Art of combating HIV

Almost a decade ago, when Patricia (name changed), a homemaker who tested HIV positive, she wasn’t aware that despite being monogamous, she could still contract the disease. She says, “I thought I was safe, as I had just one partner. But when I contracted the disease from my husband, I was shocked—it could happen to anyone.” Today, despite several awareness programmes, the common perception among an average individual is that the disease will never affect hom. 

Dr P Kugananthan, former UNICEF, CDC Programme Officer-AIDS, says that unlike earlier days when the disease was concentrated among the lowest strata or a few rich, it is time to address the general population. He says, “We have the module that supports identifying the disease among the general population. In fact, HIV/ AIDS programme is no longer a project, but a mainstreamed programme.”

Campaigning hard to remove the stigma related to the disease, Jeyaganesh K, deputy state programme manager, Swasti, Tamil Nadu, says that it could also help many have an open mind about being tested for the disease. “Addressing vulnerable and high risk groups is important, but it is equally important to address the rest,” he says. 

S Natarajan, IAS, Project Director, Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society says the programme in the state is inclusive. “We have 74 NGOs focusing on the groups, but the ICTCs are for everyone to access. Apart from this, we have mobile app like Iyyam Thavir to reach the largest group to access information,” he says. 

Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) that controls the growth of virus continues to hold the key for combating the disease effectively. “Based on clinical studies, World Health Organisation has recommended initiation of ART soon after HIV diagnosis. However, we are yet to reach the target of covering all HIV infected people with ART. In India, it is estimated that around 2.1 million persons are living with HIV and among them 1.1 million (less than 50%) are receiving ART treatment,” says Dr N Kumarasamy, Chief Medical Officer, YRG CARE Medical Centre, VHS HOSPITAL, Chennai.

The centre sees close to 150 new patients every month and these are across different sections of society. He adds that in Tamil Nadu, a significant number is not on ART. “We need to correct that; even in some African countries as many as 70 per cent of them are on ART, while in Western countries it is almost 90 per cent,” he adds.

Across the state, be it Chennai or the western districts of Salem and Erode, there is a huge presence of cross-border migration, says Rama Pandian of the Tamilnad Network of Positive People. He says, “In a place like Chennai, which is a huge metro, there is a lot of migrant movement and we need to address them in their local languages to ensure there is high awareness.”

According to statistics available, in some districts of the Southern states including Tamil Nadu the prevalence rate is 14.5 per cent among sex workers. The problem here is these sex workers are most often migrants and they have no access to healthcare. Rama Pandian adds that many people from South Andhra seek treatment in the state. “Now the procedure to follow up on them has been streamlined. It is easier to track them to ensure adherence,” he says.

Dr Kugananthan points out that that today, the mother to child transmission rate that was 0.75 per cent to 02 per cent at present. “This is a benchmark that we have to build on, in order to achieve the zero new infections goal,” he says. In the state, as many as 16 districts the rate of mother to child transmission is zero. Natarajan says, “We want to emulate the same across other states.”