"I was treated like dogs": World AIDS Day special
Jigyasa Mishra | Dec 01, 2018, 03:40 IST
As he speaks to us Amit gets emotional, his wife holds his hand trying to calm him down. His hurt evident he tells us, "even today if you were to go for a sample test, they don't touch the sample, they hand you a label and tell you to label your sample yourself. If this what happens in hospitals imagine what the rest of the world is like."
Lucknow: "Oh! It's the first and you are back again!" Amit (name changed) says sarcastically. Amit is HIV positive and his sarcasm indicating his annoyance at journalists who turn up once a year to speak to him on World Aids Day.
The first AIDS case in India was registered in 1986. According to the UN AIDS report in 2016 there were 80,000 new cases of AIDS and 62,000 AIDS related deaths. According to the report there were 2100 lakh cases of AIDS out of which 49% were on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).
As he speaks to us Amit gets emotional, his wife holds his hand trying to calm him down. His hurt evident he tells us, "even today if you were to go for a sample test, they don't touch the sample, they hand you a label and tell you to label your sample yourself. If this what happens in hospitals imagine what the rest of the world is like."
Amit met his wife, Nilima (name changed) in King Georges Hospital where they were both undergoing treatment for AIDS. They were married at the hospital itself in a registered marriage. The hospital maintains a register where people can out here names down for a match, and when a suitable match appears the hospital arranged an arranged marriage for the patients. Dr. Reddy of King Georges tells us, "the last marriage we arranged was in 2017, all the marriages we have arranged have been successful so far."
In the year 2017, 22,675 pregnant women underwent Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) to prevent mother to child infection.
ALSO READ: 'कुत्तों से भी बद्तर बर्ताव किया जाता था हमारे साथ"
The first AIDS case in India was registered in 1986. According to the UN AIDS report in 2016 there were 80,000 new cases of AIDS and 62,000 AIDS related deaths. According to the report there were 2100 lakh cases of AIDS out of which 49% were on Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).
As he speaks to us Amit gets emotional, his wife holds his hand trying to calm him down. His hurt evident he tells us, "even today if you were to go for a sample test, they don't touch the sample, they hand you a label and tell you to label your sample yourself. If this what happens in hospitals imagine what the rest of the world is like."
| According to the National Aids Control Organization's (NACO) latest report, there has been a slight dip in the numbers of HIV positive people. However, NACO states in its own report that this is not reason enough for complacency as India has set the ambitious target of eradicating AIDS from the country by 2030. |
In the year 2017, 22,675 pregnant women underwent Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) to prevent mother to child infection.
ALSO READ: 'कुत्तों से भी बद्तर बर्ताव किया जाता था हमारे साथ"
| While the overall rate of infection is falling worldwide some communities and areas are still seeing rise in numbers. AIDS related deaths are also decreasing as treatments become more effective and available. According to the 2018 UNAIDS report, new cases of infection have seen a 47% decrease and AIDS related deaths a decrease of 51%. |