BHUBANESWAR | Tuesday, October 13, 2009 | Email | Print | 
AIDS bomb ticking: HIV+youth dies in Balangir
Sudhir Mishra | Balangir
Death of 22-year-old Gopal Suna (name changed) — amidst the rising prevalence ofHIV/AIDS — of Titilagrah sub-division in Burla in the first week of October while undergoing ART treatment has revealed how absence of awareness among the masses and delay in providing appropriate service to the people living with HIV/AIDS in the district cost him dearly.
With the detection of 240 HIV positives and as many as 37 deaths due to AIDS in this no-major-industry district, within a span of just six years since the introduction of counseling and testing, the spectre of HIV/AIDS is looming large further.
The main cause of the rapid spread of this disease in the district is due to large scale migration of people, youth, and absence of proper awareness and easy access to crucial treatment facility.
This is nothing but tip of the iceberg, said in-charge CDMO PC Sahu while inaugurating a workshop organised by Action Aid here recently.
Detection of HIV positives is a Herculean task as everybody tries to hide their status fearing social stigma and discrimination. After implementing the targeted approach in the phase I and phase -II, by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) the Link Worker Scheme was implemented in the district in collaboration with the National Aids Control Society in NACP-III.
"Under this scheme, the STAR-(Society Tackling Aids through Rights) approach is adopted and in the villages where various peer groups are formed to take up community issues. In the peer groups the group members shares their experience, problems health status and other sensitive issues, says Amar Jyoti Nayak Regional Manager, Action Aid Amar Jyoti Patnaik. Even today talking of sex is considered as taboo. In the peer group members share their views, unhesitantly which further allows them to take any steps for their removal." says Amar further.
While sharing with peer group, a lady in a village of Titiligarh block after listening to this started sobbing as her son health condition is in a bad shape. She invited the link worker to her house and have look after her son and the link worker in turn informed the supervisor Bhagabat to look after the case. To avoid stigmas and discriminations in the village we reached that house virtually secretly and after reaching that house I started counseling, says Bhagabat.
During the discussion intimacy so developed that the youth shared all the incidents, which includes how he had intimate relations, in detail.
As he was checked in the ICTC, he was found HIV positive and was referred to Berhampur for ART treatment. As he went to Berhampur and gave blood there for testing, thanks to bad luck the machine did not function by that time and he couldn't get the result leaving him to suffer further. By this time as his condition deteriorated he was advised to go for Burla. He got his blood tested and returned with some temporary medicine and as his health condition deteriorated he was desperate to go to Burla for ART treatment.
However, shortage of money prevented going there. The link workers took prompt action to link with SAI (TI) who supported to take him to Burla ART Centre.
Finally the targeted intervention Partner, SAI agreed to bear the cost of travelling expense. He returned home with ART and started taking treatment as advised by the doctors. When his health condition did not improve, he was again admitted in Burla hospital and died there. Had the youth status been revealed earlier, had his family members had known about AIDS, things would have been different and his life could have been prolonged further, said Nandi.
AIDS bomb ticking: HIV+youth dies in Balangir
Sudhir Mishra | Balangir
Death of 22-year-old Gopal Suna (name changed) — amidst the rising prevalence ofHIV/AIDS — of Titilagrah sub-division in Burla in the first week of October while undergoing ART treatment has revealed how absence of awareness among the masses and delay in providing appropriate service to the people living with HIV/AIDS in the district cost him dearly.
With the detection of 240 HIV positives and as many as 37 deaths due to AIDS in this no-major-industry district, within a span of just six years since the introduction of counseling and testing, the spectre of HIV/AIDS is looming large further.
The main cause of the rapid spread of this disease in the district is due to large scale migration of people, youth, and absence of proper awareness and easy access to crucial treatment facility.
This is nothing but tip of the iceberg, said in-charge CDMO PC Sahu while inaugurating a workshop organised by Action Aid here recently.
Detection of HIV positives is a Herculean task as everybody tries to hide their status fearing social stigma and discrimination. After implementing the targeted approach in the phase I and phase -II, by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) the Link Worker Scheme was implemented in the district in collaboration with the National Aids Control Society in NACP-III.
"Under this scheme, the STAR-(Society Tackling Aids through Rights) approach is adopted and in the villages where various peer groups are formed to take up community issues. In the peer groups the group members shares their experience, problems health status and other sensitive issues, says Amar Jyoti Nayak Regional Manager, Action Aid Amar Jyoti Patnaik. Even today talking of sex is considered as taboo. In the peer group members share their views, unhesitantly which further allows them to take any steps for their removal." says Amar further.
While sharing with peer group, a lady in a village of Titiligarh block after listening to this started sobbing as her son health condition is in a bad shape. She invited the link worker to her house and have look after her son and the link worker in turn informed the supervisor Bhagabat to look after the case. To avoid stigmas and discriminations in the village we reached that house virtually secretly and after reaching that house I started counseling, says Bhagabat.
During the discussion intimacy so developed that the youth shared all the incidents, which includes how he had intimate relations, in detail.
As he was checked in the ICTC, he was found HIV positive and was referred to Berhampur for ART treatment. As he went to Berhampur and gave blood there for testing, thanks to bad luck the machine did not function by that time and he couldn't get the result leaving him to suffer further. By this time as his condition deteriorated he was advised to go for Burla. He got his blood tested and returned with some temporary medicine and as his health condition deteriorated he was desperate to go to Burla for ART treatment.
However, shortage of money prevented going there. The link workers took prompt action to link with SAI (TI) who supported to take him to Burla ART Centre.
Finally the targeted intervention Partner, SAI agreed to bear the cost of travelling expense. He returned home with ART and started taking treatment as advised by the doctors. When his health condition did not improve, he was again admitted in Burla hospital and died there. Had the youth status been revealed earlier, had his family members had known about AIDS, things would have been different and his life could have been prolonged further, said Nandi.
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