandona,who got his
medical degree
from AIIMS in New Delhi and a public health degree from Johns Hopkins
University
in US.

At that time, though his study was widely acknowledged, officials
expressed caution
at arriving at an all-India figure based on Dandona's work. But
unofficially, they
were convinced.

He gave a presentation to National AIDS Control Organisation on his
methodology.
By then, the National Family Health Survey Data had already been
collected and were
indicating the same trend as suggested by him.

He said fears that reduced numbers would mean less funds for HIV are baseless.
"It is unlikely that the money for HIV will dry up. After all, two and
a half million
is not a small number."

Dandona said he is interested in developing a systematic evidence-base
for effective
health systems. "There has to be strong science behind how diseases
are assessed and
interventions are planned. And then assessing how they do once
implemented," he told
Express.

===============================================================

4. `Integrated action needed to protect children with AIDS'.(New Delhi)
The Economics Times, July 11, 2007.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/India_looking_for_its_own_AIDS_crusader/articleshow/2160548.cms


New Delhi: 'Integrated action needed to protect children with AIDS'.


HIV infection among children is becoming an important health and
education concern in
India, however the tendency is to ignore it. The Church in India is
well aware that no
single agency can contain it. Archbishop of Bangalore Dr Bernard Moras
calls for united
action.

Will you send your child to a school where HIV positive children are admitted?

This is the question which is haunting thousands of parents after a
school in Kerala
allowed a group of HIV-positive children back to class after a six-month battle.

The Christian-affiliated school had thrown out five children last
December following
complaints by the parents of other pupils. The expelled children are
from families whose
either parent had contracted HIV.

During their expelled period the children received private lessons at
the Catholic run
orphanage where they live.

According to Annie Mathew their teacher, "their ordeal is not yet over".

This incident has only highlighted the stigma attached to the HIV-AIDs
in superstition
ridden India where some spiritual yoga gurus claim to cure even cancer and AIDs.

Nearly 2,000 women and 1,000 children living with HIV are facing
social alienation in
Kerala, known for its Ayurveda treatment.

But Kerala is not alone in discriminating HIV affected people.
Recently doctors in a
hospital in city Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, barely 60 kilometer from
Delhi, refused to treat
an HIV positive pregnant woman, forcing her husband to undertake
midwifery responsibility
and deliver their child.

Both the incidents indicate that HIV is becoming a more important
child health and
education problem in India.

Globally, there are 2.3 million children under 15 who have been
infected with HIV, 15.2
million under 18 who have lost one or both parents to AIDS, and
millions more at risk,
according to UNICEF. Worldwide, nearly a third of infected children
die before their
first birthday. Those who survive but lose one or both parents to AIDS
face tremendous
obstacles in life.

By some estimates, as 1.2 million children under age fifteen in India
have lost one or
both parents to AIDS. But the number of AIDS orphans has not been
adequately or officially
measured. All this apart, hundreds of thousands of children are living
with HIV/AIDS
in India, according to official statistics.

Women and children are increasingly becoming vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.
The new findings
by UNICEF conclude that 38% of the infected persons in India are
women. This indicates
the increasing feminization of HIV/AIDS in India. This alarming trend
is being observed
closely as more HIV positive mothers will unknowingly pass the virus
on to their children.

According to a report by UNICEF India has an estimated 220,000
children infected by
HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that 55,000 to 60,000 children are born
every year to mothers
who are HIV positive. Without treatment, these newborns stand an
estimated 30% chance of
becoming infected during the mother's pregnancy, labour or through
breastfeeding after
six months. There is effective treatment available, but this is not
reaching all women
and children who need it.

A simple anti-retroviral drug administered to the mother during labour
and a spoonful of
syrup to the baby soon after birth can prevent transmission of the
AIDS virus to the
newborn, says UNICEF.

So far the federal government in India has not conducted specific
studies to accurately
assess the number of children affected by AIDS.

However, in 2003 New York Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a groundbreaking
209-page report
'Future Forsaken: Abuses Against Children Affected by HIV/AIDS in
India' documented the
problems faced by HIV- AIDs affected children.

