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A group of HIV patients protested the shortage of antiretroviral drugs outside the National Aids Control Organization (NACO) in Delhi on Thursday, 21 July.
Thirty to forty patients living in different parts of the capital stating that access to antiretroviral drugs was their right. According to a report in Scroll, the patients claim a shortage of medicines at hospitals across Delhi has put their lives at risk, and blamed the government for the same.
Antiretroviral drugs save the lives of thousands living with HIV or HIV AIDS. NACO is the central government agency tasked with providing the medicines, diagnostic kits, and other essentials like training, to treat patients living with HIV.
The protesters claimed that many Antiretroviral Therapy Centres in the capital were out of stocks of HIV medication.
India has a population of approximately 138 crore people. According to NACO, as of 2020, 0.22 percent of Indians in the 15-49 age group suffer from HIV. India's total HIV caseload was estimated to be anywhere from 18-30 lakh people in 2020.
So, in short, the availability of these drugs means the difference between life and death for hundreds of thousands of people.
FIT spoke to Pravin Mutyel, director of Snehalaya, an NGO that works for women, children and LGBT communities who have been affected by HIV and AIDS, trafficking, and violence. Snehalaya is one of many NGOs who work with antiretroviral treatment and support for people living with HIV.
In December 2021, the NACO, till then responsible for procuring and supplying HIV antiretroviral drugs to states, passed the buck to states, asking them to procure the drugs themselves. This came after the central government organization failed to choose a bidder for purchase orders of life-saving medication.
Apart from Lopinavir, NACO's failure to produce and supply anti-retroviral drugs extends to other vital medication including ritonavir and dolutegravir, according to Scroll.
Earlier in June, several states in North East India reported that antiretroviral drugs were inaccessible to them. The Manipur State Human Rights Commission also notified that a stock-out had taken place in multiple ART centres. A stock-out occurs when consumer demand vastly exceeds supply.
Responding to the Quint's query, a NACO representative said, on 29 July, "after persuasion by NACO and with active cooperation of national networks of persons living with HIV (PLHIV), 4 representatives of the protesters had a round of discussion with senior officers of NACO on 25th July afternoon."
In their response, NACO admits to there being a temporary shortage of drugs at some Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centres, and that all the stakeholders were informed of this.
However, they also insist that, there is no reported stock out for any Anti Retroviral (ARV) drugs, and that fresh supply orders for procurement of the next lot of several drugs have already been placed.
"CMSS has been requested to supply the 1st lot of the drugs at the earliest, so as to ensure that before the present stock runs out, the fresh lot of drugs would have been received," they added.
Despite the assurance, the protest outside the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) office, in Delhi continues.
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Published: 22 Jul 2022,03:13 PM IST