********************************************************** SAATHII Electronic Newsletter HIV NEWS FROM INDIA Source: The Hindu, Express India, India Enews, Express Healthcare and Kalinga Times Posted on: 18/12/2007 COMPILED BY: Jacob Boopalan, 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 http://www.saathii.org/orc/elibrary =============================================================== 1. World Bank contest for tackling AIDS in South Asia The Hindu, December 12, 2007. http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/12/stories/2007121261881300.htm 2. Survey says people living with HIV/AIDS not living �openly & positively� Express India, December 12, 2007. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Survey-says-people-living-with-HIV-AIDS-not-living-openly-positively/249304/ 3. From HIV to activism - young Andhra widows show the way India Enews, December 13, 2007. http://www.indiaenews.com/health/20071213/85947.htm 4. For a healthy future The Hindu, December 14, 2007. http://www.hindu.com/quest/200712/stories/2007121450040200.htm 5. Infected by HIV? So what, say these men and women Express India, December 15, 2007. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Infected-by-HIV-So-what-say-these-men-and-women/250500/ 6. UNAIDS Study reveals term-end Results about HIV/AIDS Awareness Express Healthcare, December 15, 2007. http://www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/200712/market08.shtml 7. Love and marriage in the time of HIV Kalinga Times, December 18, 2007. http://www.kalingatimes.com/variety/news_20071218-love-and-marriage.htm =============================================================== 1. World Bank contest for tackling AIDS in South Asia The Hindu, December 12, 2007. http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/12/stories/2007121261881300.htm NEW DELHI: A competition to identify innovative approaches to tackle the problem of HIV/AIDS in South Asia has been launched. The World Bank�s Development Marketplace was initiated on Tuesday with the collaboration of the United Nations and private sector partners. This competitive programme will identify and fund innovative approaches to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS in the region, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Titled �Tackling HIV and AIDS Stigma and Discrimination: From Insights to Action,� the competition is reaching out to communities across the region seeking proposals for local, small-scale projects with the potential for scaling up and replication. The winners will be selected by an international jury of the World Bank and independent HIV and AIDS experts at the Development Marketplace meet in May 2008 in Mumbai. In South Asia, anecdotal evidence and research are demonstrating the extent of the role of stigma in hampering prevention, treatment, and care of HIV and AIDS. For instance, a study in India found that 34 per cent of students, faculty, and technical staff of the public health services would not associate with people living with HIV and AIDS. The epidemic in South Asia is mainly driven by high-risk practices such as sex work, injection of drugs and unprotected sex between men. The South Asia Regional Development Marketplace is implemented in partnership with the U.N. agencies and the private sector. The maximum award will be $40,000 per proposal. =============================================================== 2. Survey says people living with HIV/AIDS not living �openly & positively� Express India, December 12, 2007. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Survey-says-people-living-with-HIV-AIDS-not-living-openly-positively/249304/ Pune: Puneites definitely know how HIV is contracted and spread. Not through mosquito bites or shaking hands, for sure. In fact, amazingly high levels of awareness about HIV in Pune is heartening news. But what is worrisome is there is very low perception of HIV stigma in the society. With an estimated 80,000 people living in Pune (1.8 per cent of the population according to a NACO 2002 report), a city based survey indicates that people living with HIV/AIDS are still not living openly and positively in society. This survey was conducted by the Wake Up Pune - a coalition of NGOs and representatives from civil society working to spread awareness about HIV and AIDS in Pune-and technical inputs from National AIDS Research Institute (NARI) to evaluate public perceptions of HIV. The survey was conducted from November 2006 to January 2007. Approximately 4,000 people from across the city were interviewed. The participants included school and college students, corporates and shopkeepers. It also included floating population at stations and markets in Pune. The participants were mostly from the young student and working age population and were between the age group 18 and 45. Hans Billimoria, Coordinator of the Wake Up Campaign who conducted the survey along with his team said a majority of people had heard about HIV from television or cinema, and from other sources like radio or