Developing a Rights-Based Strategy for HIV/AIDS in India: Report

This report examines the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India, highlighting its impact and the human rights challenges faced by those affected. It provides a comprehensive overview of the situation, discussing the historical context, the spread of the virus, and the legal and social issues surrounding it. The report emphasizes the importance of a Rights-Based Approach (RBA) to address the crisis, proposing strategies for policy development, grassroots initiatives, and community empowerment. It also identifies challenges to implementation, including discrimination, corruption, and lack of resources, and suggests solutions for sustainability, monitoring, and evaluation. The report covers specific vulnerable populations like children and prisoners, and analyzes the role of NGOs and government in tackling the epidemic. It concludes by advocating for a holistic and rights-based approach to improve public health outcomes and protect the rights of all individuals affected by HIV/AIDS in India.

Running head: PUBLIC HEALTH 1
HIV/AIDS and Human Rights
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Institution Affiliation
Date

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Introduction
HIV/AIDS has become a major challenge globally, where around 1.5 million deaths have
occurred due to the virus and also 2 million are infected with the virus. Regardless of the
presence of various strains, our case study emphasis on the widespread of HIV/AIDS in various
cities of India. There will then be a discussion involving the Human Rights-Based Approach,
RBA, after examining the past mitigation efforts. Also in the case study, there is the discussion
of possible challenges involving the implementation of the policy as well as techniques for
sustainability, monitoring, and evaluation of the policy. For those individuals who are infected
with HIV/AIDS, they faced discrimination through rapes and sexual violence, most of the
females faced coercion. Those females who have lost their husbands due to HIV/AIDS are
mostly not welcomed to their families (Chakrapani, 2017).
Background
Regardless of existing in an ancient evolution, Indians have been struggling with the
impacts and results of colonization they gained their independence in 1947 from the British.
India has obtained its shift towards decentralization of the government during the 1990s, where
the state government was given much power and responsibility. Even though the country has had
drastic industrialization, they have been a slow recovery in the country’s economy after
independence and a high rate of urbanization; however, the rich see the country’s social, political
and economic status being perfect (Boesten and Poku, 2013). Due to the negligence, the country
has faced the widespread of the HIV virus and other illnesses. The exacerbation of economic,
social and political difference has been deteriorating the country’s health sector even though the
country has been facing drastic urbanization.

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In the beginning, the fear of being infected with HIV made most individuals get tested at
knowing their HIV/AIDS status; this was mandatory in countries such as India, Uganda, and the
USA. Both the health care providers and the patients were given the right to know each other’s
HIV status. Hence the governments made HIV testing programs mandatory for pregnant females,
couples, students, employees, and immigrants (De Souza, 2017). In almost 165 states, including
India, the spread of HIV to other individuals is usually considered as a criminal activity, and the
case is even ruled in the court of law (de Souza, 2019). In India certain HIV/AIDS laws have
been made criminalizing any sexual activities carried out by HIV/AIDS positive individual
(Jayasree, 2014).
The consolidation of human rights for females, teenagers, and other marginalized sets is a
crucial beginning step. For a large number of financial, social and ethnic factors, human rights
involving these groups are usually battered in most states (Kandwal, Garg and Garg, 2019). Such
clusters are not usually proportional affected by this virus and also their capacity is limited and
their accessibility to assets in preventing and treating the disease. An environment which is full
of discrimination, individuals are not likely to display themselves for voluntary HIV/AIDS tests
and hence makes it difficult for them to access treatment, care and support. This also deters the
efforts of the civic health organization to come up with targeted strategies and project for
controlling the epidemic (Naswa and Marfatia, 2015).
Strategy for a rights-based approach
Right Based Approach can be useful in raising the demand to come up with successful
methods of improving HIV amenities deliverance and protecting human rights (Kerrigan et al.

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2015). RBA helps in identifying the main aims and objectives of preventing the widespread of
the virus in the country. RBA further helps in the provision of essential normative principles
such as participation, accountability, non-discrimination, and indivisibility of rights. The
integration of these RBA principles helps in empowering the community by helping them
making decisions involving how they can actively be engaged in the approach (Kerrigan et al,
2015).
Furthermore, considering human rights the RBA helps in establishing the presence of
certain claims and obligations which are corresponding. Moreover, according to (Chattopadhyay
and McKaig, 2014) the theory of ‘universal’ is not attained with a lack of key variations in both
the strategy and social circumstances. During the spread of HIV, both the funding and support
from the government have measurable results like testing and treatment, but not the social, legal
and economic protection support. By following the principles above, to establish a right-based
method in the treatment by preventing the delivery of the service needs a combination of both
policy development at national and worldwide and grassroots programming.
Policy Development
The aim rule, strategy, and activity modification are creating an environment which is
enabling and non-discriminatory through the help of a legal and strategic framework in ensuring
there are respect and protection of the right to health (Maluwa, Aggleton, and Parker, 2014). This
kind of development is supposed to emphasis on reforming and observing the rules which result
in the prevention of HIV spread and providing care for the infected individuals. These programs
include inspection of recent rules and strategies and their result to HIV response. Other

