Contemporary Health Issues and Policies: Advocacy Policy Report

This report focuses on policy advocacy for children affected by HIV/AIDS in India, specifically examining the work of the Desire Society. It begins with an introduction to the role of nursing professionals in healthcare policy and the importance of advocacy. The report then provides background on the Desire Society, its mission to support HIV/AIDS affected children, and the health issues they face, including high prevalence rates in several Indian states and the social stigma. It outlines the organization's goals to improve health literacy, increase awareness, and advocate for the rights of these children, and makes recommendations for policy changes. These include governmental policies for inclusion, funding, education, and training for healthcare workers. The report concludes by emphasizing the continued alarming situation for HIV affected children in India and the need for continued advocacy.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY HEALTH ISSUES
CONTEMPORARY HEALTH ISSUES
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Introduction
Nursing professionals are considered as one of the most important constituencies in
the healthcare processes and hence their involvement in the healthcare policy making is
effective to make the policies accurate and relevant (Sundqvist and Carlsson 2014). As per
the views of Choi (2015), nursing professionals and their ability to advocate for their
patients’ health and well- being helps the health policy makers to understand the importance
of the key issues raised by the nursing professionals. Hence, in combination of healthcare
policies developed by organisations and the health advocacy conducted by the nursing
professionals, the healthcare goals for the communities are achieved (Tobiano et al. 2015).
This paper would also mention one such policy advocacy of the organisation “Desire
society” India that works for HIV AIDS affected children. This paper would discuss their
persuasive frameworks and then with evidences collected from the recent research articles, it
will discuss about the recommendations that the organisation should include in it policies so
that the need of the population could be addressed more effectively.
Background
Desire society is an organisation developed in 2004 (registration was completed in
2005), in Hyderabad, India (Desiresociety.org 2019). This non- profit voluntary organisation
is registered under the “Andhra Pradesh Societies Registration Act, 2001” and with time, now
it serves in five states of Indian republic namely Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Delhi (Desiresociety.org 2019). The primary focus of this organisation is to
provide care and shelter to the children that are being abandoned by the society due to HIV
AIDS or orphaned due to the death of their parents suffering from the same
(Desiresociety.org 2019).

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The values and ideologies of the organisation could be understood from the fact that
the vision and mission of this organisation is to develop an inclusive society around the
country with no discrimination to the children are suffering from consequences of HIV AIDS
(Desiresociety.org 2019). The mission statement of the organisation is to improve the
lifestyle of the children that are suffering due to the pandemic effect of HIV AIDS in India.
They aimed to achieve their mission by providing food, education, psychological and mental
support and health treatment to the children and determine that they could be provided with
their rights (Desiresociety.org 2019). Further, the vision of the organisation is to provide
social support to the children affected due to the consequences of the HIV AIDS by removing
social stigma and discrimination so that they can achieve their full life potential
(Desiresociety.org 2019).
Hence, this background analysis determined that the organisation stand for the human
rights of the children affected with HIV AUDS associated consequences so that they could be
provided education, health and safety related basic human rights, similar to other members of
the society. Hence, it seek do spread awareness within community and tries to remove the
primary issues related to social stigma and discrimination within the society to advocate for
the HID AIDS affected individuals (Desiresociety.org 2019).
Health issue and problem
The Desire Society India is the organisation that deal with HIV AIDS affected
children that are discriminated or neglected due to their health condition or after the death of
their HIV positive parents (Desiresociety.org 2019). Further, it also works in the direction of
reducing the rate of mortality and morbidity among the children that are suffering from HIV
AIDS. In this aspect, they take help from the governmental organisations so that they can
work in the direction of drug adherence of the Children Living with HIV/AIDS
(Desiresociety.org 2019). Hence, to understand their actions and strategies in the direction of

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supporting such children in Indian society, the prevalence of HIV and the circumstances of it
should be clearly understood (Desiresociety.org 2019).
As per the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) (2019), the prevalence rate of
HIV in India is around 0.22% among the population with age 15 to 49 in 2017. Despite the
fact that the HIV prevalence is at its declining phase compared to 2002 (0.38%), this s one of
the primary concern related to healthcare of Indian government. In states where the Desire
society works, such as Telangana, Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the
prevalence rate of HIV AIDS was mentioned in the report as 0.70%, 0.33%, 0.30%, 0.47%,
and 0.63% respectively (Childlineindia.org.in 2019). Hence, this is clearly indicated that
despite the prevalence rate in India is declining, the rate of HIV in these states has increased
and is becoming an alarming situation for the local as well as central government
(Childlineindia.org.in 2019). Further in the stats provided by NACO it was also mentioned
that the 22.67 thousand HIV positive women that gave birth to children in 2017, increased the
number of paediatric HIV rates in India and the states where the number of children affected
with HIV is higher are Maharashtra (2.29 thousand), Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and
Telangana (Childlineindia.org.in 2019). Hence from these stats, it is easier to understand that
children of these states require urgent and effective support so that they can overcome the
social discrimination and stigma and achieve each of their rights with respect to education,
good food and healthcare (Childlineindia.org.in 2019).
As mentioned by the UNICEF India (2019), the total number of children affected with
HIV AIDS has reached to 220,000 and within which 30% of the children are having the HIV
related concern whereas others are suffering from the social and mental consequences of this
disease. Further, Qiao et al. (2014) mentioned about the discrimination and isolation that are
faced by orphans of HIV affected parents as majority of the states in India does not have a
proper governmental funding for such children to maintain their education, and safe treatment

