Mexico city:
Transgenders and the
kinnars have got little attention from the government when it comes to formulating health policy in spite they being most susceptible to the threat of HIV/AIDS, even more than the sex workers.
The Health Minister recognises that Article 377 has been a major stumbling block in helping these groups also called MSMs or 'men who have sex with men' and he is pushing for the law to be done away it.
Laxminarayan Tripathy, a transgender said, ",I hate the way the Indian government is still not looking at the oldest community of transgenders, the
kinnars and
hijras. Whatever name you want to use. The maximum number of those who are positive are among the
hijras, 22 per cent in Bombay. Why cant the government do something about us? Doctors don't touch us. There is free enrolment for medicines but
hijras can't access that. There is too much of politics.",
They may be the drivers of the AIDS epidemic in India but they receive little attention.
Over two thirds of HIV positive cases in India are men but the government has so far focused only on sex workers.
Recent studies have shown that men who have sex with men and transgender population are most vulnerable to HIV /AIDS.
In fact, the trend shows that they are at a greater risk than sex workers.
- The latest figures tabulated by NACO show that an estimated 22 million men in India have sex with men.
- Around 10 per cent - 2.3 million men who have sex with men and transgenders are believed to be vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.
- Of this, 2,35,000, MSMs and transgenders, who work as sex workers and often have as many as 15 partners. They face the highest risk of contracting HIV.
- But so far only 30,000 MSMs have been tracked by NACO.
Ashok Row Kavi, an expert said, ",It is now clear MSMs are driving the epidemic but the whole programme is very rigid and it has neglected a whole population because it is invisible.",
But if the epidemic has to be tamed.
The government must track and reach out to this invisible population as fast as possible or else the infection may spiral into the general population.
Since most MSMs are often married and can infect their female partners.