Two HIV positive persons claimed they were humiliated and threatened with a police case when they approached the project director of Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS) on Thursday to look into issues concerning their care and support.
G. Karunanithi, president of Namakkal District HIV Positive Network and K. Radhakrishnan, president of the Kancheepuram network, said they met K. Senthil Raj, project director of TANSACS.
There were 40 Care and Support Centres in various districts in Tamil Nadu. These were being run by an NGO, India HIV/AIDS Alliance at the national-level through selected NGOs in each State. These centres ensured that patients living with HIV got education on treatment and adhered to treatment, besides taking the government schemes to them, Mr. Karunanithi said.
Eight of these centres were closed last December, he said. “We have been urging the PD to support us and open these centres for the benefit of HIV positive persons. But he did not pay heed to our repeated requests. He said TANSACS did not have funds,” he said.