Adoption looks up but HIV positive children left out

Couples eager to adopt children, Sassoon childcare centre ‘Shreevatsa’ alone has 100 on the waiting list

SOFOSH started the childcare centre at Sassoon hospital

Couples looking to adopt orphaned children is rising, but children who are HIV positive have a dearth of prospective foster parents. The Society of Friends of Sassoon General Hospital (SOFOSH) has observed that childcare centres in the city find it difficult to get parents to adopt HIV positive children though for normal children there are more people coming forward to adopt.

At Sassoon alone, there is a waiting list of 100 parents willing to adopt children.

“The number of parents willing to adopt is rising at childcare centres in the city. At our centre, we have a waiting list of 100 parents, but there is a mindset where a majority are unwilling to take children who have any disability,’’ Madhuri Abhyankar, Director at Shreevatsa child care centre run by SOFOSH, told Newsline.

“In all these years we only had one case — a rare one — where a couple in Mumbai adopted an HIV positive boy from Shreevatsa,’’ Abhyankar said. While a US-based couple want to adopt one more HIV positive child, there are no takers for three HIV positive girls. We will now send them to Palawi (Project of Prabha Hari Prathishtan), an orphanage for HIV positive children at Pandharpur, she added.

Sarika Shelke from a Pandharpur-based organisation said they had 78 children living with HIV, and 35 of them are on anti-retroviral treatment. “We had to set up a school for children and recruit five teachers,’’ she said and added that several such children were sent from orphanages where they could not be placed for adoption.

Couples from other countries adopt physically challenged children as they have infrastructure to support them. Mentally challenged children have few takers, says Ritu Dhende, coordinator at Tara-a centre set up by SOFOSH at Pimpale Gurav to look after children with special needs. As many as 32 children with special needs (the oldest is 16) who have ailments like Down’s Syndrome and cerebral palsy are waiting for foster parents.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories