World Vision India (WVI), a non-governmental organization working in the health sector, has urged the union government to pass the HIV Bill in the Parliament at the earliest to ensure easy access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) for People Living with HIV (PLHIV).

The HIV Bill is aimed at ensuring equal rights for PLHIV so that they don’t face discrimination at work, healthcare centres, in education and other settings.  The Bill is also expected to provide a safe working environment for healthcare workers, protection for risk reduction programmes, special provisions for women, children and young people and importantly recognizes the right of children and young people to access healthcare services and information in their own right.

The interactive session held at Bangalore witnessed HIV and AIDS activists including children from across Karnataka deliberating on the status of PLHIV in the state with special focus on children-related issues. The speakers unanimously demanded that all stakeholders communicate the charter of demands as widely as possible and create a common voice for children affected by HIV and AIDS. Further, there was unanimity among the speakers that the HIV Bill would provide the much needed support to further the cause of PLHIV.

Initiating the discussion, Reni Jacob, Advocacy Director, World Vision India, said the challenges faced by children are multifaceted, which requires response much beyond prevention and treatment. The issue becomes important as more than 70,000 children are affected with HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS 2007) and every year about 21,000 children are infected through mother–to-child transmission and thousands of children are affected because their parents are HIV positive.

According to Daisy David, Advocacy Associate, World Vision India, it is estimated that only 11,489 of an estimated 49,000 pregnant women living with HIV received anti-retroviral treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission. The reasons could be attributed to lack of family support, institutional constraints and non-availability and lack of accessibility. It  was suggested that the government should initiate measures that would facilitate easy access of ART for PLHIV.

The  interactive session also sought appropriate intervention at various levels for suitable solutions like early infant HIV diagnosis to prevent parent-to-child transmission and access to child-centric information, psychosocial support in a child-friendly environment among others.

It is estimated that India has around 2.5 million HIV/AIDS patients who have to battle discrimination and social ostracism at various levels. Against this backdrop, World Vision India along with other partner organizations is creating awareness amongst various stake holders to sensitize the government authorities.