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interventions include the enhancement of rules which allow confidentiality of health details,
which include HIV profile, and rules which prevent discrimination based on a person’s HIV
status.
Grassroots Strategies
The grassroots strategies include: empowerment and mobilization are strategies which are
aimed at developing both legal and policy surrounding. The two policies mostly focus on
allowing the infected individuals to be aware of their rights according to the context of the spread
of the virus and help them in formulating concrete demands. In this case, empowerment refers to
accessing detail and the support needed in making and following via treatment and preventing
their decisions in changing their behavior to improve their wellbeing (Chattopadhyay and
McKaig, 2014).
Empowerment:
Through the help of RBA, Human rights are used in empowering the community. The
RBA empowers individuals who are at the grassroots position in believing that they have a right
to education and right to health care. RBA empowers people and societies which are affected by
poverty. Through the help of framing development among human rights, which are usually the
community needs are then translated to claims. Through the help of RBA also what is known as
charity is translated to justice originating from the corresponding duty holder.
In establishing fruitful interventions in preventing and treating HIV empowerment is used
by most residents in India. It is crucial also to provide amenities which strengthen individuals’

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ability to being invested in HIV wellbeing through the empowerment strategy. Empowering the
society can also be enhanced through collaboration with NGO in coming up with a program.
This program should be used to acknowledge members of the society about their lives. The NGO
also invites trans individuals who take the lead the members of the society in fighting HIV.
Furthermore, the government and the NGO come up with monitoring indicators which they use
in measuring the progress of the empowerment and collaboration program among the members
of the society.
Mobilization:
Mobilization is defined as the methods and results of coming up with a local, society-
based and peer-based systems and governments as a strategy which supports treatment
preparation. Through the help of an RBA, the NGO has been able to mobilize the members of
the community in fighting HIV virus through various systems. Such systems include activism,
tutoring and provision systems which help in the duty and contribution of the HIV positive
individuals, and the provision of individuals with a chance to being helpful and respected in their
societies (Mawar, Sahay, Pandit and Mahajan, 2015).
In the worldwide HIV/AIDS treatment effort, mobilization is not considered as a new
strategy. The spread of HIV has involved various organizations and networks for advocating and
educating about HIV from the beginning. Treating and training support needs a precise and
explicit expert who can exceed the emphasis and ability of various worldwide HIV-intensive
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and systems (Mawar et al. 2015).
Challenges to implementation

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When implementing the policy of RBA, there are various obstacles that might prevent the
implementation process. Lack of proper design in the RBA policy which is brought by a lack of
proper planning leads to several failures in the presentation process. Other issues such as lack of
proper implementation procedure, and not understanding the context involved in the approach or
the policy in ensuring there is progress. Contextual issues include: discrimination, corruption,
and lack of adequate health facilities and services (Misra, 2019), health organizations all over the
world should come up with ways to deal with these challenges. Furthermore, backlash, in this
case, is also considered as a possible challenge during the implementation of RBA. To deal with
these challenges, the NGO and other health organizations should empower residents in the
society or country being selected to become leaders; this may change their views towards RBA
policy (Mahendra et al, 2017).
In India, HIV/AIDS is not a regular and identified disease in the country. There has been
a lack of allowed growths worldwide involving confidentiality and HIV/AIDS in India (Misra,
2019). Due to this, the right to marriage by an infected person in India was dismissed. Even
though the ruling identified right of privacy and the responsibility of the maintenance of patient’s
confidentiality by the physicians, it was held as inter alia, where the code responsible for the
formulation of medical ethics in India created an exemption to confidentiality whenever the
state’s interest is at jeopardy and in a situation where there is might be a future risk to happen.
The Indian court discovered that coming out of HIV/AIDS individuals to their spouse about their
status was not considered as volatile to the right of confidentiality.
They further detail the responsibility of health practitioners in the maintenance of
confidentiality, where it is well detailed that the health practitioner is not supposed to disclose
the confidentiality unless needed by the courtroom. Likewise, confidentiality also has some

