Re: How are the AIDS policies created in India?

September 11, 2001

Subha,

That's like asking for the moon. There doesn't SEEM to be a uniform all-India

policy for HIV/AIDS or even a discussion on policy formulations that I have seen

till now. This is very unlike the way India handled small pox TB.

You thus have a host of nonsensical tomes coming out in 'officialese', as the

saying goes. Thus you will see a complete lack of ethical review systems in most

medical instutitions leading to the disaster in Kerala.

I know of the whole data base of HIV positive persons disappearing and landing

in the hands of pharmaceuticals wanting to 'test' their little pet theories. We

all know what happened in Mumbai with the BIV vaccine. More is to follow.

I attended a workshop at the famous AIIMS where a senior woman doctor claimed

there " were no homosexuals in India " and that MSM behavior was only among

" perverse and furstrated sex-starved truck drivers " . In fact they are more

comfortable with MSM " behavior' than with homosexuals per se as integrated

personalities.That's why you see the new politics of homosexuality in India

concentrating around indescribable new entities which hmake for epidemiological

nonsense.

One official even told me migrant workers in slums had " sex with animals " (he

meant dogs) and should be encouraged to do so that rape of women is prevented.

You can see the lack of compassion in the silly statements of some Drs who sees

truckers as a stigmatised population to be handled in a medicalised ambience and

never as a living, breathing socio-economic segment of society with whom we live

as colleagues, friends and possibly relatives.

I think the way out is for more community based organisations to stand up and

fight this callousness. You can bet there is nobody out there who will give you

an official position on this even though the 'offcial position' is that dictated

by UNAIDS and WHO.

Ashok Row Kavi

Humsafar Trust

Mumbai metro

E-mail: humsafar@...

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