The State government has conceived a plan to help children of parents with HIV/AIDS. The new programme aims to give the children access to financial assistance for education and other expenses till the age of 18, regardless of their economic background.

One condition to obtain the benefits, however, is that parents should disclose their HIV/AIDS status. Drawn up by the Department of Women and Child Development, with technical support from the Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT), the programme has been in effect from the 2011-12 financial year and already covers 15 districts.