Belagavi, Mar 8 (IANS): Thirty-six-year-old Nagaratna. R from Karnataka tested positive for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) at the age of 17. She has not only fought HIV for two-and-a-half decades but has counselled lakhs of other victims.

She runs 'Ashraya Foundation', a care centre for HIV positive adolescent girls, widows and underprivileged workers, who are above 18 years, in the state.

Nagaratna has been awarded by the State Women and Child Welfare department for her services. She has received appreciation from the India Book of Records and was felicitated by many religious seers for her service.

"It is very important to have peace of mind to fight the HIV infection. If I am leading a normal life, beating symptoms of HIV, it is because of service-mindedness. That gives me strength," she told IANS.

A care centre has been established in the state where there was no such centre, either government or private, to look after HIV positive patients.

"I have seen young girls, who are HIV positive, being sent out of care homes once they turn 18. When they move out of such centres with their parents facing education and age risks, their life could become worse. I have seen many of them even get exploited. Hence, I decided to open a care centre for such girls," Nagaratna said.

The centre run by her provides HIV-positive women and girls with food, shelter, counselling, education, livelihood and medication. At present, 19 girls are living in the centre.

"When the doctors gave my HIV positive report in 1997, they told me that I would live for three months. I had tested positive after five months of marriage and contracted the infection from my husband. By the time the report came, I was pregnant," she said.

"I went through hell and did not come out of shock for many days. Gradually, everyone got to know about it and it made the situation worse. I was looked down upon by people. I loved my child. After the delivery, I raised my son for 18 months with a lot of struggle. Afterwards, he tested negative for HIV," she added.

Today Nagarata and her son run the foundation with the help of donors in a rented building.

"The stigma towards HIV positive patients has been the same since the last two decades. More humiliation is faced by such patients from educated people rather than the uneducated. From my experience I have seen that 75 per cent of survivors will be women as men succumb to the disease because of bad habits," she said.

"Society still thinks that HIV infection is spread only through physical intimacy. The government must give importance to organise vaccination for HIV infection on a war footing like it did for Covid-19. The government should also come to the rescue of HIV patients and care centres," she added.