PANAJI:
Coping with the stigma they face in society and the impact it has on their mental health while living through related issues are a bigger challenge than coping with the treatment for those living with HIV/AIDS here in Goa.
The stigma attached to being HIV-positive poses huge hurdles especially for the younger lot coming out of adolescence and entering the early years of adulthood.
"The physical health problems related to the disease are almost negligible now but mental health issues and the problems they face in their quest to live a normal life like everyone else is the big challenge," said Peter Borges, who recently ended his term as Chairperson of the State's Child Rights Commission.
Borges, who mentors the 'Helping Hands' NGO which shelters children living with HIV/AIDS, said many of them who grow out of their childhood struggle to land a job and achieve milestones in their lives commonly achieved by others.
"Many of them aspire to start a family for instance. Coping with self-doubt, whether they will be able to bear children, has been having a severe impact on the mental health of many of them," Borges said citing instances he himself has dealt with in 'Helping Hands'.
On the treatment front, the Goa Medical College is the lead agency providing Antiretroviral Treatment for whoever registers.
According to Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, nearly 7,000 HIV/AIDS patients have been screened by the premier health institution and some 5,000 of them have enrolled for the treatment.
"Over 2,500 are actively receiving Anti-Retroviral Therapy," he said, adding that the State is committed to providing support to AIDS patients at every step of their battle against the disease.
The treatment is also given at Asilo hospital, South Goa district hospital and the Ponda and Chicalim sub-district hospitals.
Meanwhile, in recent years the HIV/AIDS annual numbers in Goa have consistently declined with the number of new HIV cases detected falling below the 200 level every year.
Also, transmission of the disease from mother to her new-born child has been eliminated in Goa for two successive years -- 2022 and 2023.
