Free HIV treatment for 20,000 children from Nov 30

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Free HIV treatment for 20,000 children from Nov 30

New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS) On the eve of the World AIDS Day (Dec 1),

India will launch a new scheme to provide free treatment to 20,000

HIV infected children, Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said here

Monday.

" On Nov 30, we will be launching a scheme to provide free ARV

treatment for children using paediatric anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs.

We have established a protocol for the paediatric drugs and three to

four pharmaceutical companies are part of the process, " Ramadoss told

delegates at the ongoing India Economic Summit here, jointly

organised by the World Economic Forum and the Confederation of Indian

Industry (CII).

" Initially we aim to provide free treatment to 20,000 children. We

have been intensely campaigning but have so far being able to

identify only 1,500 children for treatment, " the minister said.

The state-run National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) estimates

there are around 65,000 kids with HIV infection, out of an estimated

5.2 million HIV infected people in the country.

The health ministry is targeting providing free ARV treatment to

100,000 people through hospitals and health clinics in the country by

next year.

So far around 48,000 people are getting the treatment under

government run programmes while over 15 companies are also helping to

provide treatment to an estimated 35,000 employees, the minister said.

In addition, the government is planning to set up distribution of

free and subsidised condoms through vending machines installed at

strategic locations like truck hubs and red light area.

" So far we have installed 13,000 condom-vending machines and plan to

add 12,000 more by 2006-07 fiscal end (March 31). By 2007 end we hope

to have in place 100,000 vending machines, " the minister stated.

In addition to the problem of tackling a rise in number of HIV/AIDS

cases in the country, the minister said an estimated 60 percent of

the people have got tuberculosis due to the reluctance to come

forward for treatment leaving them vulnerable to opportune diseases.

Besides HIV, India is striving to provide free treatment to an

estimated 1.8 million people who are diagnosed to have tuberculosis

every year.

Annually about 1.4 million receive treatment for tuberculosis under

the directly observed short-course treatment strategy (DOTS), which

has been yielding considerable good results.

In the last six years, around 6.3 million people have been cured of

tuberculosis, the minister stated.

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