Other States - Orissa   

AIDS-affected persons demand better treatment facilities

Photo: Lingaraj Panda

No other go?: Visitors waiting at the ART centre at the MKCG Medical College Hospital on the eve of World AIDS Day in Berhampur on Sunday.

BERHAMPUR: AIDS patients of the State claim that the Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) centre on the MKCG medical college campus is the only full-fledged functional ART unit in Orissa in contrast to official claims.

As per official claims on government website the number of ART centres in the State has been increased from one to three as an initiative against AIDS. But as per AIDS patients the ART centre in the MKCG medical college hospital in Berhampur was the only one running in totality.

A visit to the Berhampur ART centre reveals it. The AIDS patients from all parts of the State still come over to this centre for their regular ART doses.

Although it is being claimed that ART centres have been opened at SCB medical college, Cuttack, and VSS medical college, Burla, HIV-positive persons from the areas covered by these centres can be seen at the Berhampur ART centre.

According to sources the Cuttack ART centre has begun to function on a small scale while the Burla ART centre has not begun to function properly.

Moreover the Berhampur ART centre is the only place in the state with a CD4 machine.

Through this machine the counting of T4 cells is done. The special white blood cells or lymphocytes are the basis of our immune system and therefore their count determines the doses of ART for HIV-positive persons. But the irony is that till now all cases of ART patients from parts of Orissa other than south Orissa have not been transferred to their respective ART centres.

The patients coming for ART to Berhampur also have a complaint that the much-publicised travelling allowances promised by the State Government to the AIDS patients for their travels to ART centre is yet to be a reality. Bhaskar Mishra, president of the Rushikulya Network of Positive People (RNPP), said although this travel allowance scheme was officially implemented from April 1, it was yet to be practically implemented.

The blood bank of the Red Cross in the MKCG medical college was to disburse the travel allowance as per the original bus or train ticket to AIDS patient at the Berhampur ART centre.

It was to be reimbursed by the Red Cross Society of the district of the patient later. But Mr Mishra alleged that it had not started yet but they were getting 50 per cent concession on their railway tickets as per the declaration of the Railway Ministry.

As per official records in Orissa 10, 862 persons were infected by HIV till September 2008. Among them 1020 were AIDS patients. Ganjam district happened to be the major hub of this killer virus. There were more than 4296 HIV-positive cases in the district while 363 of them were AIDS patients.

Till now Ganjam has recorded 293 deaths due to AIDS, which is the highest in the State.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Bell metal craft cries for attention
His childhood passion comes of age
Konark dance festival postponed
Tribals opposing mining plan rally
AIDS-affected persons demand better treatment facilities
Violence victims mourned
ECoR to tighten security at 3 stations initially
Three arrested on rape charge
Campaigning for BMC election concludes
‘Maoist’ posters put up in capital
Demo planned on JNNURM issue

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu