AIDS patients gets subsidised ARV drugs by courier

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AIDS PATIENTS CAN GET SUBSIDISED DRUGS BY COURIER

For persons living with HIV/AIDS, access to subsidised anti-retro virals is as

simple as sending a courier.

The Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS) Pharmacy here, which was

started to provide subsidised drugs, has not asked persons with HIV/AIDS to

courier authentic prescriptions from their doctor to its office here.

The drugs will then be couriered back and payment collected on delivery. " We

decided to provide this option to people who do not live in Chennai. Since the

pharmacy providing subsidised drugs has been started only at one place, others

in the State will have to travel to Chennai to buy the drugs, " acording to K.

Palanisamy, Deputy Director, TANSACS.

" This is, therefore, an attempt to enable them to buy the drugs without

travelling all the way to Chennai. " The pharmacy itself has been rather

successful since it was started on December 15, 2003 TANSACS officials say.

Between then and February 6, 320 persons have purchased medicines at a

subsidised cost. About 50 per cent of them have made repetitive visits.

Everyday sales amounted to an average of Rs.10,000-Rs.12,000/-

Persons living with HIV/AIDS have even come from Coimbatore, Tiruchi, Salem and

Namakkal. " The bus fare is at least Rs.200. So the money they save on the

drugs will actually bespent on travelling. The new scheme will enable them to

realise the benefits of the discount, " Dr.Palanisamy said. The discounts offered

by the three pharma companies-Ranbaxy, Cipla and Citadel Aurobindo Biotech-range

between 20 and 57 per cent.

All combinations of anti-retrovirals are available at the pharmacy, while the

most popular is the Indian protocol, with the three-drug combination,

Ziduvidine, Neverapine and Lambuvidine.

" Most customers buy single drugs. The three drug combination is used only by

persons whose CD4 count is less than 350, " Dr.Palanisamy says.

Representatives of the Pharma companies are also enthusiastic about the response

to the TANSACS pharmacy. " We are bulk manufacturers and therefore we are merely

passing on the benefits to HIV/AIDS-affected persons. We are even contemplating

increasing our contribution and exhancing the discounts, " said H.Rajeev Balaji,

division manager, Imunus, a division of Citadel Aurobindo Biotech.

As far as the affected persons are concerned, the attempt of the society to

facilitate easy availability of ARVs is welcome. " Though there are promises to

provide ARVs free of cost to positive persons, the project is expected to start

only after April 1. Meanwhile, this pharmacy is the only source of support for

us. Our network has been spreading awareness about the facility among the

positive people, " P. Kausalya of the Positive Women's Network said.

K.K.Abraham, President, Indian Network of Positive Persons, said though the

courier scheme would be of immense use to people in inaccessible areas, care

should be taken to verify the veracity of the case. " The pharmacy can make use

of the 15 district networks of positive persons to channelise applications, " he

said.

Source: The Hindu, March 3, 2004, Madurai Edition

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Forwarded by A. SANKAR

Executive Director, EMPOWER

puram, TUTICORIN-628 008, INDIA

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