Pety Politics of Orissa State AIDS Control Societies harms PLWHAs

[Guest guest]

A letter sent by Kalinga Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS,

Bhubaneswar to the Hon'ble Chief Minister, Orissa.

Dear Hon'ble Chief Minister,

Orissa State AIDS Control Society has successfully managed in breaking up the

Kalinga Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS. It has created two factions

amongst the KNP+ and has been successful in closing down the only accessible

Drop in Centre supported and managed by the Kalinga Network for People Living

with HIV/AIDS. It has even gone to the extent of exhorting one of the PLHA

member to file a criminal case against the other.

The reason: KNP+ had been successful in bringing to the notice of the

legislators and the then Health Minister about the non involvement of PLHAs in

HIV/AIDS Programme in Orissa.

The Orissa State AIDS Control Society has been managed by Project Directors who

have not empathized with People Living with HIV/AIDS and each time a new Project

Director comes he focuses not on People living with HIV/AIDS and problems and

issues concerned with them but with not doing anything to alleviate the problems

and issues of concern of People living with HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Parmeshwar Swain, the current Project Director is no different, he in a

meeting with the legislators on the occasion of World AIDS Day exhorted all the

PLHAs to go on ART and save themselves. And even went to the extent of saying

that that is the only way a PLHA can save himself/herself.

Orissa State AIDS Control Society has always been famous for its short

sightedness and has always believed that HIV/AIDS programme is not to

support the PLHA network or work for stigma and discrimination but to

support influential people's children who can be a part of the HIV/AIDS

programme by either working out there or implementing a Targeted Intervention

Programme.

What should the State Government do or NACO do? Are the PLHA issues so small

that NACO or State Government does not need to interfere in this?

I request the Chief Minister of Orissa to look for answers or request Orissa

State AIDS Control Society, and National AIDS Control Society to kill us so that

we don't come to expect anything from them and nothing is done for us.

Thanking you,

Yours Sincerely

Sukant Sahoo,

General Secretary,

Kalinga Network of Positive People.

e-mail: <knpplusorissa@...>

CC: Shri Naveen Patnaik, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Orissa.

Ms. Sujatha Rao, Director General, National AIDS Control Organization.