ABSTRACT
The first COVID-19 cases were reported in India in late January 2020, over three decades after the first reported case of AIDS in India. Despite the decades separating the emergence of these two pandemics, there are parallels in the ways health-related stigma was constructed and manifested in the country. Similar to HIV, stigma and discrimination hindered efforts to prevent and treat COVID-19. In this chapter, we review peer-reviewed literature, grey literature and media reports on stigma relating to COVID-19 and HIV in India, and trace the parallels between the two pandemics. We also draw on the experiences of the first two authors who have been closely engaged with government HIV prevention and control programmes for many years. We describe the emergence of stigmatised identities related to HIV and COVID-19, and the similarities and differences among those stigmatised in these epidemics. We also discuss how risk and protection for both diseases are collectively and culturally constructed, reinforcing stigma and discrimination. Just as COVID-19 presents challenges similar to HIV in India, we argue that solutions for reducing negative responses to COVID-19, and possibly other forms of health-related discrimination and stigma, may be found in India's experiences with HIV.
