The Experiences Of Poor People Living With HIV/AIDS In India

The international literature, policy and action up to now have concentrated predominantly on the prevention and treatment aspects of HIV/AIDS, often neglecting the support and care that poor people living with HIV/AIDS(PLHA)require. Internationally, most studies that have focused on the household livelihood strategies employed by PLHA have been carried out in rural contexts and very few have been carried out in urban contexts, particularly in urban India. The current study addresses this gap by exploring a group of poor PLHAs¿ own perceptions of their experience of living with and seeking treatment for HIV/AIDS, the adequacy of the health care services they are able to access and the support programmes for PLHA provided by NGOs and other not-for-profit organisations in the context of Kolkata - one of the largest metropolitan cities in India. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 59 men and women from Kolkata, India, all receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS and some other forms of support.