Spreading the bad blood around

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Dear Subscribers of eFORUM,

Will the $ 100 million given by Gates to India suffer the fate recounted

below? - Rafique

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THE TELEGRAPH: Thursday 24th October 2002,Spreading the bad blood around.

Extracts from the report of the CAG of India for the year ended March 2001,

Vol. 1. (Civil)

The programme is implemented in the state by the department of health and

family welfare, AIDS cell, from 1992, and by the West Bengal State AIDS

Prevention and Control Society from August 1998. The' WBSAP and CS was

formed for smooth and speedy implementation and management and to' ensure

easy flow of funds. The state health secretary is president of the society.

Records of various offices, including hospitals/non-government organizations

in Calcutta, Bardhaman, Birbhum: Malda and Darjeeling districts, were

test -checked.

Financial position: AIDS Prevention and Control Programme is a World Bank,

aided, cent per cent Centrally assisted programme. Due to a deficient annual

action plan, the government of India reduced the amount sought by the state

government by 30 to 67 per cent during 1996-2001. The state government could

not spend even the reduced amounts sanctioned in the previous years, It

could spend a maximum of 37 per cent of the funds available up to 1998-99

which increased substantially in 1999-2000, and again fell back to 88 per

cent in 2000-2001. The shortfall in expenditure was attributed to

insufficient infrastructure, since by the end of March 2001 the unspent

balance aggregated Rs 6.63 crore.

During the last five years (1999-2001), the total expenditure in the state

and this programme was Rs 22.91 crore, of which RS 5.77 crore (25 per cent)

was in the form of unadjusted advances. On March 31, 1997, Rs 4 crore,

sanctioned by the state government, was drawn by the state AIDS cell office

an the same date to' avoid lapse of the budget and was kept in the PL

account. During the next two' years the amount could not be spent fully: As

the PL account was to' be closed an March 31, 1999, as per state government

orders, the state AIDS cell office made advances of Rs 58.72 lakh to'

different district offices during March 1999. Rupees 59.15lakh, lying in PL

account, was drawn by self cheques and spent by the residual cell office

during 1999-2000 though the state AIDS cell was officially cased in August

1998.

Blood safety measures; during 1996-2001, the National AIDS Control

Organization provided Rs 10 crore and different machines and accessories far

modernization of blood banks and blood safety measures. Presently, blood

banks collect blood from voluntary and exchange donors. As per orders, since

1995, each blood bank is to' carry our four mandatory tests an each unit of

blood to' ensure

Impure strains

Safe blood transfusion and that the collected blood was free from HIV,

Hepatitis B, Syphilis and Gonorrhea and Malaria Parasite. If any blood

sample was found to' contain any of the found viruses, the blood bottle was

to' be discarded immediately. Three tests excepting MP are to' be

immediately from the fund placed by NACO. During the last five years no' new

blood bank was established. State AIDS Central Society, West Bengal, claimed

that 59 government blood banks in West Bengal were modernized. However,

scrutiny of records revealed that modernization programme was not effective

as all the required machinery/equipment was not installed in 30 (51 per

cent) of the blood banks in the state. In many blood banks, out of 8 vital

equipment, only 2 to' 6 equipment were supplied. Essential equipment like

microscopic binocular, incubator and generator 10 KVA were supplied to' only

2, 3 and 2 blood banks respectively out of 59. Blood component separation

facilities were available only at Central Blood Bank, Calcutta, and out of

12 equipment earmarked for _

Supply, only 5 were supplied. Major equipment like Refrigerated Centrifuge

(2), Deep Freezers 75 C & 40 C (1+1), Leminaf Flow .Bench (1), Platelet

Incubator with agitator (1), Dielectric sealer (2), Cell Counter (1) were

not supplied. Further, Generator 10 KVA (1) was not supplied.

As indicated ,none of the private and public sector blood banks submitted

collection reports between 1997 and 1999 to the state blood transfusion

council even after repeated reminders. Thus, work done by them was neither

known nor monitored by the SBTC... Blood banks in government hospitals of 4

districts collected 1.34lakh battles of blood during 1997-2001 against which

they conducted HIV tests in 82,614 cases. The shortfall in HIV tests was

51,513 (38 per cent). As all the blood was shown to' have been utilized the

possibility of transfusion of untested blood to patients was a strong

possibility. Blood bank authorities stated (February and July 2001) that

they Could not carry out mandatory tests on all collected blood due to'

delay in supply of HIV kits by NACO and other kits by the hospital authority

..This reply .is not tenable since. there was no shortage of HIV kits in the

state stare and shortage of funds for purchase of other kits in hospitals.

Besides, the AIDS Cell and WBSAP and CS offices permitted blood bank

authorities to' purchase HIV kits if there was a shortage: There was also

shortage of testing of Hepatitis .B in 29,382 (22 per cent) and VDRL in

31,855 (24 per cent) cases.

TO BE CONCLUDED

Contributor's note:

Has anyone seen the Telegraph of the 31st October? The conclusion appeared

in it and undfortunately, I was away in Assam.

-Rafique

e-MAIL: <mohamedrafique799@...>

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