Re: Mandatory test for pregnant women

[Guest guest]

Dear Sir,

Re: /message/10823

Dr (Major) D J Borah is right regarding the stigma associated with the disease.

Normalisation of the test ( Opt out strategy leads to decrease in stigma and

increase in access to ART. At least the mothers who are positve, will get their

partners tested, they can availt he benfit of Free ART and this will be a step

towards universal access.

The Universalisation of PPTCT intervention should be coupled with

strengthening of care and support programmes.

Having an entire generation free of the disease is definetely a win win

proposition for HIV elimination. We also need to genuine address

concerns on care and support.

Dr RK Sood

e-mail: <drrksood@...>

[Guest guest]

Dear FORUM,

Re: /message/10823

I commend Dr. Borah's perspective on the issue of mandatory testing of pregnant

women. I have been closely involved in the programme that seeks to prevent HIV

transmission from infected parents to their children in Tamil Nadu for the past

6 years and to an extent in other states in India as well as Central Asia and I

write from that experience.

As he rightly pointed out, in most instances, it is the husbands who pass on the

infection to their unsuspecting wives. Can we therefore undertake mandatory

testing of all men?

We know for a fact that the biggest risk factor for young women in India today

is 'marriage'!

Moreover, what is the government's intervention for preventing transmission from

an infected mother to her child through breast milk? The issue is more complex

than offering a seemingly simple solution in the form of mandatoy testing.

I second Dr. Borah's suggestion of informing young people about risks of

transmission and their vulnerabilities. After all, this is one of the prongs of

the PPTCT programme globally.

This is the bigger challenge; that of sensitising youngsters, especially in

rural areas to the risks involved and in challenging deep-rooted gender

inequalities and other social norms in our country that promote such

transmission.

A multi-dimensional approach is the need of the hour rather than targeting a

section of society and one that is already discriminated against in many forms

and ways!

Maya Ramachandran

Joint Director, SIAAP

E-MAIL: <mayu_r@...>

[Guest guest]

Dear All

Re: /message/10823

I was associated with PPTCT for last 10 yrs in Mumbai before taking up this

present post.

Mandatory testing of all pregnant women is desirable along with their husbands.

It is rightly said that women are discriminated and men are not touched. In

India making a rule also does not work, effective counseling of partner and

family members only will work.

Let the counseling be effective.

Dr Deepti Dongaonkar

Dean, Govt Medical CVollege, Nagpur

e-mail: <ddongaonkar@...>

[Guest guest]

Dear Ma'am,

Re: /message/10835

(Magdalene Jeyarathnam'S posting on Mandatory test for pregnant women)

Thanks a lot for the wonderful articulations which have obviously come directly

from the heart though with full technical backing due to to your wide experience

and expertise.

A play of words at any level cannot endorse and justify any proposed activity

like such an 'intervention' from a 'human rights perspective' and/or a gender

lens.

Best regards.

R.Gopal

Dr Rajesh Gopal

e-mail: <dr_rajeshg@...>