HYDERABAD: In a leading initiative, Telangana has set up two transgender clinics in the state capital, Hyderabad. The two clinics have been established as part of Government of India’s plan to have exclusive transgender clinics in place in different metro cities across the nation. This plan was made as part of the mandated Transgender Persons Act 2019.
Rachana Mudraboyina, a trans-activist, said that Hyderabad was perhaps chosen as the starting point for the clinic initiative due to the high prevalence of HIV among transgender people in Hyderabad. She quoted that HIV prevalence among transgenders in Hyderabad is 6.47 per cent, which is high as compared with the national average of 3.13 per cent.
India is a partner in the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) objective on health outcomes and is also collaboratively working with the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) to eradicate AIDS by 2030. USAID has also launched a USAID Accelerate Project to provide technical assistance to NACO in its efforts. Rachana said that the Transgender Community clinics in Hyderabad fit well into the mission of USAID and objectives of the Accelerate project to prevent HIV and support antiretroviral therapy treatment services among transgenders.
The clinics are completely led by trans-representatives and is open to any member of the community under the larger umbrella – hijras, trans-men, cross dressers, gender non-conforming people, jogwits, shiva shaktis. The clinic has been designed to take care of general health-services, guidance, and medication on hormone therapy, gender affirmation procedures, mental health counseling, HIV/STI counseling, prevention and treatment services, legal aid, and social protection services.