HIV in India

Though India joined the HIV epidemic later than most countries, it is now one of the countries with the fastest growing HIV infection rates with more than 2.5 million of its over 1 billion population currently living with HIV.  It’s a unique population due to the low education rates and hundreds of different languages, which in the past has made advertising safe sex and HIV prevention quite a challenge.  It is also a conservative country where talking about sex and STI’s is a taboo topic making education about how to prevent HIV sparse.

Though testing rates have increased, there are still too many people without enough money to go to a testing/treatment facility and pay for treatments, so they live with HIV, don’t know how to stop spread, and continue to infect others.

Infected men and women who know they are infected are fearful to tell others because of the intense social abuse associated with being HIV positive.  On many instances people lose their jobs, are denied medical treatment, are shunned from family, and are left with no place to go with no money once they have been diagnosed.

Infected women, who are a significant portion of those infected in India, are especially shunned from society and their families, or are abused and neglected.  They have little to no financial or moral support to get treatments or education about their disease.

¢  In 2006, ~2.5 million people are living with HIV in India. (Source: WHO, 2007). 

¢  Children are sent out of school due to stigma

¢  Children leave school as fees can not be paid

¢  Children stigmatized and discriminated by family, community, friends, service providers…

¢  Children branded as “cursed”

¢  94% of the patients found the home visits (w/ medication, emotional, health, nutrition, hygiene counseling) helpful.

¢  Two patients even claimed that without the home visits they would have killed themselves

¢  36% of patients stated that they experienced violence or isolation from their community. 

¢  88% of all the patients interviewed wanted additional support from HIV clinics:

— Living situation

—  Children’s education

—  Financial support

***Several consistent studies: Most patients expressed a desire for more education about their disease and symptoms***