Padma and Sudhakar, a married couple in Ranga Reddy district are HIV positive. When their HIV status was known to their relatives, they compelled Padma to go for an abortion while she was already 5 months pregnant by then. Initially Padma resisted, however due to the pressure that they have put on her, she decided to terminate her pregnancy.

The couple went to the Mediciti Institute of Medical Sciences (MIMS) to get the abortion done. Kanti Ratna, counselor at the ICTC centre counselled them and suggested Padma to go for CD4 testing before going for an abortion. Padma's CD4 count was 830 which is quite normal. The counselor told her that there were medicines to prevent her child from getting infected and she could live a normal life after that. APAIDSCON's peer counselor, Sangeeta ( name changed to protect identity) who was present there, clarified Padma's doubts by relating to her own story of being positive and giving birth to two healthy children, who are tested negative. Peer counselor's personal experience gave enough courage to Padma who went ahead and delivered a baby at MIMS.

Sangeeta made sure that the couple was counseled on importance of safe sex, family planning, follow up and risk in breastfeeding. The child was tested after 18 months and was reported sero-negative. Both Padma and her mother are very grateful to Kanthi Ratna and Sangeeta for their valuable advice and support. The couple and the baby are leading a happy and healthy life now and have been meeting Sangeeta regularly.

In this way, Sangeeta was able to prevent a possible foeticide and was successful in educating the couple on HIV. This story showcases how a HIV positive can impact the lives of people living with HIV. APAIDSCON recruited 16 peer counsellors to work in the Integrated Counseling and Testing Centres located in 16 private medical colleges in Andhra Pradesh. These Peer Counselors share their personal stories with HIV positives and help them in leading an ordinary and healthy life. They stand as role models to all those who feel that it is an end of life once they are found HIV positive and help them in reinventing themselves.

If you want to support SHARE-APAIDSCON's Peer Counsellors' initiative kindly send in your donations to: SHARE India . Kindly note that all the donations qualify for exemption under Sec. 35 (i), (ii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (India).