Being HIV+ is not the end of life: Suresh Salian

Being HIV+ is not the end of life: Suresh Salian

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Dec 1: The Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Science, Bangalore, in collaboration with Sahyadri Institute of Health Sciences organized “World Aids Day Observation – 2009” in the Mangalore Town Hall on Dec 1, Tuesday. 

District In-charge Minister Krishna J Palemar inaugurated the formal function and said in his inaugural speech: “People have several misconceptions about AIDS and HIV + people. They wrongly think that they will be infected if they come into contact with these people. So, society shuns HIV+  people, which does them a lot of psychological harm. If this happens, HIV+ people will lose all self-confidence and will fail in other areas of their life too. As responsible citizens, we are duty-bound to help HIV positive people deal with stress and depression.” 

During the programme, Suresh Salian shared his experiences as an HIV+ person. He said that, although there is no cure for AIDS, HIV+ people need not think that their life has come to an end. Being HIV+ is not the end of life. HIV+ people can give a lot of service to society. But society must encourage and support them. HIV+ people need to be mentally and emotionally strong. They require ample psychological support in order to come out of depression. HIV+ people will feel strong only if society cooperates with them and supports them. They can achieve success in life only with the help of an empathetic society, he said. 

Manjunath Bhandary, president of Bhandary Foundation, presided over the programme. Dr. S Ramachandra Shetty, Vice Chancellor of RGUHS, Bangalore, was the chief guest of the programme. Balachandra Rao, DGM of Canara Bank; Dr Jayakar Shetty, the chairman of Goldfinch Institutions Bangalore; and Abhilash, a member of the senate, were also the chief guests of the occasion.