4CONTEMPORARY HEALTH ISSUES
and hence, it is an alarming condition for those children that are living in such phase if
uncertainty about their future. Hence, the organisation Desire Society Indian works in the
areas where the rate of HIV affected children and orphans are higher so that by advocating
their needs and requirements related to social justice, food, shelter and education with quality
healthcare, the government could be convinced to include clause for these children’s welfare
(Riley et al. 2014).
Aim and objective of the policy
In the recent research articles, it was observed that the primary reason for the isolation
and discrimination against children or orphans suffering from the consequences of HIV AIDS
are social discrimination, presence of stigma related to AIDs in society and lack of awareness
among the population related to HIV. Within this, the lack of health literacy among a vast
section of the society is termed as the sole reason for the increased prevalence of HIV AIDS
in Indian society mentioned by Chandra, Rizvi and Agarwal (2014). Further, with these
loopholes, the lack of governmental policies, safe and secures shelter homes and care homes,
and regulations increase the complication for such children that led them to the life full of
uncertainty about their future. Hence, the development of string governmental policies and
frameworks should be developed and strictly amended in the society to fulfil the needs of the
children affected with HIV AIDS (Bhatia and Munjal 2014). Hence, one such policy for this
affected group should be developed so that the unprivileged children with consequences of
HIV could be provided with their educational rights, good healthcare and stigma free social
image so that they can lead their life with full potentials.
The proposed policy for the children affected with HIV would aim to develop health
literacy in the society, especially in the remote areas of the operating states so that people can
understand the rights of such children and then protect them to make the society inclusive and
accepted towards children affected with HIV (Chandra, Rizvi and Agarwal 2014). Hence, the

5CONTEMPORARY HEALTH ISSUES
policy would be equipped with the ability to support the organisations that are working
towards this cause and trying to remove the social discrimination and stigma related to this
health condition (Bhatia and Munjal 2014). Further, the policy would also develop
educational and training centres so that all the social worker and healthcare workers could
understand the aspects addressing which would eradicate such complications in their own
locality (Chandra, Rizvi and Agarwal 2014). Besides this, it would seek the attention of the
government to develop educational and healthcare facilities for such children to increase their
adherence to healthcare and education.
The aims and objectives for the policy for the children affected with HIV would be
inclusive of these following aspects:
1. To develop healthcare literacy and disease condition related awareness among
the society of the chosen states of India so that communities and societies
could be made aware of the healthcare complications such children are
suffering from and they can support them for their improved future.
2. To increase the awareness of the community about the inclusion of such
children that are affected with HIV or are orphans of HIV affected parents so
that all the children could be provided with equal rights compared to children
leading a normal life.
3. To make the healthcare social care workers trained about the advocacy of this
issue around the country so that people around the country could understand
the alarming condition and help each other to improve the social structure.
4. To increase the number of shelter homes, educational institutes and healthcare
canters for such children in the country to increase their association with
education healthcare and social responsibilities.

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Recommendations
Depending on the rates or prevalence of HIV in 5 major states of India, increased rate
of HIV affected children as well as orphans of HIV affected parents, enhance s social
discrimination and stigma for such children and their inclusion in the society, these following
recommendations should be adapted to improve the outcomes. These recommendations are as
follows:
1. The local and central government should understand this urgent situation and
should develop policies for the inclusion of children with HIV in
governmental school, and provide treatment in the governmental hospitals so
that people could understand the importance of these children in the society.
2. The government should develop a regulation or framework so that funding for
the growth and improvement of these children could be initiated and with the
fund generated the health, education and life style aspects of these children
could be addressed. Further as mentioned by Degenhardt et al. (2014), the
government of such states should also develop regulation so that the education
and healthcare cost of these children could be waived to increase their
adherence to healthcare and educational needs and growth and improvement in
their lifestyle could be fostered (Bhatia and Munjal 2014).
3. The government should also develop educational and training centres for the
healthcare and social workers working in the direction to provide such
children with their needs and rights. This would include education for their
education, removal of their emotional and mental distress, training them to
overcome social stigma, to make an inclusive and developed society. Hence,
this would help the government to ensure effective health and social support
for such children that are abandoned or orphans with their rights within the

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society. Hence, these children would also possess the equal opportunities
similar to other children in the society (Degenhardt et al. 2014).
4. Finally, the government should ensure several short term and long term goals
for the growth and development of these aspects related to children with HIV
complications. In this short term goals would be improving their health
condition and the long term goal would be increasing their acceptance in the
society. Hence, with these goals the government would be able to make the
children achieve their educational healthcare and safety related rights in the
society.
Conclusion
While concluding this paper, it could be said that HIV AIDS in India is still an
alarming condition and risk of children that are suffering from HIV or are children of HIV
affected patients is extremely high. In such condition, the Desire Society India is the
organisation that works for such children that are affected due to social stigma an
discrimination and provide them health, safety shelter and h=nutritious food to protect their
human rights. However, the government lacks in developing funding system or other policies
due to which the paper aims to advocate the needs nd rights of such children living in the
society. Hence this policy has been developed and multiple objective for the growth and
development of the children with HIV as well as recommendations were also provided.
Hence, this paper was able to provide effective advocacy for the children selected for the
assignment.

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