Respect dignity and privacy of people living with HIV and ART, says KSLSA Member-Secretary at HIV conclave

Stigma, discrimination and breach of confidentiality against people living with HIV are now punishable under the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act, said Shashidar Shetty, Member-Secretary of Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA) on Wednesday, calling for strict respect for dignity, rights and privacy in healthcare and in society at large.

He was speaking at Jeevotsava, an HIV conclave organised by the Karnataka Network of Positive People (KNP+) in the city.

Around 450 people attended the event, including 250 people living with HIV and about 70 youth from 21 districts of the State. Representatives from the Indian Network of Positive People (INP+), NGOs and civil society organisations were present. The conclave was organised in collaboration with the Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS), SAATHI (Chennai) and SVYM (Mysuru).

“For long, people living with HIV have been silent sufferers in the face of stigma and discrimination. It is the responsibility of society and all citizens to respect their rights, as any violation is now a punishable offence with the advent of the HIV Act,” said Justice Shetty.

Welfare schemes

G.P. Devaraj, Additional Director, Social Welfare Department, explained various welfare schemes available to PLHA and encouraged parents to send their children for higher education. Assuring a follow-up on grievances, he pointed out that there is a 10% reservation for people living with HIV in all educational schemes and hostel admissions.

Gangu Bai Ramesh Manakar, ombudsman for Karnataka and State nodal officer for grievance redressal under the HIV Act, 2017, sought to normalise HIV as a chronic health condition.

“The HIV is just a medical report, a medical condition like diabetes or Blood Pressure. People can live even up to 100 years with proper Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) and nutrition. Stigma should be removed,” she said.

The KNP+ released its quarterly newsletter and recognised individuals and organisations for services rendered to the HIV community over the last 25 years.

Saroja Putran, Board Director of KNP+, said the organisation is a federation of 30 district PLHA networks in Karnataka with a membership of over 1.8 lakh and is affiliated to the mother network INP+ at the national level.

Treatment gaps

Special awards were given to HIV specialist Sathish B., who returned from the U.S. in 1993 to begin treating HIV patients in Karnataka and has since treated over 1.27 lakh patients, and gynaecologist Poornima Murthy, who specialises in conducting deliveries and gynaecological surgeries for HIV positive women.

Flagging treatment gaps, INP+ CEO Sneha Latha said Karnataka had been at the forefront of the HIV response with a strong community-led approach but now faced challenges in testing and early detection. She highlighted loss to follow-up after initiation of ART, especially among construction workers, industrial workers and migrants, and called for stronger data systems and evidence-based responses at district and rural levels.

The conclave included testimonies from people living with HIV. Nagarathna from Bheema Sena, living with HIV for 25 years, said timely Nevirapine ensured her daughter was HIV-negative, and education helped overcome stigma.

“From the court hall to the last-mile clinic, rights must travel with the person living with HIV, not stay locked in a file,” said Shan Sihimogge S.J., KNP+ Board Director, during the concluding session which also drafted a Charter of Rights for people living with HIV in Karnataka.