Re: Dealing with stigma and discrimination on a daily basis

[Guest guest]

Dear Poshan and all friends,

Re: /message/10739

Even a cursory glance by anyone at this instances will reveal the need for

remedial action for the development of strategic plans to address the relevant

and preponderant issues mooted by most of them indicating an underlying:

Fear of death amongst the PLHIV and the prponderant need for psycho-social and

financial support

Fear of acquisition of HIV in the service providers and community at large.

For the former we have to come up with development of robust coping strategies

and strengthening of the psycho-social support systems. For the second finding

and the somewhat 'irrational' perspective we need to advocate that the salient

observations flagged of in the study necessitate capacity building, advocacy,

sensitization and the like at different levels in a more comprehensive and

effective manner.

 

Adherence to universal work precautions, infection control measures and the

bio-medical waste disposal being in accordance with the national guidelines and

the law of the land besides reinforcing messages about the transmissibility, or

rather non-transmissibility, in the proper heath care settings and care delivery

systems, need to be reiterated.

Involvement of media and other stakeholders will go a long way in checking such

developments.The networks of PLHIV(INP+,GSNP+ etc.) have done wondeful work with

full commitment for the containment of the dual epidemics.

We must provide our inputs and facilitate the same from different stakeholders

to generate actionable recommendations and actively work on them with existing

legal and other provisions..

I would appeal to all the members to please provide their suggestions and

recommendations in accordance with the hard evidence generated in the serious

and meticulous study carried rather zealously. This may facilitate development

of an excellent advocacy tool by our combined efforts.

Detailed instances of action taken promptly and thouroghly in states of Gujarat

and Orissa have been shared time and again (against the charaltan 'curing'

AIDS,people being thrown out of houses/villages,inhuman treatment at the hands

of service providers and what have you) in the deliberations thereon.

All of them were feasible because of people and organizations working in tandem

in specific efforts evincing that tthere is no tolerance for SDD against the

PLHIV.

The efforts of Solution Exchange of UNAIDS and the mebers of the AIDS community

may be considered so that we do not have to reinvent the wheel.

Wish to humbly submit that I was Selected by the Solution Exchange of the UNAIDS

as a ˜Visioning Workshop Champion™ for reduction of stigma and discrimination

faced by the people living with HIV/AIDS on the basis of the feedback from the

forum members, quality of inputs provided by Dr. Gopal and the telephonic

interview (in view of being busy in post floods relief work at Surat) by the Mr.

Steve Glovinsky, Global Adviser to the UN Country Team and Ms. , National

Coordinator of the  UN Country Team in India for the Solution Exchange at the

UNAIDS/UNDP,New Delhi. The Visioning Workshop was subsequently organized at New

Delhi on 18th and 19th September, 06, which was participated and facilitated

accordingly.

Deliberations were faciltated electronically with translation(and back

translations) into vernaculars to design concrete strategies and sustainable

interventions.

Action groups were formed in different states and actions have been taken at

various levels with zero tolerance for the stgma and discrimination faced by the

PLHIV.

One  activity for analysing the scenario is detailed below

is detailed below:-

Action group report-5th October,2008

 

A study titled â˜A Content Analysis of Coverage of HIV and AIDS in the Print

Media of Gujaratâ carried out by the GSACS on behalf of AIDS  Community Action

Group (Champion of Action Groups to address Denial, Stigma, and Discrimination

(DSD) of People Living with HIV/AIDS :Dr Rajesh Gopal) faciltated by the

SOLUTION EXCHANGE for the AIDS Community of Practic launched by the United

Nations Country Team in India at

http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/aids/resource/res-01-061008-01.pdf

For the Executive Summary only please click

http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/aids/resource/res-02-061008-01.pdf

 

We need to act on them actively, rigorously and consistently in addition to

strngthening the strategies and workplans.

Best wishes,

Dr.Rajesh Gopal. 

 

Dr. Rajesh Gopal,MD

Gujarat State AIDS Control Society (GSACS),

Gujarat State Council for Blood Transfusion(GSCBT),

Block O/1 Block, New Mental Hospital(NMH) Complex,

Opposite National Institute of Occupational Health(NIOH),

Meghaninagar,Ahmedabad, Gujarat,India.Postal Index Number 380016 

Phone(O)91-79-22680211--12--13,22685210 Facsimile 91-79-22680214

e-mal: <dr_rajeshg@...>

[Guest guest]

Dear Mr Sahu,

Re: /message/10739

Dont talk too much, just be an example.

nothing will happen over night

Ajithkumar

--

Dr Ajithkumar.K

Asst Professor In Dermatology and Veneriology

Medical college Chest Hospital

MG Kav,Trichur, Kerala ,India

Ph 04872333322 (res)

9447226012

e-mail: <ajisudha@...>

[Guest guest]

Hello FORUM,

Re: /message/10739

I am also serving for positive people at Gujarat.

First you have to aware them about the righsts of positive people.

Afterward they come forward when they needed. we also find cases of

discrimination.

But as per my experience first we have to remove self stigma among the positive

people, due selfstigma they never come out and ask for his or her rights.

Please arrnage one to one contact or gorup meeting and educate them for the

same. for to make aware of communuty people you can use IEC materials which can

inform about human rights of positive.

Psitive Acivist

e-mail: positive_activist@...

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

Re: /message/10739

Experiences in Brazil indicated that availability and accessibility to ART

reduced stigma and discrimination. Do the reports on prevalence of stigma and

discrimination that keep coming up time and again (in India) indicate that there

is still work to be done towards increasing treatment literacy and awareness?

Just a thought.

Cheers,

Vijay

Vijay Rajkumar

e-mail:<vjningthemcha@...>

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

Re: /message/10739

I absolutely agree with Dr. Rajesh Gopal. But in addition to this we also

should know the ground reality that the stigma and discrimination can not be

eradicated overnight.

The fact that people are being educated as " sex " is the major cause of HIV

infection. We live in a soceity where sex is a forbidden topic to be discussed

publicly.

Even many of the households or among spouses sex is never discussed, only

performed. So in such society, it will be hard to get to the root of this

discrimination to erradicate. I wont be surprised if it really takes another

generation to bring kind of healthy receptions to HIV infected in all walks of

life.

It will be possible only when intitive taken to educate family as whole in sex

and bring whole family discuss topic of sex along with their children probably

we may see some change. Untill then the fight against discrimination has to

continue along with bringing awarness among the people and remove the fear about

the infection.

Best wishes

DSouza

Bangalore

e-mail: <reachlance1004@...>