Network of Nagaland Drugs and AIDS Organisations (NNagaDAO) has urged National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) to release the backlog payment of 2015-16 under their targeted intervention (TI) projects.
Pointing out that targeted intervention staff mainly from key population and working as peer educators and outreach workers are solely dependent on salary for their livelihood, the network in a memorandum to Sanjeeva Kumar, additional secretary of Union health & family welfare ministry and director general of NACO and RNTCP, said some of them were no more alive, having died without receiving their dues from NACO/NSACS (Nagaland State AIDS Control Society).
NNagaDAO also called for urgent expansion of the laboratory at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima by installing a viral load machine, a monitoring tool to provide quality management system (QMS) and improvement of access to routine viral load testing, besides achieving HIV viral load suppression for timely detection of people living with HIV (PLHIV) eligible for second-line and third-line anti-retroviral (ARV) treatments.
Seeking revision of entire TI budget with special attention to salary enhancement of staff, PE incentives and chief functionaries’ honorarium, besides replacement of old computers and laptops used in TI projects, the network said frequent shortage of ARV drugs in Nagaland has become a major cause of concern, especially as it was related to the very survival of PLHIVs.
It feared that such shortages could lead to virological failure resulting in ARV drug resistance.
The network, therefore, urged Kumar to do away with “middleman” (CMSS) system and ensure there was no shortage of stock in the future.
Network of Nagaland Drugs and AIDS Organisations also demanded immediate implementation of HIV co-infection with HCV prevention and treatment programme supported by global fund across the State.
Mentioning that the Technical Resource Group (TRG) thoroughly deliberated low threshold approach for Oral Substitution Therapy (OST) on March 12, 2018, took cognisance and resolved to introduce a low threshold strategy for take-home dosage of buprenorphine for optimum uptake and OST retention rate, the memorandum demanded that the TRG’s decision should be honoured and the revised take-home policy of buprenorphine be implemented.
Taking into consideration HIV epidemic in the Northeast and to accelerate achieving the 90-90-90 target and the need to strengthen the existing TSU, NNagaDAO also proposed TSU in Nagaland to provide technical expertise to TI and the entire HIV programme in the State.
Alleging that many a times its grievances and concerns were unheard and unattended, the organization also urged the health ministry to setup a grievance redressal system in NACO and NSACSs for key populations and civil societies.
The memorandum was signed by NNagaDAO president Abou Mere.