newspapers, but people were not talking about HIV with those who are close to them. Only 38 per cent said they received knowledge about HIV from friends and only 19 per cent of respondents had received information from their family. Though almost 80 per cent of people surveyed were under the age of 30, only 43 per cent had heard about HIV in their school or college. The levels of knowledge about HIV transmission and protection were relatively high. Most people knew that HIV can be transmitted through unprotected sex (92.6%), sharing needles (90%), a transfusion with infected blood (81.7%) and from an infected mother to her child (86%). Only few mistakenly believed HIV could be transmitted by shaking hands/embracing (5.6%), through mosquito bites (8.5%) and by using public toilets (8.1%). HIV intolerance becomes apparent in answers to questions about HIV in personal interactions. Sixty one per cent of participants said they didn�t know anyone with HIV despite the fact that there are estimated to be at least 80,000 people living with HIV in Pune. Fifty six per cent of people said they had absolutely no risk of becoming infected with HIV. While people may know the risks of HIV and the best ways to protect themselves, they aren�t acting on this knowledge in their everyday lives. This is because people still don�t see HIV as a problem that affects them, Billimoria said. Yet, there there is still widespread fear of HIV among participants if it personally affects them. =============================================================== 3. From HIV to activism - young Andhra widows show the way India Enews, December 13, 2007. http://www.indiaenews.com/health/20071213/85947.htm K. Rama Devi, 27, who contracted the AIDS virus from her late husband, represents a group of more than 3,000 young HIV positive widow activists who are helping spread awareness about the disease in Andhra Pradesh villages. Most of them are uneducated and victims of social boycott due to the stigma attached to the disease in India, which has at least 2.5 million HIV/AIDS patients. Rama, who was attending the second annual meet of 8,000 HIV+ activists here a few days ago, narrated her painful tale to IANS about how her pleasant life changed within days of her husband dying of HIV. She hails from the state's west Godavari district. 'I was just 14 years old when my parents made me marry a mason, who was just three years older to me. We were enjoying life until two years ago when he took to prostitutes and alcohol,' Rama said in Telugu even as an NGO activist translated it into English. 'I had repeatedly pleaded with him to come out of it for the sake of our two minor sons. But he didn't budge and said life was only to be enjoyed. He threatened me, saying I could leave whenever I wanted.' 'When his health started deteriorating, we advised him to visit a doctor. He didn't go. He insisted that doctors would unnecessarily charge him Rs.300. He said he would regain his health with the use of local medicines. 'But later, without intimating us he went through the HIV test and was found infected with the virus. He never disclosed his status to us probably thinking it would put us in grave trouble - and he was actually right. 'He died in September last year, leaving me and my children in the hands of people who had no knowledge about HIV/AIDS. I too accepted destiny, as I had no knowledge of it. Soon I and my sons were asked to take the same test. 'The test results, as expected, made my life more worse. I was found HIV positive but was somehow relieved that my sons were not. News of my HIV status spread like wildfire and the villagers decided to put me in solitary confinement in my house. Nobody talked to me for five months, except my sons. I felt like living in jail paying a heavy price to sins of my late husbands,' she said, wiping tears from her pale cheeks. 'I remained in darkness for five months before some people belonging to an NGO came to know about my worse-than-hell life,' she said. Gulping down some water and despite finding it difficult to speak about her trauma in front of strangers, Rama somehow continued: 'Activists associated with AP State AIDS Control Society (APSACS) bailed me out, but for this they had really struggled hard to make villagers understand HIV/AIDS and the stigma attached to it. 'People were informed that it is not a communicable disease and doesn't spread through talking, touching, kissing or hugging. By doing this they gave me a new lease of life. I was taken for the treatment and put on anti-retroviral treatment (ART). 'I was then asked to join the group and work for men and women who were in a similar situation through which I had just passed. After some initial hesitation, I agreed to join the 'Be Bold' campaign as an outreach worker.' The Be Bold campaign was launched in Andhra Pradesh by APSACS Dec 1, 2006, covering all villages and cities and involving all sections of people, urging people to test themselves to know their HIV status and fight against the stigma and discrimination against AIDS patients. G. Asok Kumar, a administrative official and project director of APSACS, said: 'There are around 3,000 young HIV+ widows associated with the campaign along with thousands of others. They are reaching the remote areas of the state to spread awareness. 