The report pointed out that many children and the professionals who
care for them are not
getting the information about HIV they need to protect themselves or
to combat discrimination.
There is widespread fear that AIDS is a casually transmitted disease.
Misinformation and
fear is causing some families to reject children who are HIV-positive
or who are perceived
to be.

There is very low awareness even in government officials. Many
teachers, doctors, government
officials and ordinary people in India still don't know the basic
facts about HIV
transmission and AIDS care.

Related to the information and awareness gap in the system is the
problem of discrimination
and abuse. The report has found that many HIV-positive children are
being denied medical
care because government facilities are either unavailable or lack
basic medical supplies.

Struggling families caring for HIV/AIDS-affected children find it even
harder to pay school
fees and related costs, further preventing some children from attending school.

Street children, child sex workers and children of sex workers,
children from lower castes
and Dalits suffer even more as they also face other forms of
discrimination. Sexual abuse
and violence against women and girls, coupled with their long-standing
subordination in
Indian society, make them especially vulnerable to HIV transmission.

The report has documented that many doctors refuse to treat or even
touch HIV-positive
children. Some schools expel or segregate children because they or
their parents are
HIV-positive.

Many orphanages and other residential institutions reject HIV-positive
children or deny
that they house them. Children from families affected by AIDS may be
denied education,
pushed onto the street, forced into the worst forms of child labour,
or otherwise
exploited, all of which puts them at greater risk of contracting HIV.

In sum, the HRW report warns that the rising incidence of HIV/AIDS and
the risk of
HIV/AIDS in children is simply not on the radar screen of public
health institutions.
Second, discrimination against infected children and un-infected
children of infected
relatives/adult parents remains and this is likely to exacerbate the
problem. And all
of this will only further undermine the national anti-AIDS programme.


It isn't that there isn't machinery to respond.


India has entered into an agreement with the World Bank for HIV/AIDS
and TB control
programme and will use around one-fourth of the $ 3.8 billion loan
received from World
Bank in 2007 to improve healthcare services for women and children,
besides fighting
HIV/AIDS and TB.

In October 2005, President Abdul Kalam launched the Unite against AIDS
Campaign for
Children, with pledges to protect these most vulnerable age groups.
This campaign,
spearheaded by NACO, will provide free child-specific dosages of
life-saving antiretroviral
drugs, which have till now only been available in adult does to
children above nine
years old.

Private charitable organizations are also chipping in with their efforts

For example a school for children with HIV/AIDS was opened in 2006
Warrangal district
of India's Andhra Pradesh state by a nonprofit NGO Karunalayum. The
school - a necessity
for infected children banned from other educational institutions - is
staffed by a
teacher, nurse and HIV/AIDS counselor.

With help from government funding, the organization runs a 40-bed
centre for adults
with HIV/AIDS. The school was launched because housing the children
with adults exposed
them to potential abuse and demoralized them.

In Tamil Nadu Dr Manorama created Chennai's Community Health Education
Society (CHES),
an organization that finds resources to house, educate and nurture
shunned children.

Supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), CHES
operates five
family resource centres where people learn how to care for stricken
families and where
myths and misinformation about HIV/AIDS are corrected to reduce fear
and slow the
spread of the disease. A separate CHES shelter houses and educates 32
AIDS-affected
children who have nowhere to live and no family to turn to.

One of the most outstanding projects to help HIV/AIDs affected
children is being
supported by Francois -Xavier Bagnoud Foundation(FXB). It is an
acronym for Francois-Xavier
Bagnoud, a young helicopter rescue pilot who died tragically when only
24 years old.
His mother, Countess Albina du Boisrouvray, a well-known journalist
and film-maker,
sold most of the assets she possessed and founded the Foundation
Francois-Xavier
Bagnoud to commemorate her son's commitment.

Today FXB International, an affiliate, runs 87 programmes in 18 countries in
Africa, Asia Europe, Latin America and the US, working in close collaboration
with national AIDS programmes. Its headquarters are in Switzerland.

