In these trying times, India is courageously fighting the coronavirus pandemic that has spread to every corner of the world. With unprecedented national lockdown, we are consistently following the National guideline for COVID -19 infection control and prevention at our 300+ HIV Care Centres across 32 states in India serving about 1.4 million children and adults living with HIV registered with our programme. We are leveraging our experience in community action and working closely with the government at national and state level in our HIV-COVID-19 Response.

People living with HIV and TB are most vulnerable to the pandemic owing to their already fragile immune conditions. An uninterrupted treatment for people living with HIV means they are less likely to get infected by COVID-19 thereby contributing immensely to slowing the spread and flatten the curve. We urge people to act with kindness, not stigma and discrimination towards vulnerable communities today.

Key measures being taken are:

• Emphasis on hygiene: encourage personal hygiene habits and provide protective equipment facility for all frontline health workers and beneficiaries.
• Information dissemination: Encourage community involvement and disseminating awareness messages on personal hygiene, social distancing, and triage of symptomatic PLHIV
• Access to healthcare facilities:
  • Strategies like a multi-month dispensation of antiretroviral medicine,
  • Community dispensation through HIV Centres & Home delivery through health workers complying with social distancing especially for elderly and bedridden.
  • Volunteers, PLHIV networks and family dispensation of commodities
• Counselling& Mental Health Support to high-risk HIV population during these crisis times
• Crisis Response – create a pool of resources for urgent health needs, nutrition, essential supplies and livelihood needs of children and adults living with HIV

With much-needed prudence, tenacity and your generous support, we can effectively battle out corona pandemic in India by safeguarding and facilitating improved hygiene cum immunity conditions for the most high-risk population of children and adult HIV & TB patients across the country.