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At Goa’s first HIV centre, women take centre stage | Goa News – Times of India

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PANAJI: Started in 2005, the anti-retroviral therapy (ART) of Goa Medical College (GMC), the state’s first, is handled by almost all women staff, except for one male member. Started with three employees, today it has 12 and a patient load of 7,000.
“Even the project director of the Goa State AIDS Control Society (GSACS) is a woman,” said a female staffer of the ART centre, which has seen much ups and down since it was started 15 years ago. Dr Angelica Siona Gomes has been project director at GSACS for more than a year.
The centre has two women doctors and four counsellors. Even the security guard is a woman. “The appointment of women in the ART centre is not by a choice, it just happened,” the staffer said.
Of 7,000 patients listed at the centre, 40% to 50% are women referred to them after they were detected with the infection, mostly after their partner/husband tested positive, the staffer said
“Husband to wife transmission is fairly common. Except for a few cases, the women tested HIV positive after their marriage, or at the time of pregnancy when the HIV test is done,” she said.
She said having women counsellors, even doctors, is a plus point as women coming to the center feel inhibited to talk about their problems. “The common refrain of these women when they first come to us is that ‘he(husband/partner ) destroyed me’. It’s like they have reached the end of the road. Yet many recover after the counselling and medication and are ready to fight back,” she said.
Their fight doesn’t end with medication and following instructions of a doctor and counsellor. “Baring a few cases, these women have no family backing, so they have to also work, look after the children as also fight discrimination in society. It’s quite a deal, but they adapt like brave soldiers,” the staffer said.
Patients listed at ART centre have to visit the centre once a month on a working day to collect medicines, but some are unable to for most work in the unorganised sector and asking for leave becomes difficult. “I can’t ask my boss for leave every month, even to visit a doctor. He will be suspicious and throw me out of the job. I can’t risk revealing my status because discrimination is common,” a twenty-something woman who works at a stationary shop in Panaji said.
She said tries and collects her medication whenever time permits during lunch break, which is between 2pm and 3pm. This is subject to her friend being free to drop and pick her from the ART centre. She can’t take a bus because she will be late to report to work after lunch break.
NACCO permits doctors to give three months’ medicines together so that patients are not required to visit every month, a staffer said. However, they can do this only if there is enough stock. In some cases, patients’ health needs to be evaluated for the first few months, in other cases, if they are put on new medication they need to visit the centre every month, she said.

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Broke Swiggy guy walks 3 km to deliver food, Social media helps him find better job. Heartwarming story is viral

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Social media can be a wondrous place at times. While on most days, its ugly face is on display, on days like today, it sets examples of the power of kindness. In a social media post, a LinkedIn user shared how a delivery executive, in need of money and a better job, bagged one after the users on the platform came together to help the person out.

Priyanshi Chandel, Marketing Manager at tech company Flash, shared an incident about a Swiggy delivery agent who had come to deliver food at her residence. When she asked the late and out-of-breath delivery person, identified by her as Sahil Singh, about what happened, he told her that he had no transport and had to walk 3 km to deliver the order.

He also said that he was out of money and had nothing left to pay his landlord too. Singh told her that he was not looking for money from her but requested her to help him bag a job. He said that he had a degree in Electrical and Communication Engineering, and had worked with Byju’s and Ninjacart before. He had to move back to Jammu during the pandemic.

“I have not eaten for a week, just drinking water and tea to get by. I am not asking for anything, please if you can find me a job, I used to make 25k before, I am 30 years old, my parents are getting old and I can’t keep asking for money from them (sic),” Chandel quoted saying.

She also shared his marksheets and contact number for people to help. His details shared show that he is a 2018 BTech graduate from Mewar University, and completed his schooling from the Jammu and Kashmir state board.

After she shared the details, the comments section was filled with people who stepped up to help. While someone recharged his Yulu account so that he did not have to walk around to deliver food, someone offered a place to stay. Many offered to help him with his applications, while some offered jobs too.

Chandel, later on put an update on the post, and said that he received a job.

However, so far it is unclear what job he has received.

2023 has so far been a year of job losses, an eventual outcome of the pandemic and increased hiring by tech companies. For instance, the SSC MTS 2023 recruitment exam that took place in Uttar Pradesh in May saw over 55 lakh applications for Group D jobs. Numerous candidates who applied for positions such as peon, watchman, gardener had educational backgrounds like BTech, MBA, and Master’s degrees.

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Goa CM, NRI Commissioner writes to MoEF for help in safe return of Goans from Ukraine

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Panaji: Goa chief minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Thursday urged Union Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar to help in safe return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

Sawant tweeted “we are concerned about the Goans in Ukraine who are considering to return to India in the light of ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. I request Union Minister for External Affairs @DrSJaishankar ji for help in the safe return of Goans. I am keeping track of the situation.”

The chief minister’s tweet comes hours after Goa’s NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar wrote to the Union External Affairs ministry seeking help in return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

“Many Goans are currently residing in Ukraine due to various purposes including higher studies and due to the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine, I have started receiving requests for help and assistance from them to return back to India,” Sawaikar wrote.

The Commissioner further wrote in the letter that advisories have already been issued by the Ministery of External Affairs to Indians currently in Ukraine and our Indian Mission in Kyiy is currently handling the matter.

“Striking note of urgency, the Government of India has recently asked the family members of Embassy officials in Ukraine as well as students and citizens whose stay is not vital , to leave the Eastern European nation amid it’s raising tensions with Russia,” the letter reads.

Sawaikar wrote that the Goans in Ukraine are in touch with this office as they are anxious to temporarily return till the situation normalizes.

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Election Commission announces polling dates and counting days for Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 states

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On Saturday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 States, namely, Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

While briefing the media, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra informed that the elections in the poll-bound States will commence from February 10, 2022, to March 7, 2022. Elections in the State of Uttar Pradesh will be conducted in 7 phases, followed by Manipur with 2 phases. Elections in Goa, Uttarkhand and Punjab will be conducted in a single phase.

According to the Election Commission of India, the votes will be counted on March 10, 2022. ECI informed that all physical campaigning will be ceased until January 15, 2022, in light of the rising cases of Coronavirus.

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