Countess Albina was in Delhi recently for consultations with some
experts on where
the foundation should direct its activities in future.

Bill Gates and Melinda Foundation is also engaged in supporting
projects.But crux
of the problem seems to be lack of an integrated multi-disciplinary approach to
tackle this rising crisis.

The Ministry of Education and state education departments are
responsible for providing
free primary education to all children, regardless of their or their
caregivers'
HIV status.

The Department of Women and Children in the Ministry of Human Resource
Development
develops government policies and legislation for children. The
Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare and state-level health departments administer the
public health system
and medical education. They also oversee NACO and the state AIDS
control societies.

The Ministry of Justice and Social Empowerment and corresponding
state-level departments
are responsible for children in need of care and protection.

Despite all this, with the exception of a few individuals, most
government officials
are leaving HIV/AIDS up to NACO and the state AIDS control societies
and failing to
take responsibility for protecting HIV/AIDS-affected children under
their jurisdictions.

Nevertheless, the Church in India is responding to the problem despite
all odds. Early
this year Fr Roberto Vittilo, Special Advisor on HIV/AIDs to Caritas
International
visited papal seminary in Kerala and urged the faithful to witness
Christ by serving
HIV affected people.

Fr Dr Alex Vadakumthala, Executive Secretary of Health Commission of
Catholic Bishops'
Conference of India (CBCI) says that, " the HIV/AIDs crisis is of such
magnitude that
no single agency can tackle the problem".

It is perhaps for this reason Archbishop of Bangalore Most Rev Dr
Bernard Moras,
CBCI's Health Commission Chairman urged that" let us all join hands to
contain further
spread of HIV".

The Church of North India has created Children Ministry to tackle the
problem and Rev
Richard Howell of Evangelical Fellowship India has launched special
prayer services for
the victims.

The experts say that India need to enact and enforce legislation
proscribing discrimination
against people living with HIV/AIDS. Among other things, such
legislation should specify
that children may never be barred from school solely because they are
HIV-positive.

Ensure that children living with HIV/AIDS receive all available
medical care, including
antiretroviral treatment. Provide care and protection to children
whose parents are
unable to care for them because of HIV/AIDS. Provide all children,
both in and out of
school, with comprehensive, accurate and age-appropriate information
about HIV/AIDS.

Primary prevention among young people is the greatest hope to change
the course of the
epidemic in India. As a result, the Adolescent Education Programme was
conceived by
UNICEF, NACO, Ministry of Education, UNESCO and UNFPA.

The programme was implemented in all states across the country through
the Department
of Education (DoE) in collaboration with the State AIDS Control
Societies (SACS).
The curriculum includes growing up, HIV/AIDS, life skills and extra
curricular activities.

At the end it is love and care that will contain the stigma as the
children feel
ostracised by a society which blames them for no fault of theirs.

(Joseph Gathia is an independent journalist, columnist and media
consultant and children's
rights campaigner and founder of Centre of Concern for Child labour.
He has been, Editor
of Sanjeevan Weekly and Chief of Bureau of "Chouthi Duniya'.

In over three decades he has relentlessly taken up the development reporting.
His special areas of interest are human rights, faith and society)

===============================================================

5. HIV-testing centres using bad kits: researcher.(New Delhi)
The Hindustan Times, July 11, 2007.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/redir.aspx?ID=57bcc168-22b8-47b9-9d32-b497494392de


New Delhi: HIV-testing centres using bad kits: researcher.


Faulty and sub-standard HIV testing kits supplied by the government to
hospitals and
blood banks across India have exposed thousands to unsafe blood,
claims an India-born
US researcher. Dr Kunal Saha, associate professor at the Children's
Hospital, Columbus
State College, Ohio, was part of a six-member World Bank team that
investigated HIV
testing in India earlier this year. "For reasons beyond my
comprehension, the World
Bank team went silent about the final report," he told the Hindustan Times.

The World Bank, however, says: "The ongoing review has not
substantiated any fraud
involved with the kits to date."

