46 new centres to provide free treatment to AIDS patients

New Delhi, May 28 (UNI) Anti-retroviral treatment would now be made available in additional 46 centres across the country with an estimated 85,320 patients infected with HIV/AIDS getting free treatment during 2006-07.

The new centres would be operational by the middle of next month after completion of training, supply of drugs and diagnostic equipment, official sources said.

Of the 46 new centres, maximum eight would be opened in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, five in Maharashtra, two each in Bihar, Punjab, Kerala, Nagaland and Manipur. Delhi, which has at present five ART centres, would have an additional new centre at Safdarjung Hospital.

Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Assam, Orissa Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram would have an additional centre each opened next month, they said.

They said that at present ART is being provided in 54 ART centres where a total of 28,665 AIDS patients are getting treatment free of cost. In view of the increasing demand for ART, new centres have been opened.

The government has a target of providing free ART to 1,80,000 patients in 188 centres by 2010. Action to further expand ART centres would be taken keeping with the demand, they said.

At each ART centre, National AIDS Control Organisation provides funds for appointment of two doctors, one counselor, one lab technician, one data entry operator and a pharmacist on contractual basis.

The diagnostic equipment such as CD4 count machines, reagents and drugs are also provided to these ART centres. The doctors in the department where the ART centres are located are provided specialised training for 12 days and faculty members are provided training for 5 days at the Centres of Excellence identified for the purpose.

UNI AJ SK KN0925