'Their work is commendable as the number of HIV tests done in the state this year is 1.45 million as against 590,000 last year,' Kumar told IANS. Rama said: 'Spreading the message is easier said than done. People protest and are unwillingly to discuss problems. They just run away when we disclose that we are infected with the virus. We disclose it only after making people aware of the stigma attached through street plays, drama and folk music. 'In my eight months of work I have helped at least 50 such people suffering from the disease.' Like Rama, Visam Shetty Lakshmi, 25, another HIV+ widow, said she was mentally harassed to such an extent that she once attempted suicide. But after being counselled by NGO activists she joined them. She is now earning through this work and continues her solitary life after her husband died last year. She confidently claims of providing succour to 120 HIV victims. =============================================================== 4. For a healthy future The Hindu, December 14, 2007. http://www.hindu.com/quest/200712/stories/2007121450040200.htm Suddenly there is a furore about what should or should not be taught at school. Parents, governments, youth groups, religious organisations�everyone seems to have entered the fray and everyone has an opinion. So what�s causing so much noise? The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) decided to include an �Adolescent Education Programme� through the State Council for Educational Research and Traini ng (SCERT). But in local parlance it has been translated to �sex education� and we, as Indians consider it taboo to talk about it in public. What everyone fails to understand is that these are but lessons in Life Skills. �Imparting Life Skills is very important in the 15 to 35 age group,� says Devashish Dutta, project officer UNICEF. �Studies have revealed that almost 95 per cent of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive cases have been in this age group. And so it is imperative that these children be equipped with the knowledge of how to protect themselves.� So, why are certain sections of society objecting? Dutta feels that it could be because they have not understood the subject in context and another factor being misinformation. First and foremost teachers need to be well equipped to deal with this. �We have been training teachers and we find that with proper training most teachers get over their initial misgivings,� says Thomas George, Communications Officer UNICEF. �Initially, we faced some resistance from Headmasters. But the training sessions helped them understand what was at stake. And when they met the positive network groups, headmasters were dismayed to find many of their alumni in the group. This proved a turning point.� Some reactions How many parents would object to their child being taught how to protect him/herself and learn safe behaviour? The National Family Health Survey 3 (NFHS-3), which for the first time asked both men and women about providing information in schools on HIV/AIDS and related family-life topics, found that most of them were favourable to the proposal. About 63 per cent women and 82 per cent men said that HIV/AIDS should be taught to both boys and girls. Forty two per cent of women felt that the right age should be 16 years, and a majority of men think 13 to 15 years would be ideal. Most women felt that children should be taught about condoms at the age of 16. Fifty per cent of the women felt that girls should be taught about contraception while 42 per cent said boys should be taught about contraception. An overwhelming majority � 98 per cent women and 99 per cent men � agreed that children should be taught moral values in school and maybe even as young as 10 years. The survey covered a total of 124,385 women in the age group of 15-49 years and 74,369 men in the age group of 15-54. The groups protesting against the move claim that it is unnecessary to include this in the curriculum because it could corrupt young minds and it goes against the culture and morality of Indians. However, the voices for the programme claim that not including it would be a violation to right of information, education and health. With the right information and skills, young people can negotiate high-risk situations more effectively and reduce their vulnerability to violence, HIV and substance abuse. �That the Adolescent Education Programme is necessary is obvious. Young people need to be told what unsafe behaviour can lead to. They need to be told the consequences of even one unprotected sexual encounter. May be 95 per cent of the kids do not practice unsafe behaviour but then what about the five percent? Translated into numbers it could mean a lot. It is not possible to target knowledge to a specific five per cent of the student population. So how do we ensure that everyone has a safe future?