NGO spits fire at Goa State Aids Control Society

NGO spits fire at Goa State Aids Control Society
By Preetu Nair

PANJIM: An NGO, working with people living with HIV/AIDS, has alleged that people living with HIV/ AIDS are feeling discriminated, as very little budget is provided to the drop-in-coping centres (DIC) for people living with HIV/AIDS, even as the money is being wasted in printing “unnecessary” materials.

Demanding the removal of the present Project Director and two Deputy Directors of Goa State AIDS Control Society (GSACS), accusing them of corruption, the NGO -- Positive Lives Foundation (PLF- Goa) — in a press conference stated that they would submit their charter of demands to the government soon. “If the government fails to take action within a month, then we would sit on an indefinite hunger strike,” threatened Jaffer Inamdar, Program Manager, PLF.

Incidentally, things went sour between GSACS and PLF, when PLF was allotted only Rs 5 lakh for the year 2007-08, to run their DIC, a centre where people living with HIV/AIDS gets together. A fact not denied by Inamdar. “We need to receive more funds to help people living with HIV/AIDS, who have greater needs. They need to have access to medicines, nutritional food, educational material to understand HIV/AIDS better, economic and moral support as they are fighting a life threatening illness,” said Inamdar.

Besides, they have demanded that the state government should make allocation of funds for a new CD4 count machine at South Goa, issue a discount "Traveling Identity Cards" to all individual without disclosing their identities, ensure free of cost medicines for management of opportunistic infections (OI) to avail at all talukas and ensure women's empowerment program and nutritional and supplement for HIV positive women and children.

Squarely blaming GSACS for its lack of commitment towards people living with HIV/AIDS, Inamdar alleged that there is only Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) centre at Goa Medical College which doesn’t have adequate sitting arrangement or drinking water facility. “Doctors in the OPD’s at GMC are rude with a positive person and don’t treat them properly,” added Inamdar.

FUNDS allocated as per NACO norms:Dr Kaur

Speaking to GT, an apparently shocked Dr Dilraj Kaur, Director, GSACS refuted all charges made by PLF. She stated, “We are doing whatever is possible for people living with HIV/AIDS. We have to spend money as per National AIDS Control Organization’s (NACO) guidelines. Funds to be allocated component wise, either to NGOs or to DIC, are first allocated by NACO and re-appropriation between components is not permissible as per NACO guidelines”.

She stated that whatever funds have been allocated have been strictly in adherence to the guidelines and instructions issued by NACO. “At the highest level, the policy makers have allocated more funds for prevention of new HIV infections and spread of awareness (that is through IEC related activities). The allocation of funds for care, support and treatment are calculated based on the number of people infected with HIV and living with AIDS and accordingly the figures are disbursed to GSACS for further allocation of funds to the DIC. It is understandable that since the number of people not infected with HIV is much more than those infected, it is logical that the prevention effort and funds put in to ensure that new infections are prevented, would definitely be much more.”

Making it clear that she understands the problems of people living with HIV/AIDS, Dr Kaur said that she was the only Project Director to visit the DIC programme run by PLF and interact with HIV positive persons. “We have always taken up the issue of HIV positive persons and worked to find a solution to their woes,” added Dr Kaur.
Sources at GSACS reveal that as per the annual action plan approved by NACO for the year 2007-08, Goa would get Rs 569.91 lakhs. Of this, Rs 315.09 lakhs would be spent to prevent new infection and only Rs 10.66 lakhs would be spend on care, support and treatment. NACO has allotted Rs 10.66 lakhs to run the DIC, which is a sub-component of care, support and treatment.

“With two NGO’s running DIC in Goa , the money is equally divided between them. The above figure is a ceiling beyond which expenditure shouldn’t be incurred on any activity,” revealed a source at GSACS. Further, there is no allocation of fund for more ART centres or purchase of CD4 or CD8 machines.

Sources further reveal that the Project Director has already taken up the matter of CD 4 count machine with the Health Minister and a file has already been put up for procurement of machine from the state government funds.

(This article appeared in Gomantak Times,Panaji edition, Saturday, November 17,2007)