As the Covid-19 pandemic led to stringent lockdowns and other restrictions across the country, thousands of sex workers have been left in the lurch as they are unable to perform their work, due to which their livelihoods have come to a standstill.
UNAIDS
By Nandini Kapoor, Community Support Adviser, UNAIDS Country Office for India
The death of Smarajit Jana has left us shaken. True to his nature, he fought COVID-19 valiantly, but sadly the champion for the response to HIV succumbed to the coronavirus.
How do you begin to describe Mr Jana? A medical doctor, a public health specialist, an epidemiologist, a researcher and academician, an ardent advocate for the response to HIV and the architect of India’s national HIV response for key populations, a champion of human rights and the dignity of sex workers, the founder of the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC) collective of sex workers, a winner of national and international honours and accolades, a distinguished voice in domestic and global forums, and much more.
Feature story
10 May 202110 May 202110 May 2021
By Nandini Kapoor, Community Support Adviser, UNAIDS Country Office for India
By Nandini Kapoor, Community Support Adviser, UNAIDS Country Office for India
The death of Smarajit Jana has left us shaken. True to his nature, he fought COVID-19 valiantly, but sadly the champion for the response to HIV succumbed to the coronavirus.
How do you begin to describe Mr Jana? A medical doctor, a public health specialist, an epidemiologist, a researcher and academician, an ardent advocate for the response to HIV and the architect of India’s national HIV response for key populations, a champion of human rights and the dignity of sex workers, the founder of the Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee (DMSC) collective of sex workers, a winner of national and international honours and accolades, a distinguished voice in domestic and global forums, and much more.