Two Transgender Clinics Open Up in Hyderabad for the First Time in the Country

In what seems to be a big milestone for the LGBTQIA+ community, two transgender clinics were opened in Hyderabad recently. To share the happy news, former Mr Gay India Sushant Divgikr who inaugurated one of the clinics took to Instagram and wrote, "I was so happy to see my trans brothers and sisters being of service to humanity."

The two transgender clinics were established as mandated in the Transgender Persons Act, 2019 as a part of the Union Government's plan as reported by Telangana Today. As per the news daily, one of the reasons why Hyderabad was chosen as the location was due to the prevalence of HIV among transgender people in the city. 

Trans activist Rachana Mudraboyina also told Telangana Today that “The HIV prevalence among transgenders here is 6.47 per cent compared with the national average of 3.13 per cent. India is a partner in the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) shared objectives on health outcomes and partners with the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) to eradicate AIDS by 2030. The USAID Accelerate project too is providing technical assistance to NACO in its efforts."

Sushant further shared, “This is proof that we can also be doctors, nurses, medical examiners, resource staff, management staff, counsellors, psychiatrists and work so many other productive jobs just like cis-gendered (Male and female), Heterosexual people.”

The clinic inaugurated by Sushant is also funded and supported by John Hopkins University.  He continued to write, "All we need is equity and opportunity. I urge everyone to be supportive of one another In these trying times and not judge people based on gender, orientation, sex, expression, religion, caste and other dimensions and characteristics of their being."

Run by trans representatives, it is open to helping other members of the community such as trans men, hijras, cross-genders, non-binary and others. It offers general health services along with mental health counselling while also offering guidance for hormone therapy, HIV/ STD counselling and gender affirmation procedures.