{"id":901769,"date":"2025-07-09T12:15:48","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T12:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iapsm.org\/blog\/?p=901769"},"modified":"2025-07-09T12:15:48","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T12:15:48","slug":"silent-warriors-combating-hiv-aids-stigma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iapsm.org\/blog\/silent-warriors-combating-hiv-aids-stigma\/","title":{"rendered":"Silent Warriors Combating HIV\/AIDS Stigma"},"content":{"rendered":"

*Photo clicked by Dr Samidha Kushwaha of ICTC counsellor Mrs Madhuri Dubey.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

As part of my district residential posting, I happened to visit the second floor of the hospital where I came across the ICTC Centre(1). Most of us have studied about Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres during our MBBS, but this time, I had the opportunity to meet a true public health revolutionary \u2014 the ICTC counsellor \u2014 one of the unsung heroes in the fight against HIV\/AIDS.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As I entered the room, I was greeted by the cheerful, smiling faces of two counsellors \u2014 one appointed for HIV, and the other for STDs. They also informed me that a third counsellor worked in the PPTCT clinic on the ground floor. Despite the poorly ventilated room, there was a steady flow of patients, including those with tuberculosis who often didn\u2019t wear masks. The enthusiastic counsellors sat patiently, dealing with all kinds of patients. They were appointed under NACO, and were responsible for maintaining records daily, including uploading data online at the end of each month.None of the counselling sessions were rushed. Every patient, along with their spouse and family members, was given sufficient time, with privacy and confidentiality strictly maintained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The soft, peaceful voice of counsellor Mrs. Madhuri Dubey made me realize how important tone is when speaking to patients. Her sympathy and respect from the very beginning of a conversation must have made the patients feel comfortable enough to open up in ways they might not even with doctors. She mentioned that patients often share their full history with her \u2014 something they hesitate to do with physicians.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I soon realized that the art of conversation cannot be learned solely from books or YouTube videos. It must be experienced \u2014 by observing counsellors like her, who teach us not just what to say, but when and how to say it, especially in sensitive situations like those involving HIV. As a Japanese proverb goes:\u201cThe tongue is but three inches long, yet it can kill a man six feet high.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>The opposite is also true \u2014 when used with care, words can save lives.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mrs. Madhuri shared many stories. One was particularly heartbreaking \u2014 a couple who were both HIV-positive, with the wife pregnant during their fifth pregnancy. It was during this pregnancy that they discovered their HIV status, and their four previous children were also found to be positive. The news caused chaos in their family. The husband was beaten by his own in-laws for being HIV positive. He was advised to follow up regularly at the ICTC, but he didn\u2019t. Tragically, some time later, the husband and all four children were found dead. He had jumped into a river after killing his children. The wife later suffered a miscarriage. Mrs. Madhuri said this was the most devastating case she had ever encountered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This tragic story highlights how life-saving drugs alone cannot save lives unless patients and their families first accept their condition. Emotional and psychological support is essential before any medication can begin to work. A once-normal family fell apart simply due to an HIV diagnosis. With continued counselling and support, the outcome might have been different. Still, in a country like India, it is not easy to live with HIV, where constant judgment from society makes things even harder. This incident occurred around 2010.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Since then, modernization and public awareness have brought significant change. The introduction of HIV\/AIDS Prevention Acts(2), which guarantee the rights of people living with HIV\/AIDS, has helped reduce discriminatory behavior, as reported by ICTC staff.<\/p>\n

Another case involved HIV-positive children abandoned by their mother and raised by their grandmother. They remain in touch with the counsellor, and counselling has helped them lead a relatively normal life. One of them once said; \u201cDidi, mai samjh sakta hu aap mere liye kya kar rhe ho. Mujhe to bola gya tha ki jaa tu mar jaega.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Mrs. Madhuri also shared how discrimination extended to hospital staff, and she often had to fight for patients\u2019 rights. However, this level of trust sometimes led to over-dependence, which she learned to manage by empowering patients without making them reliant. The work isn\u2019t always safe \u2014 there have even been instances of patients misbehaving or becoming violent. One of the most tragic incidents involved a counsellor being burned alive by a patient in Jabalpur during OPD hours.(3)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

HIV doesn\u2019t just attack CD4 counts \u2014 it destroys social harmony within families and communities. In most cases, it\u2019s the woman who suffers more. In one instance, when a wife was diagnosed with HIV, her husband abandoned her and shifted all the blame onto her. She was just in her twenties. Her mother eventually arranged her marriage to another HIV-positive man through the help of an NGO.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We are all aware of the importance of medicines in disease treatment \u2014 chemotherapy for cancer, surgery for appendicitis, etc. In the case of HIV\/AIDS, drugs like tenofovir, lamivudine, and dolutegravir are essential. Nevirapine prophylaxis has also significantly reduced viral loads in newborns. But counselling plays a massive role in a patient’s prognosis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stigma is associated with diseases like leprosy and tuberculosis, but with HIV, it\u2019s even more severe \u2014 especially in a country like India, where sex is a taboo subject. Treating HIV\/AIDS or STDs isn’t just about managing the physical condition; the associated social and cultural stigma must also be addressed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

*Photo shared by Mrs Madhury Dubey (counselling a retro positive child)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Once infected, HIV virus can be completely removed from body or not we are not sure but its stigma can be removed from minds with proper usage of words (i.e.counselling).\u00a0 Lets us pledge ourselves to fight against the discrimination against HIV\/AIDS and STDs and address the significant contributions of various warriors who are helping in fighting the stigma. <\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

References:-<\/p>\n

https:\/\/naco.gov.in\/hiv-counselling-and-testing-services-hcts<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/naco.gov.in\/hiv-aids-p-c-act-2017<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

*Photo clicked by Dr Samidha Kushwaha of ICTC counsellor Mrs Madhuri Dubey. \u00a0 As part of my district residential posting, I happened to visit the second floor of the hospital where I came across the ICTC Centre(1). Most of us<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":901770,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[316],"class_list":["post-901769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-public-health","tag-endtheaidsepidemic"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iapsm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iapsm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iapsm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iapsm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iapsm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=901769"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/iapsm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":901773,"href":"https:\/\/iapsm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901769\/revisions\/901773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iapsm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/901770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iapsm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=901769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iapsm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=901769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iapsm.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=901769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}