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exceptions and judgments which have articulated this as well but also has cautioned on the fine
balance that is imposed between the overall protection and exemption disclosure. The main
concept of disclosure that a person can come up with after gaining the consent of the individual
concerned is the fundamental concept of disclosure which is only made after there is an
agreement with the affected person (Muthuswamy, 2015).
Children
For a long period, children are rarely discussed in the issue of HIV/AIDS and hence their
requirements have mostly been ignored. Those children who are suffering from HIV/AIDS often
face discrimination from individuals in society. Most children suffer from rejection, or most of
them are usually abandoned by their parents when they are babies (Parker et al. 2016).
Most children have special human rights such as the rights to parenting care, the right to
proper care in case they lose their parents, the right to essential healthcare amenities and the right
to basic housing and social amenities. According to the Indian constitution, it is noted that every
person and child has the right education. In case the child is not given the right of going to school
due to their HIV status it is considered as illegal and is challenged in the courtroom.
Prisoners
The widespread of HIV has as struck to most prisoners in jail and prison among other
detention places mostly severity. Detention places all over the world have uneven rates of HIV
and the established illness cases all over the world (Piot, Greener, and Russell, 2017). From the
beginning of the spread of HIV, the population in detention places has been the topic to forcible
strategies which are not put in use in the overall society like discrimination, being isolated,
exclusion and obligatory HIV/AIDS tests. Most prisoners are exposed to HIV/AIDS dangers
because of the unsafe environment, fights and the overpopulation in these detention places.

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Furthermore, also prisoners have some rights such as the prisoner is supposed to have
HIV tests on their will even if demanded so by the prisoner authority. It is also against the law
for a person to be forced to have a confession or admit, for instance concerning their HIV/AIDS
status because these tests are usually used against them. Prisoners also have the right to suitable
and adequate medicinal treatments; it usually means that prisoners who have HIV/AIDS should
have the same treatment as the other free individuals suffering from the same illness (Raj, 2016).
Homosexuals
In most cases, homosexual individuals are responsible for the vulnerability of HIV/AIDS.
This further enhances the most cases of discrimination and preconception of individuals who are
homosexual. A homosexual individual infected with HIV/AIDS have more chances of suffering
to the burden of both discrimination and undesirable conceptions to these individuals: because of
being infected with the disease and also being homosexual (Rogers et al. 2016). The right linked
method assumes that the right means of controlling the vulnerability of HIV is through the
protection of rights of individuals who are exposed to the widespread of the infection. Also, it is
authoritative, for the introduction of a law alteration which leads to the discrimination of sexual
actions between males and also develops an optimistic legal surrounding that guarantees human
rights, which allow gay people in surviving and fulfilling their day to day lives (Silverman et al.
2016).
Sustainability, monitoring, and evaluation
Regular monitoring and evaluation of implementation activities are vital when it comes to
the sustainability of the policy. To come up with an effective advocacy and strategy efforts,
conducting studies and leadership skills among the residents in the country helps in ensuring

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there are equal accessibility and their participation. To making proper and necessary changes in
the strategy being implemented, the advocacy and evaluation procedure is supposed to be
considered during the implementation of the RBA policy (Silverman et al. 2016). By using
grants and NGOs, the government should provide quality health amenities and facilities such as
proper training costumes to the residents will help in the sustainability of the RBA policy.
Through the provision of health amenities and proper training costumes, there is the
sustainability of the achieved data. Health practitioners should also encourage their patients in
participating in the surveillance of HIV/AIDS; this helps in monitoring RBA policy
(Chattopadhyay and McKaig, 2014).
Conclusion
The universe is not a small surrounding where individuals who are infected with
HIV/AIDS do not have adequate space to stay with other individuals. From our research above,
we can conclude that first; everyone is exposed to a dangerous issue involving HIV/AIDS.
HIV/AIDS is at the moment considered a vital and dangerous illness all over the world. This
challenge is becoming more and more dangerous every time, and most individuals are not
willing to know about it and are ignorant concerning this virus (Thomas, Nyamathi and
Swaminathan, 2019). As at this time HIV/AIDS is an illness that its cure has not yet been
discovered but can only be prevented from spreading. This is by making everyone aware of the
illness and its results and teaching them prevention and measures (Chattopadhyay and McKaig,
2014).

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