<p>After two and half years of scrutiny, the union law ministry returned the HIV/AIDS bill to the health ministry in June, 2010 with its stamp of approval. <br /><br />Sources told Deccan Herald that union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was not in favour of introducing the bill in its present form because the bill makes it mandatory for the government to treat the HIV/AIDS patients free of cost.<br /><br />While the government is providing free treatment to AIDS patients with first line drugs, treatment costs are steeper for patients on second and third line drugs. The first-line drugs cost Rs 800-1000 per person per year, which goes up to Rs 8000-Rs 10,000 per person per year.<br /><br />As of March 2011, nearly 4.2 lakh people living with HIV including almost 24,000 children are receiving free anti-retroviral treatment in more than 900 centres. Most of them first-line drugs.<br /><br />There is no Indian estimate on the cost of third line medicines and associated diagnostics, but according to the UNAIDS executive director Michelle Sidbe, third line treatment costs about $ 17,000 (Rs 7.82 lakh) per person per year in Brazil.<br />Though such high costs have made the Health Ministry dither on the HIV/AIDS legislation, sources say it is unclear if the Ministry would consider a legislation to tackle stigma and discrimination exclusively. <br /><br />However, addressing a national convention on HIV/AIDS here on Monday, the Prime Minister said, “No child should be denied admission in schools and colleges because he or she is afflicted with HIV or because his or her parents are afflicted with this disease. We must ensure that no person loses his or her employment because of HIV. We must see that there is no social ostracization.”<br /><br />Singh listed similar challenges that would be addressed in the fourth phase of the national AIDS control programme, beginning next year. “We have a large population of young persons to whom we have to reach out. There are emerging vulnerabilities of migrants and mobile populations which are not yet fully addressed. HIV prevention services have to be scaled up for all those who are at risk,” he said.<br /><br />Azad said the government would pump in more money in NACP-IV as international funding would be less due to the financial crisis.<br /></p>
<p>After two and half years of scrutiny, the union law ministry returned the HIV/AIDS bill to the health ministry in June, 2010 with its stamp of approval. <br /><br />Sources told Deccan Herald that union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was not in favour of introducing the bill in its present form because the bill makes it mandatory for the government to treat the HIV/AIDS patients free of cost.<br /><br />While the government is providing free treatment to AIDS patients with first line drugs, treatment costs are steeper for patients on second and third line drugs. The first-line drugs cost Rs 800-1000 per person per year, which goes up to Rs 8000-Rs 10,000 per person per year.<br /><br />As of March 2011, nearly 4.2 lakh people living with HIV including almost 24,000 children are receiving free anti-retroviral treatment in more than 900 centres. Most of them first-line drugs.<br /><br />There is no Indian estimate on the cost of third line medicines and associated diagnostics, but according to the UNAIDS executive director Michelle Sidbe, third line treatment costs about $ 17,000 (Rs 7.82 lakh) per person per year in Brazil.<br />Though such high costs have made the Health Ministry dither on the HIV/AIDS legislation, sources say it is unclear if the Ministry would consider a legislation to tackle stigma and discrimination exclusively. <br /><br />However, addressing a national convention on HIV/AIDS here on Monday, the Prime Minister said, “No child should be denied admission in schools and colleges because he or she is afflicted with HIV or because his or her parents are afflicted with this disease. We must ensure that no person loses his or her employment because of HIV. We must see that there is no social ostracization.”<br /><br />Singh listed similar challenges that would be addressed in the fourth phase of the national AIDS control programme, beginning next year. “We have a large population of young persons to whom we have to reach out. There are emerging vulnerabilities of migrants and mobile populations which are not yet fully addressed. HIV prevention services have to be scaled up for all those who are at risk,” he said.<br /><br />Azad said the government would pump in more money in NACP-IV as international funding would be less due to the financial crisis.<br /></p>
