Global AIDS - India

India's HIV positive children to get free drugs - Sushma makes a promise which will cost ministry thrice its budget.
New Delhi report - October 4, 2003 - TOUFIQ RASHID

The Government is embarking on an ambitious project to provide anti-retroviral drugs to HIV-positive children
below 14 years of age free of cost. This will enhance their life and help them fight the virus for a long time.

As the non-availability and high cost of the medicines (Rs 5,000 per month) are said to be the major gap in the AIDS control programme in the country, the Government is touting it as a major step forward. The initiative will be included in the next phase of the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) programme and is likely to start in three-to-six months' time.

It's a huge commitment. Out of the estimated 3.9 to 4.5 million HIV-positive cases in India, around 2 lakh are believed to be children.

And even if half of them need anti-retroviral drugs, the annual spending will be Rs 600 crore. Though the total annual budget of the Health Ministry is just Rs 225 crore, it expects Rs 500 crore global funding and another $100 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Anti-retroviral drug is the only way an HIV-positive person can live longer. "But most die due to non-availability of the drugs and our major concern is the increasing number of children who contract the illness from their parents. Most of them are orphans or have both parents affected with the virus, so this group was given priority,'' says Sushma Swaraj, Health and Family Welfare Minister.

Though the Government has no estimates of the budget or the number of people to be covered, it plans to issue a mass appeal for voluntary registration as a first step. "If we hold a survey to estimate the number, it might or might not be conclusive. However, the fact that the medicines would be available for free will help people declare their HIV status to the concerned authorities,'' the minister says.

According to experts, being HIV-positive doesn't mean that a person is eligible for the anti-retroviral drugs. "A person is given the drugs only when the immunity drops and CD count is below 200,'' says a NACO official. The state AIDS control organisations have been asked to identify hospitals where the registration can be done.

The minister is meeting the pharma companies next week to discuss the reduction of prices for anti-retroviral drugs in view of the bulk purchase.

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