People affected by HIV positive expressed their dissent that only five percent can have to the antiretroviral treatment (ART) and urged that the present scenario must change and pave way to make the treatment widely available to all.
"Only five percent of the estimated 5.1 million HIV/AIDS infected people in India are able to access the ART treatment, which is being slowly scaled up," Colin Gonsalves, founder director of Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), told reporters here.Striving to raise awareness about the continuing discrimination and stigma faced by people living with HIV/AIDS, the network's bimonthly magazine focuses on the lacunae in the legal system in its latest issue.
Jahnavi Goswami of the Assam Positive People's Network, Hari Singh of Delhi-based Love Life Society and Pawan Kumar of the Uttar Pradesh Network of Positive People also highlighted the paucity of medication available to them.
"With people from neighbouring districts and cities trying to access the limited supplies of medications whether in Delhi or Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, many of us do not get our regular course of medications," said Singh.
"This has left us vulnerable as even a day's miss weakens the immune system, while long gaps strengthen resistance to the ART drugs," he added.
Goswami said that in the 12 years of being diagnosed as HIV positive, a nutritive diet has helped her keep fit.
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