"I was part of a six-member team ? three doctors, a lawyer and two
administrators
that visited different hospitals in March and April this year to
investigate charges
of corruption and fraud relating to HIV testing of blood in India,"
says Dr Saha.

The other two doctors ? Anil Gupta from West Bengal and Usha Baweja
from Delhi, did
not respond to emails from HT.

"Analysis of the original test results showed beyond any reasonable
doubt that many
hospitals/blood banks involved with HIV testing were forced to use the
sub-standard
kits given by the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO)," he claims.

While the team visited several states including Uttar Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Karnataka
and Orissa, Saha visited major hospitals/blood banks in Mumbai and
Bangalore, and the
National Institute of Biologicals in Noida. "During my visit to major
centres for
HIV/AIDS testing, we collected a host of blatant and incriminatory
evidence which left
no doubt that fraudulent activities must have taken place during the
disposition of
some of the HIV testing kits," he said.

But NACO has dismissed the charges. "This investigator has no
credibility. The World
Bank has not complained to NACO at all about defective HIV-kits being
used in India.
West Bengal did have a problem in October last year, which was
contained immediately.

The State AIDS Control Society had discovered that defective
HIV-testing kits were being
supplied to the government and had lodged an FIR with Kolkata Police.
The state government
immediately took action and arrests were made. The matter is subjudice
and the company,
Monozyne India Ltd, was blacklisted and all state AIDS control
organisations were asked
to stop procuring from it," Sujatha Rao, director general, NACO, told HT.

Saha, who filed an intervention petition in the Supreme Court (SLP
Criminal No. 1807 of
2007) against Monozyme India Ltd on July 6, claims there have been
other such instances
in the past.

"The director of the Grant Hospital lodged a formal complaint with
NACO several years
ago but this serious allegation was brushed aside and the hospital
continued to receive
testing kits from the same manufacturer," he alleges.

The SC has adjourned the Monozyme testing kit case for four weeks as
the company sought
time to file rejoinder.

The World Bank too has distanced itself from the charges. "The
findings are personal
opinions which the researcher has reached independently, and do not
reflect the views
of the World Bank," Bank official Sudip Mozumder told HT.

In a statement emailed to HT, the Bank said: "The efficacy of blood
testing material
depends on numerous factors including packaging, storage and expert
application of
the test. There is no evidence that the manufacturing of these kits
was defective.
In addition, the ongoing World Bank review has not substantiated any
fraud involved
with the kits to date."

===============================================================

6. Youths most vulnerable to AIDS, sex education a must: Activists.(Lucknow)
The Lucknow Newsline, July 12, 2007.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=245078


Lucknow: The hue and cry of teachers by no means prove that
adolescence education is
not something the state's youngsters do not need.

Going by the questions the young people pose on the subject, social
activists and
NGOs working with them are convinced that there is indeed a need to
spread awareness
of HIV/AIDS, although the manner should be subtle.


Here is a sample of the questions the AIDS helplines and the activists get:

 Is sexual intercourse the only way to contract AIDS?
 Does one die immediately after contracting AIDS?
 Is HIV and AIDS different?
 Can one contract AIDS by kissing?
 He is very thin. Does he have AIDS?
 Do people with AIDS have a mark on their bodies by which they can be identified

According to the Uttar Pradesh Network of positive people (UPNP), some
40 per cent
of the positives in UP are youngsters below 25. The National AIDS
Control Organisation
too says that in India, the people between 15 and 29 are vulnerable to
the disease.

According to NACO's surveillance on AIDS cases in India, on August 31,
2006, the number
of positives between 15 to 29 was 39781 out of 124995.

Activists feel that youngsters, especially adolescents, must be made
aware about HIV/AIDS.
"We have been interacting with school and college kids and we have
found that they are
very curious to know about HIV/AIDS," said Pratap Vikram of UPNP.
Vikram, who interacts
regularly with youngsters in rural and urban areas, said myths about
the disease abound.

"Their questions may sound funny, but then they do not know anything
and their questions
reflect that," he added.

