Parliament on Tuesday passed the Bill to ensure equal rights to the people affected by HIV and AIDS in getting treatment, admissions in educational institutions and jobs. Terming the unanimous passage of the Human Immunodef-iciency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) Prevention and Control) Bill, 2017 in the lok Sabha as “historic”, Health Minister JP Nadda said the Government “stands committed for free treatment of HIV patients.” The Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on March 21.
Maintaining that the Bill was ‘people centric’, the Minister said it strengthened the rights of the people infected with HIV. “It is not the case that before coming of this Bill, these people (infected with HIV ) were not empowered. But with the passage of this Bill they will get more powers,” he said.
The Bill lists various grounds on which discrimination against HIV positive persons and those living with them is prohibited. Asserting that there would be no discrimination against persons infected with HIV, Nadda said “whosoever who does not adhere to the provisions of the bill will be penalised. There would also be civil and criminal proceedings against them.”
The legislation has provisions to safeguard the property rights of HIV positive people, he said, adding that every HIV infected or affected person below the age of 18 years has the right to reside in a shared household and enjoy the facilities of the household.
The Bill also prohibits any individual from publishing information or advocating feelings of hatred against HIV positive persons and those living with them.
Participating in the discussion, Congress member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and TMC member Ratna De Nag said the stigma related to HIV remains intense in the country. Chowdhury reiterated for implementation should be monitored appealing for changing in public mindset towards HIV patients.
P Ravindra Babu (TDP), Varaprasad (YSR Congress), Heena Gavit (BJP), PK Biju (CPM), lado Kishore Swain (BJD), Shrikanth Shinde (Shiv Sena), Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav (RJD) and Kaushalendra Kumar (JD-U) also spoke on the debate.
Welcoming the passage of the new law, UNAIDS said it provides strong legal protection against HIV-related discrimination.
“This is an important step forward for people living with and affected by HIV in India and around the world,” said Steve Kraus, Director, UNAIDS Regional Support Team for Asia and the Pacific. “This legislation begins to remove barriers and empowers people to challenge violations of their human rights.”
With 2.1 million people living with HIV in 2015, India has the third largest HIV epidemic in the world and the largest in the Asia and the Pacific region.
Support for the HIV Bill has been bipartisan. “It has been a long struggle for everyone working towards having an HIV-specific legislation as it would guarantee the right to dignity and non-discrimination for people affected by HIV,” said Oscar Fernandes, MP and President of the Forum of Parliamentarians on AIDS in India.