The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : HIV/AIDS patients to get free legal aid shortly

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Sunday, May 25, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

HIV/AIDS patients to get free legal aid shortly

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: The AP State Legal Services Authority is contemplating to persuade the government to amend Section 12 of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987 to provide free legal services to HIV/AIDS positive persons.

The amendment is expected to take effect shortly after courts resume work, D. Subramanyam, member-secretary of the authority, told a symposium on ‘HIV/AIDS Bill -- a necessity’ organised by the Hyderabad Hub as part of the Global AIDS Week of Action here on Saturday.

He said two NRI doctors from the US, Harsha Vardhan Reddy and Harish Chandra Reddy, have pledged to sponsor free supply of anti-retroviral drugs to HIV/AIDS patients by Dr. Reddy’s labs.

Calls to helpline

HMWSSB Managing Director G. Ashok Kumar, who was till recently project director of APSACS, supported the bill as also pre-marital HIV test. He said the society’s helpline 1097 was receiving 8,300 calls a month as against 1,000 calls a year back.

Christine Lazarus, MLA, Y. Reddappa Reddy of Legal Services Authority, Kailash Aditya of APSACS, spoke.

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