� asks Dutta. =============================================================== 5. Infected by HIV? So what, say these men and women Express India, December 15, 2007. http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Infected-by-HIV-So-what-say-these-men-and-women/250500/ Pune: They are a different breed of people living with HIV. Willing to talk about themselves and their HIV status, even get photographed. But that�s not all. They are now a strong registered network of 85,000 people living with HIV and the enterprising lot among them have started tiffin and catering services in Ahmedabad, a cyber cafe in Rajasthan, a garment shop called �Saheli� in Thane and now brimming with innovative ideas to dabble in agriculture by pruning grapes and investing in sericulture towards better and profitable income generation activities. Meet Manoj Parmar from the Ahmedabad Network of People living with HIV. In Pune to share his experiences at a two-day workshop organised by the Indian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (INP+) on �Strengthening of networks of people living with HIV through income generation activities and micro finance� at the YMCA hall, Manoj was distributing pamphlets of their tiffin service in Ahmedabad. �We are 15 people living with HIV and supply home made food to patients in civil hospitals,� says Manoj. Each of us makes around Rs 1,500 per month and there are incentives like party orders as well, he grins. Uma Shankar Pandey from Kutch in Gujarat has been living with HIV for 14 years. �I am healthy and work as a printing press operator,� says Pandey whose wife also is an active member of Action AID � an NGO and while four children have not been infected with HIV, their fifth child who is six years old is HIV positive. While Pandey had to literally struggle for his supply of second line anti retroviral drugs, as president of the Kutch Network of People living with HIV, he is motivating others like him to get on with life. �It was so difficult earlier for a person living with HIV to undergo testing for his or her CD4 count. Now thanks to our efforts the Gujarat AIDS control Society supplies CD 4 count machines in villages,� says Pandey. Indira Priyadarshini does not have HIV but as project coordinator of the the Rajasthan Network of Positive People she had a year to train people living with HIV on how to operate computers. Now with at least 20 of them computer literate, the new year will see the opening of a cyber cafe run by people living with HIV. Prof S Y Saptsagar, president of the Save Foundation at Sangli in Maharashtra and N V Deshpande of the Yerala Project Society at Sangli are the resource persons appointed under the Innovations Fund for HIV/AIDS � a joint initiative of UNDP, NACO and INP+. Says Saptsagar, �People living with HIV in Sangli are assembling electronic components used for tube lights.� M V Kumar, project coordinator of the Positive Support Fund said that as part of the project a total of Rs 1.5 crore had been earmarked to encourage 24 such income generating projects in ten states of Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Manipur. National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) will identify five projects to be emulated at district levels. �This Innovations fund is a new initiative that encourages small and efficient projects to address their immediate concerns,� adds Deshpande. =============================================================== 6. UNAIDS Study reveals term-end Results about HIV/AIDS Awareness Express Healthcare, December 15, 2007. http://www.expresshealthcaremgmt.com/200712/market08.shtml 95 per cent men now believe condoms can protect against HIV/AIDS; 70 per cent women know where to get them About 99 per cent of men in Aizwal now believe condoms protect HIV/AIDS. Incidence of sexually transmitted infections across six districts is down from 55 per cent to 17 per cent. Charca�the joint UN project for reducing young women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS�noted significant successes during the dissemination of its term-end results and recommendations. The results and recommendations of the project that completes its three-year term this year were released by Oscar Fernandes, Minister of State for Labour and Employment and Convener, Parliamentarians' Forum on HIV/AIDS; K Sujatha Rao, Director General, NACO; Dr Maxine Olson, UN Resident Co-ordinator in India and Dr Denis Broun, Country Co-ordinator, UNAIDS. Commending the initiative, Fernandes said, "Charca has unambiguously confirmed the pivotal role that young women will occupy in a successful national HIV/AIDS response. The results attained in a short duration of three years have clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of a grassroots district level intervention that empowers women to protect themselves and a possible route-map to rid the nation of this devastating pandemic." According to Rao, Director General, NACO, "Given