Daxa V. Patel is no less than a real-life hero who was diagnosed with HIV. Although she is HIV positive, she lives her life with an inspiring and positive outlook and also encourages others to do the same.

Daxa V. Patel is a founder member and committee member, as well as President of NCPI+ (National Coalition of People Living with HIV in India) and Secretary of GSNP+ (Gujarat State Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS).

As a member of the GSNP+, her main objective is to ensure a dignified and quality life for all the HIV-positive people in their respective families and society, protect their basic human rights, make access to services easy for them, and try to break the stereotypes and stigmas associated with the disease, especially for children and women.

Daxa was born and brought up in Surat and is the only daughter in her family, along with two elder brothers. She has been raised in a highly progressive family environment that treats boys and girls with equality. As a student, she was average in academics but good in extracurriculars and other social activities. Due to some reasons, she couldn’t study after her intermediate, but she was always an independent girl. Subsequently, she got married, but unfortunately, the marriage broke off soon. Later, she again got married, and in the next six to eight months, she conceived her first child.

After a few months, complications started developing, and she was diagnosed with HIV in 1997. The doctor said she had only five months of life left. Anxieties started ailing her with thoughts of her unborn child’s health, her disease, and her death. Her husband supported her, and they agreed to abort the child to save them from further pain.

Initially, Daxa was scared. But when five months passed and nothing happened, she decided to live a normal life. Moving on with life and taking treatment, she started becoming fit, both physically and mentally. She started to motivate herself with the thought of living her life to the fullest until the end. Hence, she started an embroidery business that performed quite well. Furthermore, she started her textile business, dealing in sarees, from the comfort of her home. This used up most of her time, and she was successful in the market too.

Dr. Jitendra F. Patel, who is her family doctor and treats her, introduced her to an NGO that worked for HIV/AIDS patients. After seeing a two-year-old kid fighting HIV and many others, she felt hopeful. She realized how fortunate she and her husband, also an HIV patient, were to have such a normal and comfortable life where others had so many problems. From there, her focus transformed from business to social service. Finally, in 2003, she founded the GSNP+ with seven other HIV-positive people. It was during this time that she revealed to her mother that she was HIV-positive. She says, "It was very inspiring to me, as my mother was happy that I worked for other people’s betterment."

On World AIDS Day, while participating in a TV interview as a speaker on behalf of other HIV-positive patients, Daxa realized that if the patient himself does not come out in front of society and the government and openly declare their positive status, nothing will change. Hence, she revealed her face on the live program. Her motive behind this step was to increase the social acceptance of HIV-positive patients, improve their mental health, and waive off the stigma and ill thoughts for the patients, especially kids and women.

Through GSNP+, her objective is to create awareness and responsibility among HIV patients. The main motto of GSNP+ is "Our Health, Our Responsibility". She advocates that doctors are always available to support our health, but it is our sole responsibility to take charge of it.

Looking back to the time she was diagnosed with HIV, Daxa finds lots of changes over the past two decades. There is an increase in awareness, treatment, acceptance, and recognition of organizations working for HIV-positive patients. Execution of plans through a community-centric approach, implementation of new strategies, decentralization of work, and the integration of door-to-door facilities by the government are some of them.

Moreover, she also shares her opinion on further improvements, such as a proactive approach for all the patients in the categories other than kids and widows, easy accessibility to welfare schemes, other community-friendly approaches, and most importantly, the availability of health insurance for HIV-positive patients.

Daxa was 22 when she was diagnosed with HIV, and now, at 45, she still feels young in her heart and mind. She strongly believes that one cannot learn unless they face challenges and that failure and success aren’t in our hands, but our efforts are. She hopes that by voicing her life and journey, she might have been able to inspire people for the betterment of their health and lives.