Arif Zafar of Naz Foundation, which is also working in the field,
agreed. "Adoloscents
do need sex education and it needs to be very clear and defined. The
number of adolescents
who are HIV positive is quite alarming in UP and it is clear they are
being infected.
So obviously, they need to be told about it."

Activists suggest options that can benefit both teachers and students.
"Instead of
regular teachers, an NGO worker or a peer educator who is comfortable
with the subject
can do the needful and bridge the gap," said Jafar.

===============================================================

7. Larger HIV prevention programs are cheaper.(New Delhi)
www.spiritindia.com, July 12, 2007.
http://www.spiritindia.com/health-care-news-articles-11329.html


New Delhi: Larger HIV prevention programs are cheaper.


A UCSF-led team of researchers has found that larger HIV prevention
programs in low and
middle-income countries can increase efficiency and cause program unit
costs to plummet.

HIV prevention programs in Uganda, South Africa, Mexico, Russia and
India were examined.

"With the recent report from the Global HIV Prevention Working Group
urging that funding
for proven prevention programming double over the next three years,
leading to billions of
dollars in spending, we show that this additional funding could not
only increase capacity
but potentially also increase efficiency by lowering unit costs of
prevention services.
This means that more HIV infections may be averted," said the study's
principal investigator,
James G. Kahn, MD, MPH, professor at UCSF's Institute for Health
Policy Studies and AIDS
Research Institute.

In the study, published in the online open access journal BMC Health
Services Research,
researchers examined six types of ongoing prevention interventions:
voluntary counseling
and testing, programs targeting sex workers, treatment for curable se
xually transmitted
diseases, information, education and communication initiatives, risk
reduction programs for
injection drug users and programs preventing transmission of HIV from
mother to child.

"We found that, on average, each doubling of scale of a prevention
program reduced unit costs
by a third.

Although our analysis is broad?some programs are inefficient because they are
small while some programs are small because they are not well
managed?rapidly ramping up
well-run existing programs could have an immediate, startling effect
in improving efficiency,
reducing costs and containing the epidemic," said the study's lead
author, Elliot Marseille,
DrPH, MPP, a researcher at UCSF's Institute for Health Policy Studies.

===============================================================

8. A music concert to promote public awareness on AIDS.(Chennai)
The Hindu, July 13, 2007.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/07/12/stories/2007071250500200.htm


Chennai: A music concert to promote public awareness on AIDS.


Using music as a tool to create awareness about HIV/AIDS, Artistes Unlimited,
a charitable trust that promotes performing arts, announced on Tuesday that
its much talked about concert, En Route Tour, would be held at Siri Fort
Auditorium here on Friday.

The two-month-long 'En Route Tour' that began in June has been designed to
address issues of stigma and closed mindsets that envelop today's youth,
especially with regard to HIV/AIDS.

Annette Philip, Director of Artistes Unlimited, who has been recording
professionally as a vocalist and voice-over artiste for over nine years,
explains the reason why her trust is more than just a platform to encourage
budding musicians.

"We want to use music as an instrument to spread the message of AIDS
awareness. The En Route Tour not only marks the release of our debut album
`En Route' -- the country's biggest youth music collaborative album
featuring 46 musicians -- but also the beginning of first youth-led
AIDS awareness series," she says.

Stating that Artistes Unlimited's primary objective is to build a platform
for and bridge the gap between artistes from diverse musical backgrounds
where music spells cooperation not competition, Annette says:"We want
to introduce our members and audiences to myriad genres of music,
covering Western, Indian and world music, and use our music to assist and
support charitable institutions or purposes. Our forte is Jazz, Sufi,
Latin Jazz, Broadway and Rap. Experimentation is key to our sound-vocal
arrangements".

Annette says nearly 50 musicians will present a mixed repertoire on the
D-day. "From the age of 14 to 40 we have rigorous auditions.

This is to assess voice texture and grasping power." The concert was held
at Mumbai's NCPA Tata Theatre on June 30, and at Christ College, Bangalore
on July 6 and 7.

