The newly launched health portal, community.aarogya.com, provides a common platform to addicts and HIV affected people to interact, share and regain confidence.

Thanks to the prevailing stigma in the society that has forced HIV positive people to live a life of seclusion and isolation despite being among their family and friends. A young man, who is HIV positive, faced no different situation when he came to know that he is infected with the deadly virus. However, Dwijen Smart, e–counselor with aarogya.com, a health portal, came as a ray of hope to him, as a counselling of a few months, not only brought him out of depression but also infused the confidence that now he could reveal his real name and live a normal life.

The site was launched on June 26 on the occasion of a talk show organised by Wake Up Pune to mark the International Day Against Drug and Illicit Trafficking, held at Nowrojee Wadia College.

Prejudiced behaviour against the HIV positive people not only demoralises them but also often holds them back from seeking proper counselling and treatment. The fear of being discovered and taunted compels them to remain in their shell and suffer silently.

The health portal launched an extended community website exclusively for the alcohol addicts and the HIV positives. “It is a social networking website, like Orkut, where people can come together, interact and form their own communities,” elaborates Smart. The site provides an arena for the civil bodies, NGOs, individuals, media and people from all walks of life to join the website, share their knowledge to build an AIDS and an addiction free society. Smart also stresses on the participation of the media as it can help sensitise people and spread awareness.

For the sake of maintenance of anonymity, the website allows people to login with fake name and address. “Even people from the civil societies and NGOs can register under a false name. The real identity of a person is not the concern but the spreading of the message,” he says.

This new community site not only provides psychological counseling but also medical advice. A team of 500 medical and psychological experts, involved with aarogya.com, answer to the queries posted. “One can login and drop a question into the website to which our experts will respond,” he says. Another feature of the website is the availability of a search bar that allows you to browse through the database of all Ministry of Social Justice supported de–addiction centres.


Source: Indian Express