1.Citation

Prof. Dr. Rayapu Ramesh Babu (Member of, the Ethics Committee) is an internationally renowned expert Physician on HIV/AIDS. A medical Messiah for HIV/AIDS patients in India since 1987.A pioneer doctor and AIDS crusader in India’s fight against HIV/AIDS, since 1983 as a medical student started voluntarily working on HIV/ AIDS (first volunteer on HIV/AIDS in the world). For 40 years he has been continuously making immense contributions to HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention, and treatment and took up the cause of AIDS research at a time when other doctors didn’t want to talk about it due to the stigma attached. He is also a Public Health Specialist serving (through affordable free public health care) the poor and needy in the areas of HIV/AIDS, Blood Donations, Free Rural Medical and Health Camps, and Cancer Awareness and Prevention Campaigns since1987, through his established (as Founder President and CEO) Blood donors Organization for Social Service (BOSS) and its AIDS Branch Center for Information, Prevention, and Counseling on AIDS (CIPCA), Registered First Charitable NGO in the Country, exclusively with 1525 doctors and 14,908 Blood donors as its members. It has been well recognized with special consultative status by United Nations (ECOSOC), as an HIV/AIDS research and resource center by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), International AIDS Society (IAS), Johns Hopkins University (USA), Harvard AIDS Institute (USA), World AIDS Foundation (France) and Oxford University (UK). Dr Ramesh, aged 63 years, residing at Tirupati, AP State. He is a Doctor (with MBBS, Ph.D. in HIV/AIDS -first PhD on HIV/AIDS in India, Lawyer (BL), Psychologist (MSc (Psy)), Social Worker (MBA (HM)), and has a fellowship from Oxford University (UK) for his innovative work on HIV/AIDS. Since the completion of his M.B.B.S. in 1987, he never had private practice or a job and he dedicated his life to the service of the community in an environment where most of the doctors revealed craze for money. He has been rendering charitable free service to Lakhs (4,24,214) of Persons living with HIV/AIDS since 1987 in A.P. combined State; through the BOSS and CIPCA organization by providing free of cost: Counseling, diagnostic tests, nursing facilities, nutritious diet, feasible symptomatic treatment, treating opportunistic infections and side effects, Anti-Retroviral drugs to the needy patients, admissions for seriously ill PLWHIV/AIDS at community care centers and taking care of them until their death and after death providing small financial grants for the funeral. This broke new ground as there was no precedent of a comprehensive HIV/AIDS facility within the country in neither the public nor the private sector”.Dr.Ramesh has been suffering from Thyroid Cancer since 2018, now under chemotherapy, with courage he has been continuing Cancer Awareness and Prevention Campaigns. He sold off his properties to fuel his mission and was undeterred even by his Thyroid Cancer. Dr. Ramesh is a Double Centurion Blood donor and holds a World record for having donated his blood 200 times in a short period of 40 years (April 1978 to March 2018) and motivated 31,22, 920 persons to donate blood so far. By invitation, he has attended 103 International conferences on STIs/HIV/AIDS worldwide. His hundreds of Peer-Reviewed Research papers extensively on STIs HIV/AIDS have been published in International journals as Abstracts. From April 1987 to March 2023 (36 years) Dr.Ramesh as a Public Health specialist, successfully organized 9148 Programmes. Funds donated by the organization's Doctors and members only (no funds from Govt. or Abroad). Out of them:1167 were Free Rural Medical and Health Camps,1110 were Mass Blood Donation Camps,2575 were Blood Donation Motivation Campaigns,456 were Cancer Awareness and Prevention Campaigns,3600 were AIDS Awareness Campaign (1702 community AIDS awareness campaigns,575 campaigns among students on AIDS and1326 Rural AIDS Awareness Campaigns), and 180 Covid-19 Awareness & Prevention Campaign. And as a Covid-19 worrier, Dr Ramesh has been sincerely working since the beginning of the pandemic in AP and Telangana States, among the people living with HIV and Tuberculosis(TB)enrolled under his organization. They are being significantly impacted by COVID-19. Testing identified 57.931 PLWHIV/AIDS infected with COVID-19 and treated them, preventing them from the disease transmission. The majority has come out successfully from the COVID-19 infections, but we lost around 5001 PLWHIV/AIDS due to the existing co-morbidities. He has ensured that every PLWHIV/AIDS is able to receive essential services including health care and invested adequately in social protection programmes to keep people safe and to shield them from the consequences of losing their livelihoods. During this vigorous process, Dr. Ramesh had a COVID-19 infection twice, and after a great fight (21 days) he has recovered.