Naz Foundation (India) Trust programme manager Anuradha Mukherjee says
that Naz Care Home is a home for orphaned and vulnerable children and
abandoned women living with HIV/AIDS . It is conducting peer education
programmes for 40 Delhi University students.

===============================================================

9. UP village threatens to banish AIDS victim.(Uttar Paradesh)
www.dailyindia.com, July 13, 2007.
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/156753.php/UP-village-threatens-to-banish-AIDS-victim



Uttar Pradesh: UP village threatens to banish AIDS victim.

The case of societal discrimination has come to light when Uttar Pradesh's
Ramgarh village has threatened to ostracise an AIDS victim from community.

Vijayshankar Pandey, a villager, who contracted the disease during a blood
transfusion after an operation, said villagers are threatening to throw him
out of his house.

A farmer by profession, Vijayshankar has already sold more than a fourth of
his farmland for his treatment.

"When villagers came to know that I was HIV+ they are trying to push us out
of the village. We have complained to the administration but our pleas have
fallen to deaf ears," Vijayshankar said.

Vijayshankar's wife Shilu Pandey, who did not have the disease, said it was
becoming difficult for them to live in the village.

"It has become difficult for us to venture out of the house. They threaten
to kill us. We have complained to the police. But they are not afraid of the
police and have threatened us that they would throw us out of the village,
" she said.

Villagers, however, were adamant to ostracize the couple. Vidyanchal, a
villager said that we want that they should leave the village, adding that
we are not concerned where they would go.

The police said they were investigating whether the villagers had actually
ostracized them and passed the buck on the couple.

"Though the couple complained that the villagers want them out of the village
but they are in confrontation with a particular Yadav family. Action has
been taken against the family. Orders have been issued and police is looking
into the matter," said Ashok Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Allahabad.

Discrimination of AIDS victims in predominantly rural India is on the rise.
There have been instances of doctors denying treatment to AIDS victims or
schools throwing out students with HIV positive virus.

According to a recent government report, India has a caseload of two and a
half million AIDS patients.

===============================================================

10.'Sex education is important, youth need to be aware of HIV'.(Lucknow)
The Lucknow Newsline, July 14, 2007.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=245901


Lucknow:'Sex education is important, youth need to be aware of HIV'.


After the entire controversy over 'sex education' in schools, the term seems
to have become synonymous with 'HIV/AIDS'. So, when the Global Development
Association of India and the Uttar Pradesh Network of Positive People (UPNP)
organised a "dialogue for convergence to make HIV/AIDS control everybody's
responsibility", the topic, despite not being the primary one, dominated the
discussion.

"There is a lot of controversy over the issue of imparting 'sex education'
in schools. But if a 15-year-old boy comes and asks us to treat STI
(sexually-transmitted infection), what do we do," asked Dr Athar of
Naz Foundation.

This question once again raised many eyebrows, and the replies came in
support of HIV AIDS awareness among youngsters. "Do you think that the young
boys have no access to information on sex? They can hire blue film DVDs from
any video shop or get their hands on porn magazines and at any age.

The need of course is to give them proper knowledge and make them aware,"
Shivananda Khan of Naz Foundation opined.

Though the Madhyamik Shikshak Sangh says there is no need for having these
chapters in the school curriculum, the number of HIV positive children in
the state is increasing. While in Lucknow, there are 18 positive children
according to official figures, Varanasi has 20, Maharajganj has 35 and
Kushinagar has 24 children. In all, the total number of such children in
the 17 high-prevalence districts of UP is 272.

"We cannot say children feel uncomfortable talking about sex education.
In Chitrakoot, where the Positive People's Network was invited for interaction
with students, children asked us some questions which were shocking. But
they made us realise that their level of knowledge is quite high and they
need to go in the right direction," said Naresh Yadav of the UPNP.

Chandrakant Mishra, the state officer of UNAIDS Bihar, who has earlier
been with SIFPSA in UP, too, was quite vocal on the issue. "When we were
doing a survey for RCH services, we found that there was hardly any young
boy who did not have their first sexual encounter before 18.

