A dual battle for people living with HIV/AIDS: Fighting HIV/AIDS and discrimination

Thirty-six years have passed since the first case of HIV infection was detected in India in 1986. Around 2.1 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in India. This number makes India the third-worst affected country in the world. Globally, we have made tremendous progress in converting it into a chronic manageable illness. Though the incidence of HIV/AIDS is also declining in India since 2001 but the stigma and discrimination associated with it are still candidly prevalent in many parts of the world and in India too. India has enacted legislation to do away with discrimination but still, there are miles to go. A study was conducted to study the lives of children living with HIV/AIDS in families and in institutional setup. Thirty families and thirty children residing in residential institutions were selected for the study depending upon the willingness of the families to participate in the study and access to the researcher. Unstructured interview guides, theme-based group discussions, observations of the family dynamics wherever possible, and narratives of caregivers and children were used to elicit the information. The study revealed the prevalence of discrimination and stigma in explicit and in subtle forms in the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS and the need to devise strategies to tackle it effectively.