New Delhi to provide help for poor with HIV/Aids

New Delhi: The capital on Saturday became the first state in the country to provide life-long financial assistance ranging from Rs1,000-Rs2,500 (Dh65.6-Dh164.2) a month to poor people infected with HIV/Aids.

People with HIV/Aids on anti-retroviral treatment will get Rs1,000 every month while orphans, destitute or abandoned children infected with HIV/Aids will be given Rs2,500.

Chief minister Sheila Dikshit distributed cheques to 27 people at the inaugural ceremony of the scheme at the Maulana Azad Medical College. A total of 17 people were children and 10 were women.

Dikshit said that almost half of the people living with HIV/Aids in Delhi were from a poor socio-economic background and expressed hope that the scheme will benefit these people.

Health Minister A.K. Walia said that the capital had 11,064 people undergoing anti-retroviral treatment (ART) at nine centres across the city.