MSM community most vulnerable says Sunithi Solomon
Chennai:
Earlier it was sex workers and truck drivers who were prone to get
human immune deficiency virus (HIV) but now the virus is migrating to
another set of population including Gays as well as migrant
populations in the state, according to Dr Suniti Solomon, who was the
first to detect India's first HIV cases in Tamil Nadu.
Addressing a multi-stakeholder convention, Solomon , who is also
managing director of Y R Gaitonde Center for AIDS Research and
Education, said that as per the survey conducted by her organization,
Gay community in India are among those who are worst affected.
“We did a survey of gay population from Amritsar to Coimbatore and
found that most of them have HIV and of these 60 per cent are totally
unaware of AIDs,” said Solomon.
Interestingly, Solomon has said that people can live with AIDs for a
longer time provided they take first line drugs everyday without fail.
“If they fail, resistance comes up forcing use of second line therapy
which is costly,” she said.
Meanwhile, the stakeholders have also put forth three important
conditions to be included in the long pending Human Immunodeficiency
Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control)
Bill. They object to the clause “as far as possible” in providing
medical facility saying it should be made as a right besides creation
of an ombudsman and protection to the HIV positive people as well as
the vulnerable population working for them.
Interestingly, state health secretary, J Radhakrishnan vowed to
apprise Parliamentary Standing Committee of the stakeholders' demands
so that it can be incorporated in the Bill to be passed in Lok Sabha.
The stakeholders also apprised the health secretary of difficulties
faced by people living with HIV and AIDs in accessing life saving
antiretroviral therapy drugs in the state. The secretary denied that
there was a shortage of Antiretroviral Therapy Drugs (ART) in Tamil
Nadu.
Radhakrishnan said that the state government has been targeting to
ensure zero new HIV infections, zero new deaths and zero stigma.
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