Pune: On World AIDS Orphans Day, ART need of the hour

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On World Aids Orphans Day, ART need of the hour

Express News Service

Pune, May 6: With the menace of HIV growing fast, what is a major

area of concern is the growing number of children who are loosing

their parents to the AIDS. Even as the world celebrates the sixth

World Aids Orphans Day on Monday, the Sassoon General Hospital (SGH)

is providing Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) to 250 HIV positive

children.

" We do not really know which one of them is an orphaned child. But we

have screened over 600 children and on May 16, paediatric camps will

be held across Maharashtra to enroll more HIV positive children, "

says Dr A L Kakrani, in-charge of the ART centre at SGH. With only a

handful of institutions providing services for such orphans, ART may

definitely be a welcome move but what is more important is giving

them care and support.

Says Hemangi Joshi, Project director, Swadhar — an NGO that provides

services to 200 HIV positive children from Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and

rural areas, " There is an urgent need to integrate such children in

the Bal Sangopan scheme or the foster parenting scheme of the

government. "

Children are profoundly affected as their parents fall sick and die

and an increasing number have to take on the daunting task of

supporting themselves. Hence as NGOs insist that the government needs

to implement the scheme of foster parenting where such children can

be put in the care of their relatives or foster families.

" At least 10 children from the 200 are on ART and while they

understand that there is a problem, they still have to understand the

meaning of HIV, " points out Joshi adding that the situation can cause

extreme psychological distress. " We need to provide an environment

that is full of love and takes care of the basic needs of the child, "

she says.

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