Mumbai: Free entry to Humsafar Trust’s Gulabi Mela if one gets HIV test

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The Humsafar Trust will offer free entry to the ‘Gulabi Mela' (pink fair), a part of Mumbai's annual LGBTQiA+ pride month celebration, to the first 75 individuals who get tested for HIV at its Vakola centre. The tickets to the fair, which will be held on January 28 at Dadar's Vanita Samaj Hall, range between Rs 200 and Rs 400 per head.

The mela, organised by Humsafar's youth wing ‘Yariyaan', has been conducted in January for a decade. This is the first time that free entry is being offered to encourage individuals to take advantage of the HIV testing facility at the trust's office in Vakola.

"The fair provides a platform to queer entrepreneurs. It will have a variety of stalls set up by youngsters along with performances. There will also be a few workshops," said Yariyaan's Anjali Siroyia. Individuals taking the HIV test at the Sahyog clinic in Humsafar Trust's Vakola office will get a stamp on their health card. The card won't reveal the result of the test and can be used to avail free entry to the fair.

The fair will also have health camps comprising specialist doctors for cardiovascular diseases as well as dermatologists. "HIV testing camps will be set up within the mela, where information about PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) treatment will be provided. We have also arranged for mental health counsellors," said Suhail Abbasi, co-founder of Humsafar Trust.

PrEP for HIV is a preventive approach that involves the daily use of antiretroviral medication by individuals at high risk of HIV infection to reduce the likelihood of acquiring the virus. While the treatment is not part of the National AIDS Control Programme, the medications are available in the private market. "We also provide PrEP at subsidised rates," Abbasi said.

75
No of people who will get free entry