Indian drug companies reduces the global cost of HIV treatment.

[Guest guest]

[Editors note: According to the Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Indian

companies have brought down the cost of first line treatment for HIV patients

from USD 800 to USD 10 per year.

Is this figure UDS 10 per year is correct or it is a mistake? Please could

somebody confirm this? Thanks]

Indian drug companies reduces the global cost of HIV treatment.

NEW DELHI: Generic anti-retroviral drugs manufactured by Indian companies have

brought down the cost of first line treatment for HIV patients from USD 800 to

USD 10 per year even as the HIV epidemic in the country has shown some

stabilisation.

This information was given by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam

Nabi Azad to the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of Health which met here

today.

Azad said the HIV epidemic has seen some stabilisation as adult HIV prevalence

is now estimated at 0.31 per cent as compared to 0.36 per cent in 2006. The six

high prevalence states have shown a declining trend in prevalence, the Minister

added.

He said 21 new Community Care Centres and 367 Link ART Centres have been

established in the last one year.

Generic anti-retroviral drugs by Indian companies have brought down the cost of

first line treatment from USD 800 per year, a few years back, to USD 10 a month

at present, health ministry sources quoted him as saying.

He informed the committee that a significant chunk of the estimated populations

of high risk groups and populations of truckers and migrants have been reached

through targeted interventions which have been successful in bringing down the

prevalence of HIV in southern states.

The Minister informed that a total of 143.8 lakh clients including 61.2 lakh

expecting mothers were counselled in the Integrated Counselling and Testing

Centres (ICDCs) across the country during 2009-10.

For people living with HIV/AIDS, the government has set up 64 new

anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centres in last one year. A total of 89,000 new

patients are receiving free ART treatment.

Azad said a national strategy to tackle the increasing trend of HIV-positive

cases amongst migrants is being put in place as states like Uttar Pradesh,

Bihar, Orissa, Rajasthan where out migration is high need to be watched

carefully.

The Members of the consultative committee raised the issues of universally

accepted nomenclature, involvement of educational institutions, blood safety,

wider testing, social stigma and use of local languages for the awareness

purposes.

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