Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT), part of the US$ 3 billion Avantha Group, has announced the launch of its Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) centre at the existing district hospital in Koraput.

Launched as collaboration between BILT, National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and CII, the ART centre will provide drugs as well as CD 4 and other testing facilities to HIV positive patients who reside in Koraput and the adjoining districts. It will be the first of its kind in Orissa, and will work as a private-public partnership.

This is the second ART centre established by BILT, the first being successfully run in Ballarpur, Maharashtra, according to a release here.

The ART centre will function on 'out patient' basis. Patients requiring hospitalisation will be referred to the district hospital.

The centre will function in collaboration with NACO, New Delhi, and will receive technical support and partial funding from CII, New Delhi. NACO will provide testing kits and ART drugs, as well as drugs to treat opportunistic infections like TB, pneumonia, diarrhoea, etc, in HIV positive patients.

It will provide counselling to HIV positive patients and their family members on an ongoing basis. It will also conduct pathological tests like CD4, blood count, urine, blood sugar and tests for the diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections. The centre will also impart training on home-based care to family members, and will refer patients to larger hospitals, besides linking them with the HIV positive network and starting support groups. Patients will be charged nominally for testing. The centre will be managed by a trained doctor and a counsellor.

"With an approximate population of 12 million, Koraput district has, over a period of time, become a 'medium prevalent' district from a 'low prevalent' district. Some of the adjoining parts of the districts have a large number of HIV positive people. The district currently has over 700 positive cases (out of the 11,156 cases reported in Orissa) with no access to an ART centre. The opening of this ART centre will provide the much needed support to HIV positive patients," said Yashashree Gurjar, the head of corporate social responsibility of Avantha group.