2. Significant Contribution made by Dr.Rayapu Ramesh Babu

Even through the challenging COVID-19 pandemic situation, Dr. Ramesh has successfully conducted extraordinary, unique, and exemplary academic activities in the country. He organized 40 regular monthly National and International conferences on different Super Specialties in a Hybrid/virtual mode, as the President of the SVMCAA and IMA, Tirupati, starting from November 2020 to November 2023in the fields of Interventional Cardiology, Medical Oncology, Neurosciences, Nephrology, Urology, Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, Surgical Oncology, Rheumatology, Hematology, Reproductive Medicine, Pediatric super specialty, Covid-19, and Interventional Radiology. These gatherings had legends in respective specialties as faculty. These received excellent applause from all over the country and abroad. Around 2,50,000 postgraduates, practicing doctors, IMA doctors, and faculties in teaching colleges from all over India participated and expressed their gratitude to Dr. Ramesh for giving them extraordinary opportunities to learn. All participants are given Andhra Pradesh Medical Council 4 CME credit hours for each conference free of cost with a total of nearly 100 credit hours awarded so far. These kinds of activities have not been conducted anywhere in India and abroad by Medical Colleges, Medical Institutions, or Medical Associations so far, especially during the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Ramesh has also conducted 1107 Free Rural Medical and Health Camps, 1050 Mass Blood Donation Camps, 2575 Blood Donation Motivation Campaigns, 396 Cancer Awareness and Prevention Campaigns, 3480 AIDS awareness campaigns (1642 community AIDS awareness campaigns, 575 campaigns among students on AIDS and 1263 Rural AIDS Awareness Campaigns) and 120 Covid19 Awareness & Prevention Campaigns so far. Dr.Ramesh has been recognized as an International Abstracts reviewer for STIs/HIV/AIDS International Conferences/Workshops worldwide. He was invited as a chairperson for more than 20 international Conferences/Workshops on HIV/AIDS worldwide. Dr. Ramesh, as chairman organized New Millennium First National Conference on HIV/AIDS in India from May 7th to 10th, 2000 in Tirupati, A.P, India, around 476 people attended from 15 different states. Besides, he has conducted more than 200 seminars, workshops, and training programs on STIs/HIV/AIDS, blood donations, and cancer and trained 75,000 doctors and 35,000 paramedical staff and fellow NGOs about HIV and works to reduce the stigma about PLW HIV in AP combined state. In recognition of his unique services on HIV/AIDS, Dr.Ramesh has received 4 times accreditation (with national membership status ) and participated at first, second , fourth and fifth United Nations General Assembly Special Sessions on HIV/AIDS held at UN Head Quarters, New York, USA (years 2001, 2008 , 2016 and 2021). His organization achieved Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council.

3. Impact and outcome of the work done by Dr.Rayapu Ramesh Babu:

Dr. Ramesh, after his MBBS, in 1987 (36 years) never had a private practice or a job. He has only been doing charitable free Medical and Health Services (affordable free public health care) to the Lakhs of (4,24.214) Persons Living with HIV/AIDS and rural poor people in A.P. combined State. He makes efforts to offer the best treatment possible to all his HIV/AIDS patients, irrespective of their socio-economic status. His core conviction is that no one should be denied access to treatment due to want of money. He has ensured that every PLWHIV/AIDS can receive essential services including health care and invested adequately in social protection programmes to keep people safe and to shield them from the consequences of losing their livelihoods. Since 1983 (40 years), he has been facing stigma and numerous hardships in our society concerning HIV/AIDS, blood donations, and cancer but he has educated people about HIV/AIDS and motivated them towards Blood Donations by donating his blood 200 times in a short period of 40 years (April 1978 to March 2018) and motivated 31,22, 920 persons to donate blood in Govt. Blood banks only. Being a Thyroid Cancer victim himself, he never lost courage but instead started Cancer Awareness and Prevention programs to educate the public. He motivated 4,55,312 people and identified 2087 people with cancers, providing guidance and treatment for them. In support of his service, he drew attention from the society by involving top officials of the Country. His activities were witnessed and appreciated by 200 officials and VIPs of the State and Country including the Ex. Vice President of India four times, Ex-Governor of A.P. and Mizoram twice each, and Ex-Chief Minister of A.P., once. Dr.Ramesh is the first to talk openly about HIV/AIDS in India and the stigma that accompanied it, he considered the latter to be just as, if not more, dangerous than the virus. He started the first HIV awareness (along with sex education) programs in schools and colleges braving the backlash from a conservative society. While his work was initially disapproved by those around him, over the years, Dr. Ramesh earned national and international recognition for his pioneering work. Even through the challenging COVID-19 pandemic situation, Dr. Ramesh has successfully conducted 40 extraordinary, unique, and exemplary academic activities in the country in a Hybrid/virtual mode from November 2020 to November 2023.

4.He has a unique personality for the following reasons:

Dr.Ramesh is an internationally renowned expert Physician on HIV/AIDS, a medical Messiah for HIV/AIDS patients in India since 1987,a pioneer doctor and AIDS crusader in India’s fight against HIV/AIDS, has been rendering charitable free service to Lakhs (4,24,214) of Persons living with HIV/AIDS since 1987 in A.P. combined State, holds a World record for having donated his blood 200 times, Youngest(45 ys) Dr.B.C.Roy awardee in India and Excellent academician conducted 40 conferences.6.Other Relevant Information: He has received the highest honor in the field of medicine in India, Dr. B.C. Roy National Award in Socio-medical service at the age of 45 years for the year 2006 (youngest recipient of the award) by H.E. The President of India. He has been honored with the Best Doctor Award in the State of Andhra Pradesh twice by the Chief Minister, Govt. of A.P., and State Indian Red Cross Society Awards twice from the Governor of A.P. He has also received 45 International,22 National, and State awards and several district awards for my services in the field of Socio Medical Service. After the completion of his M.B., B.S., in 1987(more than 35 years) he never had a private practice or a job. He has been doing only charitable free Medical & Health Services to Persons Living with HIV/AIDS and rural poor people and took to the service of the community in an environment in which most of the doctors revealed a craze for money. He had a number of opportunities to work or settle in other countries, but he refused because he wanted to serve only people in his own Country. In all these years, he had to face the stigma in our society concerning HIV/AIDS and motivate people to do Blood Donations and work on Cancer Awareness and Prevention. I am glad to say that he has overcome all the hardships, and all the stigma and still continues to do charitable service in the same field. His services have been highly recognized by the United Nations and they have provided accreditation at the national level four times to attend the United Nations High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS held at UN Head Quarters, New York, USA in the years 2001, 2008, 2016 and2021”. please look at my website for more details https:// www.drrayapurb.info

5. Dr.Rayapu Ramesh Babu has spent 40 years working in the field