Free ARV treatment to pregnant HIV positive women in Haryana

Chandigarh, Mar 30: Haryana AIDS Control Society has started Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission Centres (PPTCTCs) at district hospitals in the State.

Haryana Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Health, Mrs Urvashi Gulati today said initially, PPTCTCs were being run at two medical colleges of the state that is Pt Bhagwad Dyal Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak and Medical College at Agroha in Hisar district.

She said that under this programme, pregnant women were being offered facility of free counselling and testing for HIV. If found HIV positive, they would be given free Anti Retro Viral (ARV) treatment, to prevent the spread of the disease to the new born.

She said the PPTCTCs have now been established at all the district hospitals by adding four more PPTCTCs this year. Male and female counsellors have been appointed at all these places and confidential testing is also being offered at all these centres.

The Health Secretary said one more STD clinic has been added this year and such clinics at all the district hospitals have started functioning where free medicines are given to the patients.

Mrs Gulati said five vacant posts of NGO Advisor, Assistant Director (CP), DPO, Deputy Director (IEC) and Assistant Director (CARE) have been filled up at the headquarters of the Haryana AIDS Control Society and 36 female counsellors, 31 lab technicians and five male counsellors have been appointed in district hospitals in November and December last.

She said that 1,09,165 persons were identified and treated for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) during last year.

Under the School AIDS Education Programme (SAEP), 60 state level trainers have been trained at State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Gurgaon, with the help of National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) during the current financial year. These trainers have imparted training to 4350 teachers of government schools, who have been desiganted as School Nodal Officers and they are teaching about HIV/AIDS in High and Senior Secondary Schools. The training programme would continue to cover each teacher of such schools.

She said that 16 targeted interventions projects have been functioning in the state. For these targeted intervention projects, the NGOs work in high risk behaviour groups like commercial sex workers, men having sex with men, intravenous drug users and truck drivers to bring behavioural changes and encourage the use of condoms. This year four more targeted intervention projects have been allotted.

An Anti-Retroviral Therapy Centre (ART) has also been set up at Pt Bhagwad Dayal Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak this year for providing ART services.

She said that a Drop-in-Centre by the network of positive people in Rohtak and Community Care Centre at Yamunanagar are functioning to provide care to the HIV positive people.

Mrs Gulati said awareness about HIV and AIDS was being created through information and educational material.

The health secretary said that 15 more tele counselling helplines have been set up in the districts to impart information regarding HIV. Now, the number of such helplines has increased to 17.

Those members of medical and paramedical staff and anganwari workers as well as panches and sarpanches, who have been engaged in the drive against HIV and AIDS, have been imparted training.

As many as 17 government licensed blood banks and 34 private blood banks have been functioning in the state. This year, 58,062 units of blood have been collected by government blood banks out of which 26,792 units have been donated voluntarily, she added.

She said the society also conducted free testing for HIV and distributed condoms free of cost at the Northen India Internationl Trade Fair in Chandigarh recently.

UNI