BHUBANESWAR | Saturday, December 19, 2009 | Email | Print | 
Rural women volunteer to give blood for HIV tests
Sudhir Mishra | Balangir
Ask anybody to donate blood; it would evoke more hesitation and less willingness among the urban people, not to speak about the rural people who usually groin under ignorance.
If you mention HIV/AIDS, it would evoke a disdainful look with stigma and social discrimination looming, rather than expression of sympathy.
And if you ask anybody to go for testing of blood for HIV/AIDS in rural areas, it is a difficult task and it is more difficult task with rural women.
According to reports, in such a backdrop, on the demand of people, a counselling and testing camp for HIV/AIDS was held at Deogaon, 20 km from here, recently. A total of 45 villagers, including 25 women and 20 men of Deogaon, Sagarpali and Kacharpalia villages gave their blood for HIV/AIDS testing.
We held a counselling jointly at Bhanjapada and Deogaon few days ago and counselled them about HIV/AIDS/ TB and other contagious diseases, said Kiranbala Satpathy and Sitanshu Patnaik of Action Aid’s link worker scheme. We informed the district authorities and requested them to hold such a camp, said Satpathy further.
Earlier pregnant women had to go to the Balangir district headquarters hospital to check their pregnancy status and detect any type of infection. During pregnancy it is very risky, expensive and cumbersome to move to the hospital situated far away, pointed out a woman. With this camp, pregnant women of the villages could avail the facility at their doorstep and check their pregnancy status and common infections, she said further.
Before drawing their blood they were adequately counselled about HIV/AIDS and they also agreed to give blood for testing. Besides this we also counselled them to get their blood tested for HIV again after three months as during the window period of three months HIV detection is not possible. If a person’s blood is tested once again after three months, detection of HIVwould be possible with accurate result, explained a volunteer present in the camp.
I personally agreed to their sensible views and readily came forward to give my blood forHIV/AIDS testing, said Kartik, a local youth without hesitation.
The counselling and testing facilities for the villagers should be extended to at least each primary health centre (PHC) at the block level. Unless this service is provided to people, detection of HIV/AIDS and its prevention would not be possible and effective, an NGO worker pointed out.
Rural women volunteer to give blood for HIV tests
Sudhir Mishra | Balangir
Ask anybody to donate blood; it would evoke more hesitation and less willingness among the urban people, not to speak about the rural people who usually groin under ignorance.
If you mention HIV/AIDS, it would evoke a disdainful look with stigma and social discrimination looming, rather than expression of sympathy.
And if you ask anybody to go for testing of blood for HIV/AIDS in rural areas, it is a difficult task and it is more difficult task with rural women.
According to reports, in such a backdrop, on the demand of people, a counselling and testing camp for HIV/AIDS was held at Deogaon, 20 km from here, recently. A total of 45 villagers, including 25 women and 20 men of Deogaon, Sagarpali and Kacharpalia villages gave their blood for HIV/AIDS testing.
We held a counselling jointly at Bhanjapada and Deogaon few days ago and counselled them about HIV/AIDS/ TB and other contagious diseases, said Kiranbala Satpathy and Sitanshu Patnaik of Action Aid’s link worker scheme. We informed the district authorities and requested them to hold such a camp, said Satpathy further.
Earlier pregnant women had to go to the Balangir district headquarters hospital to check their pregnancy status and detect any type of infection. During pregnancy it is very risky, expensive and cumbersome to move to the hospital situated far away, pointed out a woman. With this camp, pregnant women of the villages could avail the facility at their doorstep and check their pregnancy status and common infections, she said further.
Before drawing their blood they were adequately counselled about HIV/AIDS and they also agreed to give blood for testing. Besides this we also counselled them to get their blood tested for HIV again after three months as during the window period of three months HIV detection is not possible. If a person’s blood is tested once again after three months, detection of HIVwould be possible with accurate result, explained a volunteer present in the camp.
I personally agreed to their sensible views and readily came forward to give my blood forHIV/AIDS testing, said Kartik, a local youth without hesitation.
The counselling and testing facilities for the villagers should be extended to at least each primary health centre (PHC) at the block level. Unless this service is provided to people, detection of HIV/AIDS and its prevention would not be possible and effective, an NGO worker pointed out.
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