People living with HIV and representatives from civil society organisations on Monday demanded that the HIV/AIDS Bill, pending since July 2006, be tabled in Parliament during the monsoon session.
Addressing presspersons, Surekha N. Shetty from Lawyers Collective said the Bill was very important as it provides legal redressal against discrimination in both the public and private sectors.
Ms. Shetty said that though the Bill was sent to the Law Ministry in August, 2007, it was cleared only in March, 2010. It was later sent back to the Health Ministry and since then has been pending with it.
Meena from Bangalore HIV/AIDS Forum said the Bill was aimed at protecting the rights of HIV positive people.
She narrated the harassment that the community members were going through.
“From being forced out of schools, to denial of jobs, harassment at hospitals and involuntary disclosure of HIV status — there is no end to discrimination that people living with HIV/AIDS and their families face,” she said.
Chandrika from Milana said the Bill also aimed at providing treatment to all those living with HIV. “Presently, although the government is providing first line anti-retroviral therapy (ART) treatment free of cost, availability of second line treatment is limited and there is no third line treatment for those who need it,” she said.
The activists have also written a letter to Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad demanding that the Bill be tabled in the coming session.
