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Tamil Nadu
U.S. grant to support project for AIDS patients
By Ramya Kannan
Chennai
May 1.
Part of the $100-million grant-in-aid to India, allocated by the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, will go towards funding a project to provide Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) to persons with HIV/AIDS in Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore. The project intends to examine public-private partnership in providing ART drugs to persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and three organisations with established presence in the sector of working with PLWHA have been chosen for the task: YRG Care in Chennai, Arcon in Mumbai and Freedom Foundation in Bangalore.
It has been scientifically proved that ART increases the quality of life of the PLWHA and this study is a further attempt to examine the feasibility of subsidising the costs of ART drugs in India. "There is no doubt that ARTs will enhance life quality. But this project, which is part of the third round funded by the Global Fund would study local responses and conditions to the treatment. We will study 1,000 patients over a five-year period," Suniti Solomon of YRG Care said.
The ART drugs would be provided at cost price to the NGOs, which, in turn provide the drugs to the patients on a sliding scale, depending on their economic status. While subsidised treatment would be provided to those who are able to bear part of the costs, and in the most deserving cases, the drugs will be provided free.
While preliminary approval for the project has been granted, specifics such as financial commitment and modus operandi are yet to be finalised. The funds will be channelised to all the participating NGOs through the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO), sources said. It is likely to commence in June.
The Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria has been established to fund the fight against the "diseases of poverty". With latest statistics indicating that India bears nearly 10 per cent of the global HIV burden, the nation falls within the ambit of the Global Fund, which accords priority to areas with the greatest burden. The Fund intends to provide grants to public-private formulation and implementation processes in support of technically sound and cost-effective interventions for the proven treatment, care and support of the infected. Special emphasis is laid on providing increased access to health services and critical health products including drugs, training of personnel and influencing behaviour change and outreach.
While the cost of ARTs has gone down since they were first introduced, it still remains beyond the reach of a number of persons living with HIV/AIDS. The cost is around Rs. 2,000 per month per person and unaffordable for a vast section of the population in need of the treatment. Urged by the PLWHA to provide free ART in all government hospitals in the State, the Tamil Nadu Health Department has constituted a committee that would examine the feasibility of the demand, considering the substantial financial commitment it entailed to take care of the increasing numbers of persons contracting the infection.
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