Shortage of HIV medicines ails India: People's indefinite sit-in continues since a month
BOBBY RAMAKANT - CNS
The indefinite sit-in of HIV-affected communities that began on 21st of July 2022 has continued for over a month to demand end of stockouts of lifesaving antiretroviral therapy across India, and minimum one-month dispensation of medicines to people living with HIV nationwide.
2018 guidelines of India's AIDS programme (formally called the National AIDS Control Organization of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) states that people who are stable on HIV medicines should get medicine-supply of three months at every visit to the clinic. But people with HIV are reporting from several states that they are only getting medicine supplies for seven to ten days, after which they are supposed to go back to the medicine-dispensing centre for a re-fill. Antiretroviral therapy is a lifelong and lifesaving therapy that helps people with HIV stay virally suppressed, live a normal and healthy life, and also become undetectable and untransmissible (science has proven that when HIV virus becomes undetectable then it also becomes untransmissible). Without these medicines, HIV virus will not be suppressed.
More alarming is that some people with HIV are being given medicines that are supposed to be given to children (paediatric doses). Jai Prakash, former President of Delhi Network of People living with HIV (DNP Plus), is one such person who has to take 11 pills daily as he has been handed over paediatric doses.
"One of our friends from Mizoram has shared with me about a small boy who developed full body rashes after being given antiretroviral medicines which were for adults (and not children)," shared Loon Gangte of DNP Plus, who has led HIV and hepatitis-related treatment access movement for almost two decades from the frontlines.
Networks of people living with HIV are reporting HIV-medicine shortages in several states of India such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Assam, among others. There was shortage in Delhi too but now situation is improving, said Hari Shankar Singh of DNP Plus. Hari has been part of the indefinite sit-in since its beginning on 21st of July 2022 when CNS (Citizen News Service) had spoken to him too.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
