Several NGOs and other public interest groups working in the health sector have decried the substantial changes and deletion of several crucial chapters made in the HIV/AIDS Bill 2006 by the Union law ministry. Pleading that the changes will defeat the very purpose of the Bill, these groups have demanded restoration and tabling of the original HIV/AIDS Bill 2006 in the upcoming Parliament session which commences on December 10.

According to sources, the HIV/AIDS Bill sent to law ministry in September 2007 has been returned to the health ministry with substantial changes. The law ministry has deleted important chapters of strategies of risk reduction, access to treatment, information, education and communication and health ombudsman and truncated several other provisions like prohibition of discrimination, informed consent and disclosure of information.

In the name of 'surveillance and rehabilitation' the law ministry has allowed mandatory testing, identification and tracing of HIV positive persons; measures those infringe rights of HIV positive persons and drive the epidemic underground. The original Bill sought to protect rights of people living with HIV and affected by HIV and promotes evidence-based interventions to halt the epidemic. Drafted after extensive consultations, the Bill was submitted to the health ministry in August 2006. However, the law ministry changes defeats the very purpose of the HIV/AIDS Bill, NGOs said.

Those who are on the warpath against the law ministry's move to truncate the Bill included Network of People Living HIV/AIDS, Lawyers Collective, HIV Positive People, Soudamini Network for Positive Women and Children of Pune, Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust of Mumbai, Sanmitra Trust of Mumbai and Humsafar Trust of Mumbai. Several other NGOs are also set to join the chorus demanding restoration and tabling of the original HIV/AIDS Bill 2006 in the upcoming Parliament session.

The Bill, drafted by Lawyers Collective, aims to prevent and control the spread of HIV/AIDS and also to protect the rights of those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. It seeks to address discrimination in employment, education, healthcare, travel, residence, accommodation, insurance, etc.

The Bill, which has been pending with the government since August 2006, also addresses the issues such as requirement of informed consent, guarantee of confidentiality, right to access to treatment and work, protection strategies, creation of mechanisms like institutional grievance redressal machinery, health ombudspersons and HIV/AIDS commissions.

The Bill also seeks to guarantee confidentiality of HIV-related information (including HIV+ status) and exceptions to it. It seeks to make the right to access treatment related to HIV/AIDS as part of the right to health recognized under the Indian Constitution and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights to which India is a signatory. It provides for access to comprehensive HIV-related treatment including diagnostics, ARVs, nutritional supplements etc.