Healthcare in India has two distinct faces, one that is meant for the rich and healthcare for the poor. While the former is comparable to what is available in much of the developed world, the poor people of India often have to make do with shabby healthcare, from doctors with little or no equipment conducting surgeries out in the open with the sun as their only source of light.
Take the case of HIV/AIDS, for example, about $ 212,765,960 has been spent on AIDS prevention and control since 1992, but all the efforts have met with resounding failure(SAATHII). Over 4 million Indians are HIV positive, with the figure doubling since 1994(Census). There are some 1800 non-governmental organizations in India acting as AIDS activists but most of them are bogus. Their work is questionable, and many critics say that, there are more people in India who live off AIDS and the money that should be used to prevent it than there are people dying from AIDS.
The severity of the AIDS epidemic was not publicly visible till about 1999. The government began a program to put up billboards in the different parts of India telling about the dangers of AIDS(HIVnet). Although this didn't slow down the spread of the disease, people were at least aware of it. Slowly, governmentally and non-governmentally funded commercials about AIDS began to be broadcasted. These two things made the general public aware of AIDS, yet the high number of homeless people that are illiterate and without a television are still unaware of the dangers, and getting the message to them is still a problem that India faces today.
HIV/AIDS has also begun to affect the population of India. A lot of people are living as long due to their AIDS; yet, the families in which there is an HIV positive person are still having numerous children. I think the government needs to change how they are trying to raise AIDS awareness. Because, the methods that are being used now do not benefit the high percentage of the homeless people in India.
