AIDS patients refuse pension

MANOJ KAR

The government-run HIV diagnostic centre in Paradip. Telegraph picture

Paradip, April 15: Fear of getting identified haunts the HIV positive patients of Jagatsinghpur district. Here, barring a few, majority of the HIV/AIDS carriers are shying away from receiving their monthly pension introduced by the state government.

Of the 462 persons diagnosed as HIV/AIDS carriers, tiding over social stigma, only 38 persons have come forward to receive their cheques of the Madhubabu pension scheme. Of them, around 13 persons are from urban areas, while 25 others are from rural areas. The rest have opted to live in anonymity as the disease carries with it stigma and threats of social ostracisation.

If civil society activists are to be believed, the virus-infected persons of both the urban and rural areas think it prudent to skip the miserly Rs 200 monthly incentives. Receiving the sum means exposing themselves to identification as AIDS patients in front of other villagers.

On April 1, 2008, the state government had launched the Rs 200 monthly pension for HIV infected people. The scheme was named after Madhubabu, a prominent nationalist Oriya leader.

“It is a matter of concern that AIDS patients are keeping themselves away from social security pension scheme. According to reports that we are receiving, it is a fact that fear of exposure has distracted them from availing pension,” said Bijoy Kumar Swain, deputy director, Orissa State AIDS Control Society (OSACS).

“The fear of identification might have led these people to skip their monthly pension. It is a disturbing trend. We are looking into it. In some cases, the infected persons wanted the pension to be sent to their homes. But it could not be disbursed as they gave wrong postal addresses,” said Sudhakar Biswal, medical officer of the government-run Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC).

(sourced from the telegraph)