IMPHAL, June 13: A two-day consultation workshop on `Orphan and Vulnerable Children`™ (OVC) was inaugurated today at the Conference hall of Hotel Nirmala participated by Children Living With HIV/AIDS and People Living With HIV/AIDS.
The workshop organised by the World Vision in collaboration with the Manipur network of Positive people or MNP+ aims to identify and address the issues confronting the children.
Children attending the programme today also submitted a set of recommendation to State Social Welfare/ TA and Hill principal secretary SK Dev Verman and deputy director (Care Support and Treatment (CST), IEC, M&E, Blood Safety) MSACS Dr RK Rosie seeking government attention against the issues encountered by CLWHIV and PLWHIV in the State.
The children pleaded the government officials to help them avail counseling at all the ART centres in the State and ask doctors to spend more time with the children, concession for medical expenses, proper nutritional supports, fee concessions and quota in private schools and colleges and to held mass awareness and sensitization programs in various medium to help mitigate the stigma and discrimination faced by the CLWHA.
The recommendation submitted to the officials also include IEC materials (Information, Education and Communication) and social protection schemes to be made available in different dialects of the State, criteria relaxation while applying for Social protection Schemes, uninterrupted supply of medicines OIs (opportunistic infection), ART in all centres etc.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr RK Rosie asserted that there are 2971 infected children as per recent MACS record.
She said that the number of new HIV infection has reduced much since the conduct of awareness programme, however there is a rise in the number of infected persons recorded as more persons who had been affected much earlier are coming forward only now to register themselves at the ART centres as they came to know that medication can help them prolonged their life span.