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Challenges in treating co-infection
The biggest challenge that faces those who are co-infected comes not from stigma or discrimination, but from the non-availability of medicines to treat HIV. Currently the TB programme in the country is decentralised. And the availability of TB medicines is not an issue. The Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course (DOTS) is in place in all districts in the country.
This is not the case with HIV though. There are only certain centres that provide patients with the antiretroviral therapy (ART). They have to hence travel long distances to get the HIV medicines and undergo other investigations.
According to Ms. Supriya Sahu, Project Director, Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS), there are 26 centres in the State that provide antiretroviral medicines to patients.
“We will open 9 more centres in two months’ time so that at least all districts will have one ART centre,” she said.
But the actual decentralisation will come when more centres are in place to provide the medicines.
The State is already taking the road less travelled to make the decentralisation a reality. About 70 link ART centres are planned to be opened at the block level hospitals to provide the antiretroviral medicines.
“We will start a link ART centre wherever there are more than 50 HIV patients,” she said. “The centres will become operational in 6 months’ time.”
R.P.
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