: Questions are being raised on claims of declining rates of HIV infection in Odisha. There are allegations that most of the people from vulnerable sections of the State are yet to be tested.
Ganjam is the most HIV infection prone region of Odisha.
According to Ganjam district AIDS Prevention and Control Unit (DAPCU), HIV infection is coming down.
Similar claims are being made about Odisha in National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) factsheet. Their statement is based on sample surveys.
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But experts and social activists in the field of AIDS prevention feel migrant labourers, the most vulnerable group, have not been adequately examined during tests, surveys and studies by these agencies.
While in other States, people most vulnerable to HIV infection are sex workers, intravenous drug users and homosexuals; in Odisha the picture is different. Here male migrant workers are the most vulnerable group because of which Ganjam is the most HIV prone district of the State.
Male migrants pass on the infection to females. Yet official data regarding HIV testing suggests that the most HIV-vulnerable section in Odisha is yet to be properly tested and documented, said Lokanath Mishra, an expert in AIDS prevention and rehabilitation of HIV positive people in Odisha.
According to official data, between May 2000 and December 2014, a total of 5,59, 425 persons had been tested for HIV infection in Ganjam district. Out of this 3, 20,137 were females. Although there is no official data regarding this, yet as per various assessments over five lakh people, mostly youths migrate in search of work outside the State from Ganjam district.
The irony is that during these 14 years only over two lakh male migrants of Ganjam, who are most vulnerable, have been tested for HIV, said social activist Soudamini Rath.
There is no machinery to ensure an HIV test for these migrant workers at least once every year when they return home, she added.
“We can only claim HIV infection is declining if data is collected after testing most of the migrant workers every year,” said Mr Mishra.
In official records, 12,389 HIV positive persons had been identified in Ganjam district, out them 5,248 were women.
Findings of social organizations suggest that most of these women had been infected by their male partners who were migrant workers, said Ms Rath.
Yet without bringing most of the male migrant workers under the ambit of HIV tests, erroneous claims are being made regarding declining HIV infection in Odisha, trying to hide the problem behind the curtain of statistics, she added.
The most HIV-vulnerable section in Odisha is yet to be properly tested and documented
Lokanath Mishra
AIDS prevention expert