Thirteen-year-old Darpan (name changed) died in his parents' lap at the Dharavi chawl last year, just eight months after he was diagnosed as HIV-positive. He is among 321 children under the age of 15 who have succumbed to the virus since 2013 in Mumbai alone. Like many of them, Darpan's drug addiction not only exposed him to the deadly virus, but also weakened his immune system further and ruined his chances of fighting back. Darpan's drug addiction had already ravaged his body, leaving him at a severely malnourished 45 kg. His use of needles exposed him to HIV and low immunity made him further susceptible. One day, he started bleeding from his genitals, and a doctor diagnosed him as HIV-positive.

Mum recalls
Speaking to mid-day, his mother recalled, "He was so addicted to drugs that his arms were riddled with needle marks. This led to the HIV infection. He became so weak that he couldn't get out of bed. Within five months of the diagnosis, he developed TB, but we didn't find out until it was too late. Three months later, he passed away."
A query from mid-day to the AIDS Control Society, Mumbai district, under the Right To Information (RTI) Act revealed that there were 321 HIV-positive children who similarly succumbed to HIV in the last five years. Although the number of deaths dropped between 2013 and 2015, the fatalities have gradually increased in the last couple of years (see infographic).