Problems with ART roll out in Tirupati

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum,

We are writing from Tirupati. Registration for ART started with a bang and ended

with a whimper. The problems we are facing here at Tirupati are:

Information about any detail about the CD4 machines or ART roll out are like

defence secrets. You can never get a straight answer to any enquiry. May be the

staff at these centers do not know or do not want to tell. We are unable to say

which.

CD4 machine does not work. The machine is at Kadapa. A good three hour bus ride

from here in Tirupati. How the samples are transported, what happens to the

samples in the three hour and what precautions are taken are unknown.

On one occassion blood samples were drawn from infected children. But due to

some mysterious reason they needed to be drawn again. No explanations about this

either.

Chittoor district covers a vast are. Some of the villages are about 5 to 6 hours

from Tirupati by bus. After sick children and hassled their care givers have

woken up early and travelled to Tirupati, the blood samples are drawn for CD4

counts. But after a couple of days there is another barely civil request from

the ART centers that another sample must be drawn for other tests. (Why cannot

these people decide on all the tests beforehand and then call the children?)

On persistent enquiries, we come to know that ART drugs are on the shelves and

readily available, but as the CD4 machine does not work, ART cannot be started;

never mind even if the patients are direly in need of them and might possibly

die before the powers can get the machines repaired. So much for the enabling

environment, compassion and care for the infected people.

Everywhere we are hearing the name of the " Clinton Foundation " that seems to be

holding the power of life and death over the ART roll out program for children.

But no one seems to clear about what their role is and if and when they will

start the ART roll out.

Any ideas?

R Meera

e-mail: <rmeera102@...>