HUMAN Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome), is one of the world’s most serious public health challenges with no vaccine or cure. And for those who are infected, it is not just a battle with the virus but also a struggle for dignity and equality because of the social stigma associated with the disease.
While awareness and increased access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) have considerably brought down new HIV infections – marking a 30% decline in new cases since 2010 – discrimination against people with AIDS remains a tremendous problem.
Every year, the United Nations marks December 1 as World AIDS Day to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. With this year’s theme “End inequalities. End AIDS”, United Nations hopes to eradicate AIDS by 2030, and ensure that people affected by the ailment don’t suffer from economic, social, cultural and legal inequalities. NGOs are already playing an important role in achieving these objectives. Here, we look at some NGOs in India that are doing stellar work.
India HIV/AIDS Alliance
Also called Alliance India, this NGO works with civil society, the government and communities to support sustained responses to HIV in India. The Alliance strengthens the vulnerable HIV-positive community by building capacity and providing them with advocacy and other forms of support.
The NGO educates people living with HIV/AIDS about the treatments, ensuring they have access to care, and improves their well-being through building vocational skills. It also provides income generation opportunities, and linking the affected communities to social welfare schemes. You can help them continue building more lives affected by AIDS – donate here.
Tiruvannamalai District HIV Positive Society (TDHPS+)
Started in 2008, the organisation based out of Tiruvannamalai, one of the backward districts of Tamil Nadu, works extensively to identify PLWHA (People Living with HIV/AIDS) and provides them with a quality life through vocational training, employment opportunities, legal support for property and family problems, and access government schemes.
It takes care of 200 children infected with HIV/AIDS and provides educational and nutritional support. You can support this NGO to reach more people with its AIDS-related interventions – donate here.
Turning Point Foundation
Based out of Delhi, Turning Point also operates in the states of Punjab and Haryana. Working with marginalised communities, it takes care of HIV/AIDS-affected and drug addicts. The Foundation provides psychological and family counselling and psychiatric supervision for the patients and has set up Information Education and Counselling (IEC) camps to create awareness on HIV/AIDS.
The organisation also uses naturopathy and yoga to help those affected cope with the side effects of AIDS. Help the NGO expand its work and create awareness on the dangers of drugs and HIV/AIDS – donate here.
Native Medicare Charitable Trust (NMCT)
This is a 30+ year charitable trust that has been working with tribal communities of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It has several programmes for the welfare of tribal communities, and one of them is on providing quality education for the children affected by HIV/AIDS living in remote areas of these states.
The NMCT also creates awareness on HIV/AIDS and provides nutritional supplements and medicines to those affected by the disease. Simultaneously, they also train and conduct workshops on self-care and hygiene, life skills, vocational skills and career guidance training for the PLHIV. With your help, they can reach out to more Adivasi communities battling AIDS – donate here.
Mahesh Foundation
Mahesh Foundation believes AIDS attacks the body, but prejudice strikes the spirit, especially children orphaned because of HIV/AIDS. The NGO provides shelter to HIV-positive orphans and provides them with education, nutrition, and medical support. Over the years the organisation’s Ashakiran Home at Belagavi in Karnataka has helped over 2,000 HIV-positive abandoned children in north Karnataka.
You can help the children battling HIV/AIDS and get access to shelter and food – donate here.
Snehalaya
The ‘Home of Love’ supports women, children and LGBTQ+ communities who have been affected by HIV/AIDS by providing them with housing, food, medications and education. The NGO also looks after HIV-positive orphans and semi-orphans, mostly with mothers who are sex workers and help them flourish and mature into responsible citizens despite being born in conditions that attract social stigma.
Donate to their programme that allows HIV+ children to get the childhood they deserve – donate here.
Swadhar IDWC (Institute for Development of Women and Children)
The organisation’s ‘Rays of Hope’ project focuses on rehabilitating HIV+ children and their HIV+ parents. Through this programme, the children are regularly checked upon through house visits and provided with a monthly nutritious protein-rich diet of peanuts, jaggery, dates, eggs and milk powder to increase strength and immunity. They are also given antiretroviral treatment, education and emotional support.
Donating to this programme will help them get uninterrupted access to nutrition and healthcare – donate here.
Priyadarshini Seva Mandali
Priyadarshini Seva Mandali zealously works to bring about changes in the lives of underprivileged people like destitute elderly citizens and children with HIV. They run a programme that especially focuses on children getting the required medication as prescribed by the hospitals, supporting them with regular tests, and with nutritious food.
You can help the NGO to reach out to more children battling HIV/AIDS – donate here.
Neptune Foundation
Established in 2010, the organisation supports families with members having HIV/AIDS with free rations, medicines, nutrition and also helps them to enrol in government schemes.
Neptune Foundation identifies patients from government hospitals who come in for antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment, including pregnant mothers, and provides them rations, nutrition powder, and substantial medical support through recovery. Support them to help more people on the road to recovery – donate here.
Chaitanya Educational and Rural Development Society (CERDS)
The organisation works exclusively in the dryland and coastal regions of Prakasam and Guntur Districts of Andhra Pradesh. CERDS offers dry ration to HIV-affected people living near the coastal areas as one of their major projects.
The organisation also helps the vulnerable live with dignity and self-respect by allowing them access to equal rights and opportunities through its various awareness programmes – donate here.
–
Give’s mission is to “make giving bigger and better.” Give is the most trusted donation platform in India for fundraisers and crowdfunding campaigns. Through our technology solutions, we enable individuals and organisations to fundraise and donate to a cause, charity or NGO with trust and convenience. Give’s community of 2.7M+ individual donors and 300+ organisations supports 3,000+ verified nonprofits with 80G deduction and serves 15M+ people across India. Find a fundraiser today!
