Ethical practice and avoiding duplication in HIV/AIDS work needs to be observed by all including people living with HIV - A concern from West Bengal

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends

Wishing you all a merry Christmas and a very happy New

Year.

You may be aware that SPARSHA (Society for Positive

Atmosphere and Related Support to HIV/AIDS) is a

registered NGO run by a group of ‘People living with

HIV/AIDS and their Friends’ (PLWHAF) in West Bengal

where research and service needs with regard to

social, physical, psychological and economical aspects

of HIV disease are addressed.

SPARSHA is a partner organization of West Bengal State

AIDS Prevention & control Society (WBSAP & CS) and is

currently implementing a project entitled

‘STD/HIV/AIDS Targeted intervention for Care &

Support’ for PLWHA in three districts of West Bengal.

Under this project it has established three

Drop-in-Centres (DIC) – one in Kestopur (24 Pgs.

North), one in Uluberia (Howrah) and the third in

Sonakhali (Paschim Midnapur). Besides, a five-bedded

Short Stay Home (SSH) has also been started at

Uluberia.

Friends, I would like to share my concern arising out

of the activities of a few self-proclaimed NGO

workers, which would adversely affect the whole care

and support initiative for PLWHA in West Bengal. These

workers identified themselves as PLWHA from an NGO and

all of a sudden landed at the residence of a person

living with HIV in a hired car in a remote village of

Paschim Midnapur on December 14, 2005 (an area where

we have been working since last 5 years).

They asked the person concerned, to join their NGO and

avail of the facilities they offered. The curious

neighbors asked the driver of the car about the

identity of the visitors and their purpose of visit.

In gross violation of confidentiality and other rights

of the resident, the driver informed that the visitors

were from Kolkata and had come to visit the resident

as he was a person living with HIV. As the status of

the man was not known to the neighborhood and his

other family members, this visit brought unnecessary

misery and pain to the person and his wife. They then

approached our local DIC for help. Earlier a similar

incident also took place in Uluberia where members of

the same NGO visited a PLWHA’s home uninvited and

without any prior information, which created problems

for the person living with HIV and his family.

Is this ethical? Is this the purpose of care and

support projects? Are we political parties where we

need to wean away members of another NGO with promises

of various facilities to increase our numbers? We talk

about creating an enabling environment and networking

— will such unethical and irresponsible behavior help

achieve our goals? I leave it to you to draw your own

conclusions.

Umesh Kakarania

Secretary, SPARSHA

E-mail: <plwhaf@...>