CHENNAI: People living with HIV/AIDS released their charter of demands-cum-manifesto for parties to take note of their needs and include them in their manifestos.
The People Living with HIV (PLHIV) said, according to a recent report from the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS), around 2.2 lakh people in Tamil Nadu are living with HIV/AIDS and their family members account for around 12.5 lakh in total.
The main demand of PLHIV is for a minimum income of Rs 12,000 under Employment Guarantee Scheme for those working in government and non-government sectors as they do not have any socio-economic security.
The State should set up 12 more Drop in Centres (DIC) exclusively for women and children living with HIV. The government has already sanctioned 34 DICs, where counselling, psycho-social support, and support meetings would be conducted for both men and women.
"The annual budget allocation for these centres should be increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per centre," said P Kousalya, president, Positive Women Network. The government should provide support for supplementary nutrition under food security schemes through Public Distribution System (PDS) or by a monthly assistance of Rs 2,000, the manifesto said.
Children living with HIV/AIDS usually drop out of schools and colleges due to ill-health or other reasons; so the government should provide special reservation in higher studies, and classes should be conducted for them free of cost under the Right To Education (RTE) Act.
"Not just this, children living without their parents with HIV should also be guaranteed shelter and job security after they turn 18," added Kousalya. The State should allocate funds for women-centric programmes, especially for the prevention of primary infection among women, reduction of discrimination and stigma faced by PLHIV.
Programmes on reproductive rights should be organised. The demands were drafted by Positive Women Network, Indian Network for People Living with HIV, along with 30 district networks for PLHIV, and 20 NGOs.