Based on the international and national experiences, a clear and multi-pronged effort for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS has been worked out in Andhra Pradesh. The state is trying to contain the prevalence rate below 2 per cent. The programme consists of components such as prevention of HIV infection in high risk population and low risk population, capacity building, care and support and inter-sectoral collaboration etc.
As part of preventing HIV Infection in high-risk population such as truckers, street children, commercial sex workers etc. the government has initiated projects including behaviour change communication, STD care, condom promotion besides creating enabling environment by taking up advocacy and by establishing linkages with law enforcing agencies.
K Damayanti, project director, AP State AIDS Control Society (APSACS) told Pharmabiz, that the state has achieved progress in the prevention of low-risk population too. The HIV infection through blood transfusion has come down from four per cent to one per cent. Steps have been taken to ensure safe blood by modernizing and strengthening all the licensed government blood banks. In AP, there are 12 zonal blood testing centers, 20 major blood banks, 28 district level blood banks and four component separation units. Of about 2,52,949 blood units collected from the 180 licensed blood banks in the last one year, about 0.66 per cent are HIV positive.
Over 97 voluntary confidential counseling and testing centers have been set up in various districts and area hospitals where about 1,34,186 cases have been counseled and tested in the last one year, of which, 14.39 per cent have been found HIV positive, she added.
To prevent vertical transmission, prevention of parent to child transmission (PPTCT) programme is implemented in 37 centres (14 medical colleges and 23 district hospitals). About 1,69,544 cases have been counseled and tested, of which 1.77 per cent have been found HIV positive.
Till now, over 85 STD clinics have been set up in general, district and area hospitals in the state and about 1, 34,203 STD cases have been treated in the last one year.
AIDS prevention education programme has been taken up in 11,464 high schools and covered more than 14 lakh students in the year 2003-04. Two teachers from all the 11,464 schools have been trained as nodal teachers. During the same period, about 7.5 lakhs students are covered in about 1000 colleges of 13 Universities through the active involvement of National Service Scheme (NSS).
Family Health Awareness Campaign (FHAC) is conducted twice a month to create awareness among the age group of 15-49 years on HIV/AIDS and to identify and treat reproductive tract infections (RTI), sexually transmitted infections (STI), as per the guidelines of National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO). During August 2003, about 5,39,292 RTI/STI cases have been treated.
APSACS is using strategies such as free distribution and socially marketed distribution for promoting and making the condoms accessible. Between April 2003 and January 2004, about 3,73, 33,740 condoms have been distributed by the Society.
She added, as part of capacity building, all the medical officers in district hospitals, area hospital and PHCs along with para medical staff and other medical practitioners are being trained in the prevention and control of the disease. The Society is sensitizing the Doctors in counseling and treating the HIV positive persons.
As per NACO guidelines, sentinel surveillance is conducted every year to measure the trends in HIV prevalence levels. For this, 61 sites have been established during the year 2003-04. A computerized management information system has been established for monitoring and evaluation of the programme.
Meanwhile, 22 care and support centers with minimum 10-bed capacity and three drop in centers have been set up to treat the HIV positive persons during 2003-04 (till Jan 2004). And over 15,965 persons have been admitted/treated. A total of 30 counseling and drop in centers have been planned for the year 2004-05.
The state government has issued G.O Ms. No. 174, dated 21-05-2002 and G.O. Ms. No. 228, dated 22-05-2002 making it compulsory for all departments to discuss about HIV/AIDS in all meetings and to incorporate it as part of all training and extension programmes. Already Department of School Education, Police Department, Youth Services, Transport Department are integrated, Damayanti informed.
NACO has allocated and sanctioned a total budget of Rs. 1508.26 lakhs to APSACS for the financial year 2003-04, of which only Rs. 1000 lakhs has been released, as of February 2004. The balance amount is yet to be released.