The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has increased the number of centres providing free Anti Retroviral Treatment (ART) from 54 to 91 centres with another 9 more centres also getting operational soon. Medicines for treating 85000 patients have been made available at these sites. All the 91 centres have specially appointed and trained doctors, counsellors and laboratory technicians to help initiate patients on ART and follow them up regularly, stated an official release.
Apart from providing free treatment, all the ART centres are providing counselling to the infected persons so that they maintain regularity of their medication. At present 40,000 are on ART, which are expected to go up to 85,000 by March end. All these centres have a plan to ensure that patients take their medicines regularly and are followed up, in case of default, while maintaining their confidentiality, the release added.