Tamil Nadu: ART centre for every district soon

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ART centre for every district soon

Saturday June 9 2007 12:41 IST

CHENNAI: Soon, an Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) centre for every

district will become a reality in Tamil Nadu.

Aiming at maximum coverage for the ART, increasing from a miniscule

number to 19 centres as on date, the State Government plans to expand

the service to more places.

With access to the ART becoming better, Supriya Sahu, project

director of the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS),

said, the facility would be expanded, making it convenient at a

travelling distance for the people in the State.

She was speaking at a function to commemorate a decade of the Indian

Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS (INP+).

" At present, 19,000 persons are covered by the ART, the highest in

the country. In the last six to seven months, there was a surge in

the number of people approaching for access to services, " she said.

In fact, the coverage of children had increased, achieving 108

percent in the last six months. " As many as 3,500 children were

registered at our ART centres, of which 1,200 are eligible for the

treatment, " she added.

Sahu quoted the National Family Health Survey-3, which found that

awareness on HIV/AIDS was 98 percent in urban and 94 percent in rural

areas of Tamil Nadu.

Citing an analysis of the Population Survey, Health Secretary V K

Subburaj said that of the 5.2 million people living with HIV, 38.4

percent were women.

" Contrary to general thinking, 57 percent of the affected were in

rural areas " .

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