National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) has decided to distribute free medicines to all the HIV infected persons irrespective of cluster deficiency (CD)-4 counting in all the Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) centers across the country.

According to AIDS control authorities in Telangana, the patients who are suspected to have infected with HIV will have to undergo CD-4 counting. Based on this counting, the healthcare authorities will decide the level of infection in a patient. For instance, a patient with a CD-4 count of 1,500, though infected with HIV, is still regarded as healthy and has no immediate danger to his life. Such patients, needs to take the medicines regularly to keep themselves healthy. If the patient does not take the medicine regularly then the CD-4 count will gradually fall and if the CD-4 count reaches to 350 and less, then such patients are said to have contracted with AIDS and their condition starts deteriorating.

As per the current government procedure, only those patients who are having CD-4 counting less than 350 and registered in the government records are eligible to get free medicine from the ART centers. As this existing system is not favorable to HIV patients, NACO has decided to bring drastic changes in its policy and has decided to distribute free medicine to all the HIV infected patients irrespective of CD-4 count.

At present, the state government is offering Rs. 1,000 as monthly pension to all those HIV patients who are taking free medicines from the ART centers. According to records there are around 40,800 HIV infected patients who are registered with the ART centers and for them the state government is spending Rs. 40.08 crore.

Now as the NACO has decided to abolish the CD-4 count, this will help benefit another 1, 32, 597 HIV infected members to get free medicine and it will also make them eligible for state government pension adding a financial burden of Rs. 13.26 crore to the state government. “There are 1.734 lakh HIV infected patients in Telangana, of them only 40,800 are being provided free medicines from the ART centers across the state and are also being provided a financial assistance of Rs. 1000 as part of Aasar Pension scheme, “said Dr John Babu, Assistant Project Director, Telangana State Aids Control Society.

NACO has already sent circulars to the AIDS control Societies of all the states in India and has directed them to abolish the CD-4 count procedure to provide free medicines to all the HIV infected persons.