APPA+ began its journey in the year 2005 to amplify the voices of the People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in Khammam district of Telangana. Driven by our own experiences of having faced stigma and discrimination on account of our HIV status, we came together and registered a community-based organization under the Andhra Pradesh Societies Registration Act 35 of 2001 to provide a sense of belonging and togetherness for the community.

Awareness about and access to Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) treatment and other support services are crucial for People Living with HIV/AIDS. Additionally, we also need to learn to manage side effects and opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis (TB). The challenges faced by the community, particularly for the poor and the marginalized, are further exacerbated by the HIV related stigma from the family and the society and the structural and economic barriers in accessing healthcare services.

We work in collaboration with the government, the civil society and the community to create an enabling environment for the PLHIV community. During our early years, our first priority was advocating for better health services at the district level through sensitization of the district authorities and the health care staff. By means of mobilizing the community, we worked towards sensitizing them and demanding our right to receive ART services in a responsive, non-discriminatory setting. Besides health, we also focus on socio-economic development by facilitating access to social entitlements, Govt. schemes and legal aid support. Gradually, we also extended our services to the PLHIV community in the Bhadradri Kothagudem district and Adilabad district.