Women in UP losing battle with HIV

August 3, 2009

Aug 03, 2009

Lucknow The Centre is spending crores of rupees for awareness and prevention of

HIV AIDS in the country, but the disease continues to spread its wings in UP.

According to latest surveys of the United States Agency for International

Development (USAID) and the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO), there are

1.25 lakh HIV-positive people in the state and 40 per cent of them are women.

According to the surveys, this the " worst positive male-female ratio " in the

country. The situation has led the Indian Network of Positive People (INP Plus)

to launch an exclusive project to provide peer support to women in UP.Of the 40

per cent HIV-positive women in the state, three to four per cent are unmarried

adolescent girls and 30 per cent are widows, who have lost their husbands to

AIDS.

The highest number of positive women is reported from districts like Mau, Deoria

and Allahabad — the high prevalence areas — and Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Siddharth

Nagar, Ballia, Varanasi and Banda.

Worse, very few of the HIV-positive women receive medical aid and support, as

experts blame it on social stigma.

Pratap Vikram, project manager for the INP Plus' Strengthen Abilities to Manage

and Respond Effectively to HIV/AIDS (SAMARTH), said: " AIDS is synonymous with

social stigma. And for a woman, the stigma is even more. While women are way

behind on the development index, being HIV-positive pushes them further down. "

Anupam Raizada, team leader of the Technical Support Unit of Uttar Pradesh State

Aids Control Society (UPSACS), said it must be brought home that instead of

women, men are the carrier of the virus.

" Many women do not get medical aid because they do not dare to step out with

their positive status. In fact, many of them may blaming themselves for the

disease, " Raizada said.

Pratap Vikram said though the number of positive women was high, there is no

specific programme for them.

" The state needs a programme that focuses on their livelihood support as most of

them, especially the widows, have been deserted by their families. We also need

a programme to sensitise men about the problems women face, " he added.

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