The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has directed the government to promptly disburse the monthly financial aid of ₹1,000 provided to HIV patients as travelling allowance for treatment in government medical colleges.
Commission member K. Baijunath, in an order issued to the Principal Secretary, Health, also instructed that all pending arrears be released without delay.
The project director of the AIDS Control Society told the Commission that financial assistance for treatment at anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centres in government medical colleges and district general hospitals could not be provided due to a shortage of funds.
In his order, Mr. Baijunath said that many HIV patients were experiencing severe hardship due to lack of financial support. He ordered that the Principal Secretary must report to the Commission within one month on the action taken in this regard.
The Commission’s directive came following a complaint by an HIV patient from Malappuram, who said that travelling from Malappuram to Thrissur to collect medicines was difficult without financial support.
According to the AIDS Control Society, the project is being implemented entirely with government funding. From 2012 to 2025, the Society received 10,794 applications for financial support. Although it submitted a ₹20.54-crore proposal to the government for the 2024-25 financial year, the government sanctioned only ₹5.52 crore.
Using that fund, the arrears of 10,405 applicants between 2012 and 2023 were disbursed. The arrears up to January 2024 were cleared, according to the Society.
The Society has submitted a ₹27.52 crore proposal to the government to give assistance to 11,258 applicants, including their arrears. The Society said that the arrears could be settled if the government sanctioned that amount, adding that the travel allowance was being given to ensure uninterrupted treatment for the patients.
Published – November 26, 2025 08:33 pm IST
