Dr.Avnish Jolly: Govt. and NGOs Support: – AIDS is a chronic disease lasting months or years to provide social, economic and emotional support to PLWHA. It is high time that Govt. and other Organizations come forward and provide healthy environment. Govt. policies and laws can create a supportive environment for the care of PLWHA.
• State should ensure monitoring and enforcement mechanism to guarantee HIV/AIDS related human rights including those of PLWHA, their families and communities.
• State should promote creative education, training and media programmed explicitly designed to change attitudes of discrimination and stigmatisation associated with HIV/AIDS to understanding and acceptance.
• State should implement and support legal support services that will educate PLWHA about their rights, provide free legal service to enforce those rights, develop expertise on HIV/AIDS related legal issues and utilize means of protection in addition to the court such as Human
Rights Commission etc.
• State should, in collaboration with NGOs, promote a supportive and enabling environment for women, children and other vulnerable groups by addressing underline prejudices and inequalities through community dialogue especially designed social and health services and support to community groups.
• The lives of PLWHA can be greatly improved if they can achieve open access to health care services with low cost. In Thailand for example, the government has developed and provided a health insurance card which can be purchased for an affordable sum, and which covers care
from government’s health care establishments, for up to five family members – for one year. The health insurance card holder than receives health treatment free of charge. Possessing the card means a PLWHA does not have to hold a referral document in order to receive treatment from
community or government hospital.
• State and NGOs should encourage educational institutions like primary and secondary schools, colleges, universities, adult and continuing education as well as trade unions and work places to compassion and indiscrimination to PLWHA.
• State and NGOs should ensure that PLWHA should be brought under the disability Act of India. They should ensure that PLWHA should be the beneficiaries for the concession given to the people in the category of disable.
• The government should ensure that suffering from HIV/AIDS should not became a tool for an employer to throw PLWHA out of the job as HIV/AIDS is not a contagious disease. At times it has been threw out of the job on the ground of their health status. Government should ensure employment security for workers living with HIV/AIDS until they are no longer able to
work, including reasonable alternative working arrangement.
• Government in collaboration with NGOs should promote vocational courses and training programme, easy loans for self-employment for PLWHA and their family members. They should provide financial assistance to PLWHA on priority bases.