You ask them about masturbation and they would tell you something
which is a complete myth just because the silly booklets have been telling
them this.

They have had encounters with multiple partners because they do not
have any proper access to information and don't know about HIV/AIDS too,"
Mishra said.

Dr Pratibha Joshi, consultant on HIV/AIDS, said there is no problem in
teaching such issues. A former teacher with city's Isabella Thoburn
college, Dr Joshi said the content should be reviewed and support should
be taken from NGOs instead of just scrapping the subject altogether.

The issue got support from the Uttar Pradesh State AIDS Control Society
also. Dr R P Mathur, joint director of UPSACS, cited an example of a
voluntary counselling and resting centre camp that they had organised at
Lucknow University. "Out of 79 youngsters, 10 tested positive.

But they did not know about it at all. Shouldn't they have got the
knowledge of HIV/AIDS," said Dr Mathur. He said the state government has
already created a UP AIDS Council headed by the chief minister, adding
that the government is quite serious about addressing the issue of
HIV/AIDS.

===============================================================

11.Insurance cover for HIV+ likely.(New Delhi)
The Times of India, July 14, 2007.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Insurance_cover_for_HIV_likely/articleshow/2196144.cms


New Delhi: Insurance cover for HIV+ likely.


India's 2.5-million-strong HIV population will finally have an insurance
policy to fall back on, once they develop full blown AIDS.

A Chennai-based private insurance firm, Star Health and Allied Insurance
Company, is set to launch India's first-ever health cover for HIV-positive
people, early next week.

Under the scheme, an HIV-positive patient with a CD-4 count not less than
500 cells per cubic millimetre of blood, will have to pay an annual premium
of Rs 3,000.

Once he or she becomes a full blown AIDS patient, the company will pay a
one time compensation of Rs 50,000 back to them. The company has also tied
up with 1,800 hospitals and labs where it will conduct the CD-4 test of
HIV patients seeking insurance cover.

The CD-4 count test is used to gauge immunity levels of an HIV-infected
patient and to assess whether damage caused by the virus requires life-saving
anti-retroviral therapy (ART).

The CD-4 count is used in combination with the viral load test which measures
level of HIV in blood. The test is ordered when a person is first diagnosed
with HIV as part of a baseline measurement. Tests are repeated every
six months.
The CD-4 count in healthy adults ranges from 500 to 1,500 cells per cubic
millimetre of blood.

In HIV infected people, it goes down by 60 cells per cubic millimetre of blood
per year as HIV progresses. ART is administered when an HIV-positive person
registers a CD-4 count under 200. Speaking to TOI, chief of Star Health
V Jagannathan said, "At present, we have fixed the premium at Rs 3,000.
However, we plan to revise that and lower the price in the next renewal".

He added, "This health insurance cover is awaiting Insurance Regulatory
and Development Authority approvals. We hope to get them by this weekend.

All that a patient has to do is come to us for the insurance cover.
The blood tests will be conducted by us." According to NACO, of the 2.5
million people with HIV in India, nearly 3 lakh at present suffer from
full blown AIDS.

Reacting to this move, K K Abraham, chief of Indian Network of People
Living with HIV, told TOI, "For someone with CD-4 count above 500 following
proper treatment regimen and good nutrition, transmission from HIV to
AIDS will take nearly 15-16 years. The company, therefore, has done good
research.

However, that such an insurance cover is being launched at all is a great
sign for India's HIV population. At present, no such cover exists. Hopefully,
many other companies will come up with similar schemes for HIV-positive people."

Currently, AIDS insurance is not offered in India and insurers have
complained that lack of representative data has kept them from venturing
into the segment.

Globally, the government of Uganda was the first to offer AIDS insurance to
25,000 miners. Star Health had recently come out with a Diabetes safe insurance
policy. It covered already known diabetics against risks arising out
of specified
complications. The policy cover ranged from Rs 50,000 to Rs 4 lakh.

===============================================================

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in the above articles
are those of the respective newspapers, not those of
SAATHII.