the vulnerability and risk of young women and the difficulty of 'mass reach' of awareness programmes, Charca has been successful in building effective models of district level interventions which address women's empowerment through an expanded response. We are sure that the programmes developed will find a place in the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP III)." The project mandate extended to six select districts from diverse parts of the country to explore the possibility of developing a model district level intervention programme that could be implemented under the Government's NACP III. =============================================================== 7. Love and marriage in the time of HIV Kalinga Times, December 18, 2007. http://www.kalingatimes.com/variety/news_20071218-love-and-marriage.htm Hyderabad: Their loved ones may have deserted them, but their hearts are still young. Many HIV-positive people in Andhra Pradesh are tying the knot, becoming one another's support till they breathe their last. Finding themselves socially isolated and traumatised, they have formed an exclusive group, Telugu Network of Positive People. With 36,000 people, the network is trying to reach every nook and corner of the costal state to spread awareness. It is also providing a viable platform to affected people to come forward and become life partners. In the past two years, at least 300 such couples have got married. Venkateshwara Rao, 35, and Durga Ratan Kumari, 30, both HIV positive and divorced from the first marriages, narrated the twists and turns of their lives to IANS. They recently got married in the presence of 8,000 HIV-positive people through the network while fighting the stigma attached to the disease. Rao, who hails from Krishna district, said: "In 2002, I got married to an ordinary village woman, but she deserted me within two years after I was diagnosed with HIV. She was scared of the disease like all others. Her parents took her away after she underwent the same test on doctors' advice and was found negative. We had no children. "I left my village after my father, who was responsible for my infection, died of HIV. Soon villagers made my life miserable. I reached Warangal district. I was alone thinking about the blow destiny had dealt to me. "I didn't realise when depression and frustration surrounded me completely and one day I decided to take the extreme step. I went to a railway platform, thinking of hurling myself before a fast moving train. But I couldn't. "I made two more similar attempts, but remained unsuccessful. On the fourth occasion I was encountered by an activist of the network. He talked to me at length and patiently listened to the tragedy of my life. The activist took me to a care and support centre, where I was not merely counselled but provided treatment. After a few months I joined the network and become an active member in spreading the message. His new wife, Durga Ratan Kumari, had a similar tale to tell. Kumari, who hails from Warangal district, said: "Two years ago she contracted HIV from her husband, who used to regularly visit prostitutes. Blaming him for her status, she returned to her parents. "I took anti-retroviral treatment and afterwards I too joined the network. Here I met him, but six months before we had never thought that one day we would be enjoying each other's company," she said, shying. Asked how their marriage was solemnised, Kumari said: "It was an arranged marriage though both of us were working for the network. My parents and relatives were forcing me to get married again and I was left with no choice. Then I decided to marry an HIV+ person so that a healthy person would not get affected thorough me." Andhra Pradesh, home to 500,000 HIV infected people, forms 20 percent of India 's AIDS map and many impoverished villagers in the state have fallen victim to the deadly virus. However, the dark horizon has started brightening as the awareness levels of these not so literate villagers have gone up substantially. Around 90 percent of infected people in the state have contracted the virus from unsafe sex. A. Ramesh Babu, who is HIV+ and heads the network, said: "HIV- positive marriages are very safe if you are using condoms and taking other precautions. Before solemnising such marriages we counsel thoroughly and couples are advised not to have children. "In the past two years at least 300 HIV-positive couples have tied the knot through the network and they are enjoying a good life," he added. HIV+ people in the state have another reason to cheer as a local monthly magazine Pelli Patrika has agreed to publish free of cost four matrimonial advertisements for HIV+ people . Currently, India is home to nearly 2.5 million HIV/AIDS patients, including 70,000 children who suffer from the disease that affects the human immune system. =============================================================== Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in the above articles are those of the respective newspapers, not those of SAATHII.