Hyderabad: School throws out HIV boy

[Guest guest]

Indian school throws out HIV boy

These children in Kerala fought for two years to get back to schoolA four-year-old boy has been thrown out of nursery school in India because he has been found to be HIV-positive. The government-run school in Alwal, near the southern city of Hyderabad, sent the child home after parents of other children protested. It is the latest in a series of similar cases in India, which has the highest number of HIV infections in the world. Recently, former US President Bill Clinton called India the epicentre of the global HIV/Aids epidemic.

Threats

The boy's mother, Jayalakshmi, told the news agency Reuters: "The school teacher called me and asked me to take my son somewhere else as parents of other children in the locality were objecting." Ms Swaroopa, who runs the Venkatesh Yuvjana Sangam nursery, says she was forced to send the child back because of pressure from other parents. "Other parents, fearing for the safety of their children, threatened to close down the school if the HIV-positive boy continued to attend the school. "Moreover, this boy was disturbing other students." Jayalakshmi has now approached a non-governmental organisation for help in getting her son admitted to a special school for HIV-positive children. She was infected with the HIV-virus by her husband, who died from Aids three years ago. Earlier this month, in a similar incident, five HIV-positive children were asked to leave a school in the southern state of Kerala after protests from parents. Children infected Two years ago, two HIV-positive children were taken back into school after they went on hunger strike, after which India's president and Health Ministry intervened. The United Nations estimates that India has the highest number of HIV infections in the world, with 5.7 million people living with the virus. And according to Indian government figures, nearly 8,000 children have been infected with the HIV virus this year alone. More than a quarter of those children are in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, of which Hyderabad is the capital. Activists say one of the major problems in India's battle against HIV/Aids is lack of awareness about the disease and stigma associated with it. At the start of December, Mr Clinton, whose foundation is active in fighting HIV, described the challenge to control the spread of the virus in India as "breathtaking".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6172075.stm

[Guest guest]

Dear FORUM,

On one hand , we hear about statistics about what has been the increase in the

level of awareness of 'common people' about HIV and AIDS and the associated

issues. We also hear about how much the civil society (irrespective of its

nature and mandate) and people living the virus has been claiming to be doing to

(1) raise level of awareness

(2) prevent stigma and discrimination and

(3) support those infected and affected with HIV.

On the other hand , we read about kids being either thrown out of school or the

school authority coercing the parents/ guardians to take the children away from

schools- apparently due to pressure from parents / guardians of other students.

This leads us to come to 3 fundamental conclusions.

1. Awareness generation needs to be all inclusive and repeatative . This has to

happen at all levels of the society . Just judging level of awareness does not

indicate change of attitude or measure behaviour change

2. There cannot be ad hocism in awareness generation- it needs to be carried out

in greater intensity and in much wider areas . Efforts , as of now, has not been

found to be sufficient

3. There needs to be a relook at the BCC/ IEC strategy which has to be more

state and culture specific - a uniform stategy cannot work for a country like

India

Dr Chiranjeeb Kakoty

Consultant

Hospitals and Health Management

Guwahati

E-MAIL: chkakoty1@...