Expressing deep concern during an interaction at his residence, the president of the Network of Mokokchung People Living with HIV/AIDS (NMP+), Toshi Sangpe said that out of the 800 people tested positive in ICTC, Civil Hospital Mokokchung since 1999 till date, only 145 PLHAs (People living with HIV/AIDS) are registered members of the NMP+. He said that hardly fifty among the 800 positive people might have died, which means that the remaining unknown persons who were tested positive during the period 1999 till date, who refuse to openly declare their status, might be somewhere in the society, knowingly or unknowingly, spreading the disease. Saying that people can’t identify a person who is infected with the disease, Sangpe said that the common citizens have the false picture of a PLHA as a ‘thin, dark and sickly person’, which is not true. He pointed out that a PLHA can be a healthy person who would look like a normal person without any sickness. Therefore, it is necessary for the PLHA to come out and declare their status, for the sake of controlling the spread of the disease and also for their own sake so that they can avail the various anti retroviral therapies (ART) and other programmes.

Besides, he also disclosed that Mokokchung has an alarming prevalence rate of 3.5 per cent, which is much above the national average. Places like Tuensang district in Nagaland which earlier had the highest prevalence rate, have now came down since the positive people in the district have come out openly regarding their status and take preventive measures so as not to spread the disease further. However, in Mokokchung, the reluctance of the HIV positive patients to come out openly in the society is hampering the efforts in controlling the disease, said Sangpe.

In this regard, he also pointed out stigma and discrimination as the main reason why the people are afraid to come out in the open with their status. He confessed that even when a positive person wants to come out in the society after being educated and encouraged by the NGOs working in the field of HIV/AIDS, the relatives and family members of the PLHA discourage him to declare his status thinking that it might bring shame and infamy on the family. He also cited an instance where a landlord refused to let his house be rented out to a member of the NMP+ a few years back, simply because the PLHA declared his status.

However, Toshi Sangpe, citing the examples of other European countries, strongly maintained that coming out in the open and declaring his or her HIV status is the first way to control the spread of the disease. And in order to felicitate the PLHAs to declare their status, the society must make every effort to remove the stigma and discrimination related with the disease and the patient.

In this regard, Sangpe pointed out that the church which is the biggest organisation in the Naga society, must take proactive role and initiate seminars and workshops related with the disease, where the trained members of the NGO like the NMP+ can be the resource person to educate the masses with regard to the disease. No wonder, Sangpe strongly opined that the church should take a more empathic and proactive stance since the church is the biggest and most influential organisation in the predominantly hill state of Nagaland.

“When a PLHA speaks in an AIDS seminar, the response (from the public) is very good and it is more effective than the speech of a person who is not infected. Besides, when a PLHA speaks in the seminar, the elders advise the youngsters to take the PLHA as an example and to lead a careful life,” said Sangpe.

He also strongly maintained that if the people of Mokokchung, or for that matter any society, remain indifferent and try to ignore the issue which is becoming more serious by the day, then the situation would turn from bad to worse in the coming years. He said that HIV/AIDS in the society is a reality and that it is a very serious problem which needs the attention of everyone in the society: the individual, politician, bureaucrat, the NGOs and the church.

It may be mentioned here that the NMP+ which is composed of people living with HIV/AIDS was formally formed in November 2006; however, it became fully functional in June 2008. The NMP+ is an affiliated unit of the NNP+ (Network of Naga People Living with HIV and AIDS). HIV/AIDS was first detected in Nagaland in 1990 and since then, Nagaland was considered as one among the six Indian states with a high HIV/AIDS prevalence rate. While in the past the spread of AIDS in the society was mainly due to using of un-sterilised needles by drug users, at present, NGOs in Nagaland claim that, with the deceasing number of drug users in the state, HIV/AIDS is spreading in the society due to indulgence in unprotected sex.

While, the society might not be too happy to talk about HIV/AIDS and its related topics and might even look at the disease with sheer fright and abhorrence, the fact that HIV/AIDS is in the society and that we are living with HIV/AIDS today is a growing reality and we can’t escape from it, and the society becomes more venerable when it tries to ignore it or tries to remain indifferent to the issue, perhaps it is time that the society once again renew its efforts to contain the disease through the cooperation of every concerned member in the society.