AIDS bill to be tabled in parliament soon:

November 8, 2004

[Health India]: New Delhi, Nov 8 : The Indian government has decided

to enact legislation to protect people living with HIV/AIDS from the

prejudice and social discrimination experienced by them.

The AIDS Patients and HIV Infected Persons (Rights and Welfare) Bill,

the draft of which was prepared by students participating in an AIDS

awareness campaign here, envisages a holistic approach to tackling the

issue that covers medical, economic and social issues.

" We will table the bill in parliament shortly, " Health Minister

Anbumani Ramadoss announced late Sunday night while addressing

delegates attending a special meeting organised as part of the campaign.

" Very often discrimination stems from ignorance about the route of

HIV/AIDS transmission and unwarranted fears of infection, " says the

draft bill, which envisages protecting kin of HIV-infected people from

the stigma attached to the disease.

" No one has experienced fear and courage, ignorance and insight,

prejudice and acceptance, despair and hope more fully or intensely

than people living with HIV/AIDS, " noted the draft prepared by

students from across the country under the aegis of the Parliamentary

Forum on HIV/AIDS.

The bill, passed at a mock parliament session organised by the

students here Sunday, also envisages setting up of a National AIDS

Commission to create awareness about prevention and control of the

disease.

Other measures suggested in the bill are provisions for suitable and

conducive conditions for HIV-infected or AIDS patients to gain

employment and reasonable accommodation and for social care of the

children of AIDS patients.

Ramadoss said all recommendations would be taken into consideration

and a " sound " law enacted in this regard.

The bill, if enacted, will involve a recurring expenditure of Rs.2

billion (Rs.200 crore) to the exchequer, besides a one-time

expenditure of Rs.5 billion (Rs.500 crore).

Ramadoss said the government was also looking at incorporating issues

related to HIV/AIDS in school curriculum to create awareness among

students.

According to official estimates, India has some 5.1 million people

living with HIV/AIDS.

--Indo-Asian News Service

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