In a significant move which will boost up care and treatment of those living with HIV in the country, the government is all set to introduce an antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV patients with CD
In a significant move which will boost up care and treatment of those living with HIV in the country, the government is all set to introduce an antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV patients with CD 4 level less than 500, against the existing level of 350 from April this year.
The World Health Organisation had earlier in their set of revised treatment guidelines suggested for the same, with a view to improve the quality of life of people living with HIV.
With ample funds allocated for the National AIDS Control Organisation this year, officials say the updating of treatment guidenlies is likely to make things better for those infected.
The country’s AIDS programme has been in jeopardy after the Modi government slashed the budget last year.
However, with sizeable allocation for NACO which stands at '1,700 crores and with the “higest-ever allocation in the health sector” of an overall increase of 21 per cent in the health budget from last year’s budget, Union health minister J.P. Nadda said that “utilisation capacity has to be increased”. “Health sector has been given top priority as a high allocation for health has been given in this year’s budget. We have enough money. However it is important to increase the capacity to utilise the money properly,” he said.
The move of initiation of ART at an early stage is expected to add over one lakh patients.
While the government has recently introduced free third line treatment, till now the national programme was providing ART to all patients irrespective of their CD4 count, which were in World Health Organisation clinical stage 3 or 4, pregnant women, HIV-TB co-infected patients and all positive children below five years.
For remaining people living with HIV (at stage 1 and 2) which are largely asymptomatic, ART was initiated only when their CD4 count would fall below 350 cells per cmm of blood.
With concerns raised by scientific organisations over fund crunch, the Centre said that adequate funding for research projects will be made. Earlier the Indian Council of Medical Research chief had said that a large number of biomedical research projects being undertaken by 32 scientific organisations across the country have been stuck due to resource crunch.
