E-Paper
Govt to ensure more HIV-infected people get meds from ART centres
As per May 2023 data, 1,08,155 people with HIV infection are getting medicine from ART centres in U.P. out of the 1.93 lakh people infected with the virus.
LUCKNOW The Uttar Pradesh government is trying to make sure that more people infected with HIV/AIDS get medicines from Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) centres in the state. In this regard, the state health department has changed its strategy.
As part of its new plan, the department is merging seven concerned wings. Explaining this in detail, Dr Heeralal, the additional project director of U.P. State AIDS Control Society (UPSACS), said, “HIV and TB coinfection is known similarly. However, so far, we have had separate officials at the district level in the health department working in different areas. Now, all seven such wings have been brought together to increase focus upon people with HIV infection.”
He further said that with close coordination of different wings, the gap between people with HIV infection and the infected people getting medicines from ART centres will fast reduce in the state.
As per May 2023 data, 1,08,155 people with HIV infection are getting medicine from ART centres in U.P. out of the 1.93 lakh people infected with the virus. Significantly, a steady rise has been reported in the number of people testing positive for HIV infection in the state. However, officials claim the rise is due to increased testing in the state.
“Testing has gone up in recent years and that is why, we are getting more cases, which are being supported from ART centres,” said Dr Heeralal added.
“A steady rise in testing has helped us find new cases and more of them every year,” said Dr Arun Kumar Singhal, the joint director of U.P. State AIDS Control Society (UPSACS). This body monitors testing, finding new cases, and putting those testing positive on medication.
In 2022, there were 96,205 HIV-infected people receiving medicines from ART centres in the state, and in 2021, 90,857 such people were getting medicines from ATR centres. The number of deaths among such patients is between 3,600 and 4,200 annually in Uttar Pradesh.
However, the estimated number of people with HIV infection may not be accurate, say officials. “An obvious reason could be that many such people from U.P. could be getting medication from ART centres in other states while some from other states might be registered here in U.P,” said Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary of the general association of international doctors.
In this sequence, Vimlesh Kumar of the Uttar Pradesh Welfare for People Living with HIV/AIDS (UPNP PLUS), the advocacy group working in the state, said, “The major cause for new cases is the migration of people who have a high level of vulnerability to HIV infection, including female sex workers, men having sex with men, and injectable drug users.”
Targeted Intervention programmes and increased testing are bringing out more positive cases and putting them on medication, he added.
How HIV spreads?
HIV spreads through unprotected sex with an infected person, transfusion of infected blood, sharing of infected needles or syringes from an infected mother to her child during pregnancy, during birth or after delivery, and even through breast milk. HIV is found in high concentrations in blood, semen, vaginal secretions, and breast milk. However, HIV does not spread through social contact such as shaking hands, sharing equipment, or eating from the same utensils.
Increase in HIV testing in U.P. over 3 years
Category-----------2020-21-----------2021-22---------2022-23
Tested--------------58.8 lakh----------67.9 lakh--------85.8 lakh
Positive------------8545---------------11106------------16574
On ART------------8237----------------10914------------15180
Total on ART----90857---------------96205------------108155
(Data as of May 2023)
