Kerala Govt to give AIDS drugs free

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KERALA Govt to give AIDS drugs free

P K SURENDRAN

TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2004 04:57:10 PM ]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Minister for Welfare of Backward

Communities, M A Kuttappan said on Thursday, the Kerala Government

would soon begin supplying anti-retroviral medicines, free of

charge, to AIDS patients.

Inaugurating the celebrations held in connection with International

Youth Day, jointly organised by the State Youth Welfare Board and

Nehru Yuva Kendra, the Minister said that the medicines, which cost

Rs 4.2 crores a year,

would be administered free of charge for life-long treatment.

It is expected that the cost of the expensive drugs would be shared

by WHO and Central Health Ministry. The burden on state government

would be minimal.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/813732.cms

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Free ART drugs from October

By Our Staff Reporter

KOCHI, AUG. 14. The State Government will start providing anti-retroviral

treatment (ART) drugs to HIV-positive persons in the five Government medical

college hospitals in the State from October.

Addressing a press meet here on Thursday, the Kerala State AIDS Control Society

Director, Bharat Bhusan, said the medicines were expected to provide

HIV-positive persons better management of their lifestyle by considerably

prolonging full-blown AIDS conditions.

These drugs are usually prescribed when the white blood cell (WBC) count in

blood becomes less that 200 per cubic millimetres. The Government has earmarked

Rs.1.65 crores for distributing the medicines on the estimation that there are

75,000 to one lakh HIV cases in the State. Of these, 1,700 are AIDS patients.

The State has so far reported about 600 AIDS deaths.

http://www.hindu.com/2004/08/15/stories/2004081504990300.htm