January 7, 2009

Low-Income HIV-Positive Indians Benefit From State Pension Plan

A new government ruling in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh will allocate a monthly pension of 200 rupees (about $4.08) to its low-income HV-positive residents to help pay for antiretroviral therapy, The Times of India reports.

Announcing the pension plan on January 5, state information minister A. Ramanarayana Reddy said, “All such patients [living below the poverty line] will be given the pension from this month,” adding that many HIV-positive people in Andhra Pradesh are “unable to make a living in view of social stigma, discrimination and low level of income.” He said that there will be no restriction on the number of people who receive the pension in a family.

According to the article, 80 percent of the Indian state’s 50,000 HIV-positive people live below the poverty line.

Search: low-income, Andhra Pradesh, India, antiretroviral therapy, A. Ramanarayana Reddy, poverty, pension

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