VCTC Centers without HIV test kits. What to do?

[Guest guest]

Dear all,

This is just to share and ask if you who have the ART roll out centers in your

districts are facing the same problems we are.

Sangli has had no test kits in the VCTC centers for more than one and a half

months. This has resulted in two of our friends paying with their lives.

The govt ART center will not accept any test result from `outside'. this means

that even if a PLHA comes to the hospital really ill with private lab

investigations showing a very low CD4 count the person is sent back because the

civil hospital has no kits to test for HIV.

Therefore they will not do a CD4 either and that also means they will not issue

ART drugs!!!

What are we to do?. Everything is so near and yet so far. We demand that the

civil hospital accepts `outside' test results or Govt procures kits now!

We have already paid a heavy price. Do we continue to pay with our lives?

Meena Saraswathi Seshu

SANGRAM/VAMP

e-mail: <san_meena@...>