HIV-hit girl yet to get the promised aid

By Aadharsh | ENS - MANANTHAVADY

09th May 2013 

Yet to recover from the misfortune that has thrown their lives into disarray, the family of the eight-year-old girl who contracted HIV virus through a hospital-acquired infection is still waiting for the financial help promised by the state government.

Soon after the incident came to light, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had said that the government would take up all expenses for the treatment of the child, a native of Arattuthara, near here. Even though one-and-a-half months have passed since then, the promise is yet to be fulfilled.

The girl, a thalassaemia patient, was tested positive for HIV on July 12, 2012, allegedly after transfusion of infected blood either at the District Hospital here or the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.

"The government has assured us of help but nobody has bothered to know how we are surviving after the incident," the child's father, an autorickshaw driver, told 'Express' on Wednesday. "I feel helpless. I have two more children and parents to support. My wife also is a patient," he said.

"I have tried to contact the Health Minister twice to know about the status of the complaint I had submitted about two months ago. But, I could only talk to his personal assistant who took down our address on both occasions. Even the DMO (District Medical Officer) has not contacted us even once," he said.

DMO A Sameera said that the girl had been registered with the Prathyasa Kendram, the drop-in centre for HIV positive persons, and as she is being treated at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, the authorities there and the Kerala State AIDS Control Society are responsible for providing assistance to the child.

http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/HIV-hit-girl-yet-to-get-the-promised-aid/2013/05/09/article1581291.ece


Copyright © 2012 The New Indian Express.

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