From Our Correspondent
GUWAHATI: Incidence of HIV/AIDS cases may have come down nationwide by 50 per cent, but the disease continues to show an upward trend in the Northeast.
According to latest figures, three Northeastern states of Nagaland, Assam and Manipur together recorded close to 70,000 persons as HIV positive. Manipur tops the list with 38,016 such cases, followed by Assam with estimated 19,000 cases and Nagaland with 11,374 cases . Manipur has 2,578 HIV positive children, followed by 318 in Nagaland and 120 in Assam.
“The disease is surely taking its toll on the children. The challenges faced by them are multifaceted and requires a response that extends beyond prevention and treatment,” says World Vision India (WVI).
“There is a village in Ukhrul district of Manipur where 60 of the 250 families are HIV positive. And in many of these households, the head of the family is a teenage boy consequent upon the death of his parents,” Reni Jacob, advocacy director of WVI, said during an interactive session on the menace in Guwahati on Friday.
“The Constitution of India says every person has the right to live. We say they should have the right to live with dignity,” Jacob added pointing out the stigma attached to the disease.
Toshi Sangpi of Naga Network of People living with HIV/AIDS said a school girl in Mokokchung district of Nagaland committed suicide because of ‘harassment’.
“Her school life was miserable. When the classmates learnt her parents died of the disease, they made her life very difficult. So, she could not but take the extreme step,” Sangpi said. There are many such children in Nagaland who are leading a wretched life because of the stigma, he added.
Jahnavi Goswami of Indian Network of Positive People (INP +) made a strong case for setting shelter homes for HIV + children in each of the N-E states who have lost their parents.“HIV positive children need a home to live for they are often ostracized after the death of their parents,” she added.
Meanwhile, the speakers urged the government to ensure child and woman specific diagnosis and easy access to quality care; support and treatment under the various schemes of government; mechanism for better health of children; nutritional support for HIV affected families etc.
It was also suggested that Stavudine (d4T) be immediately phased out by the government from first-line regimen in tune with World Health Organization recommendations owing to its long-term irreversible toxicities and inclusion of Tenofovir (TDF) as preferred first-line regimen.