In India, AIDS patients turn to Catholic hospitals
April 02, 2014
In the southeastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where 500,000 people suffer from HIV and AIDS, patients with AIDS have encountered discrimination in state-run hospitals and have turned to Catholic healthcare centers, according to a New York Times report.
“When government hospitals refuse to treat these patients, the poor ones turn to nongovernment organizations and religious charities like Karunalayam, a Roman Catholic mission in Warangal,” according to the report. Nearly 100 children who were born with HIV have been abandoned by their families and now live at the mission.
“There is so much stigma related to being born HIV-positive,” said Father Joseph Jyotish, who runs the mission. “And this is true despite the commonality of the disease in this area.”
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