A host of health activist groups in the country under the banner of 'National Coalition on the HIV/AIDS Bill' are up in arms against the central government for the inordinate delay in tabling the controversial HIV/AIDS Bill. The bill has been shuttling between the union ministry of health and the ministry of law for the last more than three years ever since it was finalised by the health ministry in August 2006.
These organisations working in the health sector are united in urging the government to table the Bill, in its original form as envisaged by the health ministry, in the on-going winter session of parliament as it holds great significance for the people living with HIV/AIDS. “We need this Bill to fight discrimination against people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS and the Indian government cannot afford to delay its tabling any further,” said Daisy David of INP+.
The activists argue that the Bill's immediate passage in Parliament is necessary as human rights violations against the people living with HIV/AIDS have been taking place in several forms. They are denied or terminated from jobs, denied treatment in hospitals, children are denied admission in schools merely because their parents are HIV-positive, people associated with HIV are still ostracised by the community at large, and women face increasing violence and neglect. HIV/AIDS has long gone past being a medical problem and is now an issue that cuts across social, economic, psychological, medical, and human rights parameters.
After finalising the Bill in August 2006, the health ministry submitted it to the law ministry. In October 2008, the law ministry released its first draft of the Bill, which was seriously flawed as the law ministry had truncated several important provisions in this draft and also inserted some unacceptable provisions which permitted surveillance of HIV+ people along with their segregation and isolation.
Country wide protests and demonstrations followed the first draft. In February 2009, the Law Ministry released its second draft. Substantive provisions such as those addressing the unique vulnerabilities of women and children towards HIV and emergency grievance redressal mechanisms remained truncated in this draft.
In October 2009, The Law Ministry released its third draft of the Bill. Once again several important provisions on ‘Informed Consent’, ‘Disclosure of Information’, ‘Access to Treatment’, ‘Health Ombud’, ‘Special provisions for women and children’ ‘Special Procedures in Court’ as well as provisions which mandate the involvement of PLHIV in policy formulation and implementation were absent from this draft.
Then the law ministry released a fourth draft of the Bill. Although certain important provisions have been reinstated such as those which address the vulnerabilities of children toward HIV, many important provisions remain truncated.
The activists said that the Bill in its present form will only inadequately address the issues of people living with and affected by HIV. To be successful in combating the epidemic, the Bill needs to be comprehensive in nature and should not compromise on key provisions. Thus, it is important that the bill is tabled and passed in its original form, as envisaged by the Health Ministry.
The Bill was drafted by the Health Ministry in consultations with people living with HIV, vulnerable communities, women and children, health care providers, employers and trade unions, lawyers, civil society organisations, State AIDS Control societies, and other concerned departments.