Fatehpur’s ‘HIV village’ has seen no fresh case in 5 years

UDAI SARAI (Fatehpur): Residents of this small village in Fatehpur district would empathise with HIV-affected Bangarmau town in Unnao the most.
More than 12 years ago, their village had hit headlines for reporting a large number of HIV positive cases in a health camp. The incident had lent Udai Sarai a negative image, feel its residents, some of them relieved that the tag is now for Bangarmau’s villages. “Whenever I told people I was from Udai Sarai, they used to quickly check if it was the same HIV village that made news a few years ago.Though I was embarrassed, I had to accept the truth,” said former village head Dhanraj.
“The Unnao villages’ incident is unfortunate,” he added, referring to the case where a quack had infected 58 people with a syringe. “But things will change if people determine. Take the case of our village, no new HIV case has been reported in Udai Sarai for a few years. This will help us shun the bad image,” he added.
Awareness measures have helped Udai Sarai stay HIV-free for 5 years
‘Women spearheading change by discussing prevention’
In the detection in 2005, 52 people had tested positive for HIV. Of them, 48 have died while the remaining are on anti-retroviral therapy. The village, barely 18km from a government hospital, was home to around 500 families at that time. At least one member from each was working in Maharashtra or Gujarat. With migrant population believed to be a major reason for the virus, HIV came to be known as ‘Mumbai wali bimari’ here.
Today, 90% of the 700 houses in the village have someone working in Maharashtra but no new case has been reported in the past five years.
Women have driven the change by openly talking about prevention, claim health activists and officials. Caution has become their second nature.
“Women maketheir husbands get themselves tested for HIV at least once a year,” said Vidya Devi, who was a newly wed in 2005. Anganwadi worker Gyan Swaroopa has been a hero of HIV prevention by counselling the women. Breaking barriers of shame and harassment—there is fear of being teased by men for talking
about sex—she speaks openly to every boy who heads to Mumbai. “Isme kahekisharam... jaan hai to jahan hai (Why be ashamed of doing my duty. Health and survival are the most important),” she reasons.
As a result, the air of stigma around HIV is absent in this village.
“You can pose direct questions on HIV here unlike in other villages. In fact, HIV testing is considered even at the onset of a simplefever,” saidRajendra Sahu of Nehru Yuva Sangathan Tisi, a social organisation working to create awareness around HIV/ AIDS. Village head Jagatpal said: “The men have been told to have sex only with their wives. The elders keep an eye on the behaviour of their children. Those in Mumbai keep an eye on each other and ensure that no one gets deviated. Medical advice is taken for every disease. Even a simple fever is not ignored and HIV testing is done.”
“No HIV positive case has been reported from this village in five years,” said Dr SP Jauhari, secretary of the district aids control society. However, HIV cases in Fatehpur district have continued to rise. Against 97 cases in 2014, 163 cases were reported in 2017. January alone this year has seen 27 cases, data from the health department shows.