The Blunting of an Epidemic: A Courageous War On AIDS

The Blunting of an Epidemic: A Courageous War On AIDS

Author : Jayashree Shetty and Gopal Shetty

In stock
Rs. 399.00
Classification Health & Fitness
Pub Date April 2023
Imprint Amaryllis (An Imprint of Manjul Publishing House)
Page Extent 144
Binding Paper Back
Language English
ISBN 9789355432315
In stock
Rs. 399.00
(inclusive all taxes)
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About the Book

Whenever a deadly virus has hit humanity – be it Monkeypox, Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) or HIV – each time it has set off alarm bells ringing to deafening decibels. When the HIV epidemic broke out in India in the 1980s, even a mere handshake with an infected person was believed to be enough to infect healthy people and kill them.
At a time when the macabre shadow of AIDS deaths loomed menacingly, change maker Dr. Ishwar Gilada had already taken up the initiative of treating sexually transmitted diseases. He set out a multipronged approach to educate the masses along with his medico-social group: People’s Health Organisation (PHO); and began by creating awareness where the risk of HIV transmission was perhaps the highest: Mumbai’s Red-light district, Kamathipura. Dr. Gilada even braved spiteful barbs and initial reluctance from the sex workers while making them accept free medical care and condoms.
The gargantuan task of helping blunt the impact of the AIDS epidemic, initially in Mumbai and Maharashtra, goes to Dr. Gilada and PHO. Soon the campaign spread to the rest of India. They were organizing street marches, debunking myths about the exploitative Devadasi system, rescuing women from prostitution, exposing child trafficking, and filing court cases for blood safety and release of a HIV+ person held captive in Goa.
In all likelihood, in December 1985, Dr. Gilada was the first doctor and PHO was the first NGO to detect HIV infections in India, after testing blood samples from Mumbai’s sex workers, blood banks and blood recipients.
PHO was the first organisation to vociferously advocate the use of condoms as the safest method of protection against HIV. To-date, Dr. Gilada-led PHO continues to work towards their goal of complete eradication of AIDS.

About the Author(s)

Jayashree (Lengade) Shetty is a journalist/writer based in Mumbai. She has worked extensively in the print and television media, including the Press Trust of India, Newstoday/ETV News and Reuters. She has contributed news photographs to newspaper journals and magazines. She is an Arts graduate from Rani Parvati Devi College, Belgaum, affiliated to Karnatak University, Dharwad. She also holds the Bachelor of Communication and Journalism degree from Ranade Institute, University of Pune, Maharashtra.
She is the author of Styling at the Top, The Journey of Shiva, Bollywood’s Celebrated Hairstylist – the memoir of Mumbai-based coiffeur Dr Shivarama K. Bhandary, published in 2019 by Amaryllis, an imprint of Manjul Publishing House.

Gopal Shetty, Photo-Journalist
The photographs in this book come from the personal collection of the Mumbai-based photo-journalist, Gopal Shetty. In his career as a news photographer since 1979, he has worked with the Free Press group, the Mid- Day group and Sunday Mail. He has also had the privilege of working as a Photo-Stringer for the top three international news agencies for many years, beginning with AFP then with AP and Reuters. He has also done assignments for international news magazines like Der Spiegel, Newsweek etc.

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