MUKTAA stands for Making U Know and Talk About AIDS
You can call up this number and ask anything about HIV and AIDS. You don’t have to reveal your name, address or phone number. Its anonymous.
Why MUKTAA ?
HIV is perceived as a ‘disease of the others’ – of people living in the margins of society, with questionable lifestyles. This prevents people from seeking information and help about the disease. Lack of information leads to either ignorance of the threat of HIV or to panic – both are unnecessary.
HIV has high socio-economic impact as it affects people in their most productive years and destroys entire families.
It is not just a medical problem but a social, cultural, economic and legal problem. The problem has many layers many contexts. People want information specific to their situation, one-on-one. They don’t want to be SEEN asking.
A phone based service addresses all these needs. It’s anonymous, one-on-one and easy to use.
Is This Service Successful?
Yes, we believe so.
- Since it’s inception (2nd October 2005) MUKTAA has received 15000 calls (as of 30th September 2007)
- Calls range a wide variety of issues – medical, social, economic, human rights
- Calls come a cross section of audience (we can only gauge this from the nature of calls)
- We have received many calls thanking us for service from happy callers
MUKTAA is a voluntary initiative from Maitri, a civil service action group based in Pune. For more information please visit us at
http://www.maitripune.org
