Dimapur, November 22 (MExN): NNagaDAO – the apex body of NGOs and CBOs working in the field of Drug, HIV and AIDS – has expressed grave concern over the functioning of NSACS in dealing with Prevention and Treatment programs.
Accusing the NSACS officials of being complacent, the NNagaDAO in a press release insisted that many Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV) and who are on ART had to undergo mental trauma as they were forced to organize a peaceful protest outside ART Centre, District Hospital Dimapur to attract NSACS and State Government attention.
Owing to the “complacent attitude” of the NSACS officials, “our treatment facilities are not very reliable (WHO recommend viral load) and to top that the only option CD4 count machine is not functioning,” it stated.
“It is very unfortunate that People Living with HIV (PLHIV) had to staged a peaceful protest outside of the antiretroviral therapy (ART) Centre, District Hospital Dimapur on November 20 last, to express their resentment of the frequent breakdown of CD4 machine,” the NNagaDAO stated.
It cited the World Health Organization (WHO)’s HIV treatment guidelines which recommend that people living with HIV on antiretroviral drug regimens receive a viral load test once a year to ensure their treatment is working, and to identify those who are either failing treatment, and must be switched to a different regimen. “However till date Nagaland does not have viral load machine to provide quality monitoring and treatment for PLHIV,” it maintained.
Pointing out that Nagaland was declared to have the highest HIV prevalence rate amongst adults in the country, the NNagaDAO insisted that the viral load machine is an ‘essential need’.
“NSACS should know that in the absence of the Viral load test machine in Nagaland, CD4 count is indispensable to understand the disease progression and immune system to provide quality treatment,” the NNagaDAO maintained.
The NNagaDAO in this regard extended its support to PLHIVs and also requested the Nagaland State Government to intervene and address the concern of the PLHIVs.
