Namakkal General Hosptial needs immediate attention.

[Guest guest]

Hi!

The condition of the General Hospital in Namakkal is

pathetic that even the basic drugs for treating the

Opportunistic infections of PLHAs are not available.

Mind you that Namakkal is one of the high prevalent

district of INDIA in terms of HIV.

A special ward is there for the PLHAs in the GH, but

it is of no use as there are no basic drugs /

diagnostic facilities, available to treat them. Common

Drugs like Acyclovir, Sepmax and flucanazole are not

at all available. PLHAs are referred to Tambaram GH,

which is 325 KM away from this place to get these

medicines. Imagine a lady with full-blown " HERPES

ZOSTER " traveling 325 KM to get a common drug in this

hot summer. To get the drug one has to spend more than

the drug cost on travel. Do they not have the right to

get these drugs at their district hospital? Is it not

a basic right of an Indian citizen? The high light of

Namakkal GH is that ART center is operational here. It

is very sarcastic to start ART center at this hospital

which has never seen drugs like, ACYCLOVIR,

FLUCANAZOLE etc., I think it is only wise to have the

basic drugs for opportunistic infections and thereby

prevent PLHAs from going to the stage of taking ART.

Request the authorities to intervene and do the

needful so as to reduce the HIV related morbidity and

mortality in the district of Namakkal, which is

heading for a generation gap. The number of orphan &

vulnerable children is also on the rise.

Swami

E-mail: <catchswami@...>