NGOs, welfare groups help HIV-positive couples start families in Tamil Nadu

TIRUCHY: The 27-year-old Vijaya (name changed on request) was blinking at the sky five years ago as everything around her seemed to be blank. She was frustrated thinking about her future as her wish to lead a normal life was becoming futile for being a 'Person Living with HIV '(PLHIV) transmitted from her parents.

However, the entire scenario had changed when she met 30-year-old Selvan (name changed), who was also a PLHIV, and luck would have it, the couple is now a happy parent of a boy and a girl, three years and six months respectively, who are HIV negative. Healthy children have helped them finally find the meaning of their lives.

“As everyone in our community, I too had a hesitation initially on marriage and then begetting children fearing that the child would get infected but on seeing an ‘akka (sister) known to me’ also a PLHIV had succeeded in delivering baby girl sabs infection (HIV negative), I changed my mind and asked my parents to search for a suitable groom but I was very particular that the groom should also be a PLHIV”, recalls Vijaya. She said that their wedding took place in a grand style.

“The groom and his parents, who were also PLHIV, knew that we both were PLHIV and they had requested not to inform us about this in public,” she said.

After the marriage, Vijaya became pregnant, and she gained courage and told her mentor, A Thamil, Director, Network for Positive People in Tiruchy.

“She built confidence in me, and I delivered a baby, an HIV-negative boy, as I was undergoing proper treatment and periodical tests. With the first baby, who is now three years old and negative, I was on cloud nine. I also succeeded with the second baby, who is just six months old now, and we are happy parents. Our children have made our lives worth living," says an emotional Vijaya.

The undeniable fact that the NGOs, ART (AntiRetroviral Therapy) medical Centre, and counselling centres played a vital role in disseminating awareness on the HIV infection, and they have also provided good care to them by providing counselling on the pros and cons to the mothers to be PLHIV.

“We have arranged around 50 marriages for the PLHIV community, and except for two, all the 48 couples have children, among them only one is a positive baby because of improper medication,” said Thamil.

She said that her organisation, Network for Positive People, used to follow the mothers to be and provide proper guidance.

“There is a test for the baby when it turns 45 days, then another test at 6 months and then one year, and thereafter the last test would be at 1.5 years, and we can declare them as ‘HIV negative’," said Thamil.

Thamil also stated that the tendency to have babies by the PLHIV couples had started a few years back, as almost all the babies born were found to be negative. “Nowadays, the couple are preparing for the second baby too, as our counsellors closely follow them up from pregnancy to childbirth and provide on-time guidance,” Thamil said.

The Network for Positive People in Tiruchy has also been running a matrimonial service for PLHIV for free. “Since the growing interest in weddings among the PLHIV, more people have been approaching us to find suitable partners. I have around 75 profiles, including 25 of them are women, from farmers to IT professionals, and we initially provide them counselling before getting married, and this scenario has reduced the suicides among the PLHIV”, Thamil said.

Stating that the awareness among the people on HIV has increased, Thamil said, it was due to continuous awareness programmes organised by the government, more people, particularly youngsters, volunteer for tests if they fear some symptoms occur.

“The awareness among the youngsters is visible during the past six years, but a few PLHIV undergo discrimination in a few public places, including hospitals,” she said.

Meanwhile, the community people demand the resumption of nutrition supplement distribution at the ART centres. They said that the supplement was stopped around 10 years back, citing the lack of central funds. They get medicines and guidance in the ART centre, but the food supplement was stopped. For a PLHIV, nutritious food is as vital as medicine, and the government should resume it.