Nireekshana ACET is a community based response to HIV and AIDS in Hyderabad, India. The work began in Drs Sujai & Lavanya Suneetha’s living room where they provided a safe place for HIV positive patients to access medical and holistic care. They also provide treatment for other diseases brought on by poverty. The number of people using the service grew and, at present, their outpatient clinic has more than 5,000 registered patients with around 1,000 accessing medical care each month.
Nireekshana ACET focuses on holistic care including counselling, prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections, education of children, and support for widows. There is a sustained effort on preventing mother to child transmission of HIV and multiplying their model of care in the community.
Training is a significant component of Nireekshana ACET’s work. Topics such as HIV prevention and counselling are taught to patients, volunteers, and communities through seminars and workshops. Educating young people about puberty, prevention of abuse, and child trafficking is also a part of our training programme. Nireekshana ACET’s training is unique because it combines theory with practical demonstrations and is reinforced by real life stories of transformation.
The clinic also has a service and research laboratory where a PhD in Biotechnology can be obtained. Nireekshana ACET has a strong volunteer base and hosts national and international volunteers who participate in care, prevention and training activities. A number of pre-med and gap year students carry out short term projects at the clinic.
The roof is on!
Nireekshana ACET’s building project is progressing well after a couple of years – the roof is now on the new clinic located in the Shamshabad Mandal district in the south of Hyderabad.
At the new clinic, the team plan to offer the same holistic services which they provide in the centre of the city for people living with HIV and leprosy, but with deeper and more specialized research. Read more