Samabanthi Bhojanam For HIV Positive People
Government officials, including the collector and members from the general public, sat together for a lunch with HIV positive people at a function organised by the Coimbatore Network for Positive People (CNP+) recently in connection with the World AIDS Day. More than 500 people participated in the “Samabanthi Bhojanam,” which was a step towards the eradication of the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS. “The feast will send a positive message to the public, a section of which may not know anything about the disease,” said M.Somesh, president of the network.Selected as the theme for this year’s World AIDS Day celebrations by the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS), the community feast served as an appeal to the public not to discriminate against people living with HIV/AIDS. TANSACS had planned such feasts through out the State. “Instead of conducting the routine cycle rallies and meetings, an event such as this will help clear a lot of misunderstanding among the public about the disease,” Mr.Somesh said. Everyone who attended the feast took an oath that they would wholeheartedly accept as equals people living with HIV/AIDS and respect their rights and would oppose any move to discriminate or isolate them. The pledge was drafted by TANSACS and read out at the feast.
The CNP+ had witnessed a steady increase in its membership since last year owing to the efforts of the outreach workers appointed by it. The number had grown to 1,400 from 950 last year. Outreach workers were appointed at every block in the district and at the Government Hospitals and the Public Health Centres who identified HIV positive people and enrolled them in the network.
TANSACS had employed more than 570 people living with HIV/AIDS as outreach workers through the non-Governmental organisations it worked with in the State. This had taken care of the greatest problem for people living with the disease – employment. “Through this initiative, 99 per cent of people living with the disease in Tamil Nadu have been emplyed,” Mr.Somesh says.
Though the Anti Retro Viral (ARV) Therapy was now available free of cost at all the Government Hospitals in the State, the second line drugs were available only at the Government Hospital at Tambaram in Chennai. (Second line drugs are those used by HIV positive people who have developed resistance to the first line drugs). “The second line drugs should be made available at all Government Hospitals for the benefit of the HIV positive people,” Mr.Somesh said. The medicines at a private hospital could cost up to Rs.20,000 which was unaffordable for most people living with the disease in the district.
CNP+ had opened a drop-in-centre at Kamarajar Road, near Mani’s Theatre at Hopes College for encouraging more HIV positive people to join the network. The centre offered counselling, ARV, and organised support-group meetings every Sunday. Doctors and nutrition experts were also invited to the meetings. For details, contact 0422-2593855 / 9443281947 / 9486191682.
