How am I different: HIV positive asks PM

‘‘You can see a lot of my friends in black T-shirts. They are from various networks of people living with HIV/AIDS. Black symbolises mourning, but for us wearing black marks our protest in silence,’’ she said.

‘‘The findings of a country-wide survey on stigma and discrimination conducted by us brings out instances of discrimination and violation of rights, mainly in the healthcare system,’’ she said and narrated instances of non-accessibility and high cost of HIV treatment.

A resident of Namakkal in Tamil Nadu, she got the infection from her truck driver husband known to have a history of visiting prostitutes. Detected with the disease a few months into the marriage, Koushalya, who is living with HIV/AIDS for the past eight years now, had just one question to ask. ‘‘I am on anti-retroviral drugs for three years now and am healthy. How am I different than anybody else?’’ she said.

Koushalya found support in the PM as well as Health Minister Sushma Swaraj. Calling HIV/AIDS a global challenge, the PM said it was a national concern that demanded effective response. Though he admitted the country’s response to the epidemic has been ‘‘somewhat belated’’, he said it was gaining in strength with each passing month.

“The growing Parliamentary activism on HIV/ AIDS is welcome for an additional reason. It not only helps the fight against the disease itself, but will also make our elected representatives more sensitive to other health challenges,’’ Vajpayee told the convention.

Sushma called for a ‘red revolution’ to ensure each unit of blood was safe. In his message, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the convention was a historical event as it was the biggest gathering of political leaders in the world.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi hit out at the government for ‘‘slow’’ progress in extending health insurance cover to the people.