Delay in release of funds may hit Aids control drive

Money meant for April received in Sept; spurt in cases feared

Even as the world observes Aids day on Monday, concerns are being expressed over the work being carried out in the State over the past six months in regard to controlling the disease. Reason: The National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) funds reached the State quite late. 

The funds had to reach the State by April. According to voluntary organisations and officials in the Karnataka Aids Prevention Society (KSAPS), the funds reached the workers only by September. 

This has led to speculations about the possibility of a spurt in cases. Speaking to Deccan Herald on the eve of the World Aids Day on Sunday, Gurukiran, a representative of the South for Aids Momentum Campaign, pointed out that with the delay in release of funds, most of the ground work was affected. 

“Individuals are recruited to pass on messages to communities across the State. Be it peer-to-peer interaction, publicising preventive measures or distribution of condoms to vulnerable sections, it was all hampered to a considerable extent during the period,” he added. 

Earlier, NACO funds used to be placed at the disposal of KSAPS.  However, this time around, the funds were sent to the State’s financial department from where it was sent to KSAPS. Rajesh, a volunteer associated with Sangama, an NGO working for HIV/Aids patients, said that even as the situation was near normal at present, the possibility of increase in number of cases was worrying. “ Salaries of workersdoing the ground level work got delayed, in turn hampering the programme during that period,” he explained. 

‘Getting to zero’ 

Even as the national programme is aiming at “getting to zero” when it comes to this infection, another volunteer with the Aids Momentum Campaign said such glitches would certainly hamper the success rate. 

“Even missing a single dose is harmful when it comes to these patients. To reach out to the vulnerable communities, work has to be on persistently, failing which the desired results will not be seen,” she said. 

Dr H N Ravindra, project director, KSAPS, confirmed that there was a delay in release of funds to the State. 

“In September, Rs 42 crore out of Rs 96 crore that ought to have been released was given to the State. The rest is likely to be distributed to workers anytime soon,” he added. 

Interactive sessions

Interactive sessions were organised in North Karnataka on the eve of World Aids Day on Sunday, which saw the participation of affected individuals, volunteers and officials from KSAPS and U T Khader, Minister for Health and family Welfare.

“We have chosen Vijayapura, Bagalkot and Belagavi as the target areas to spread the message this time as these are high prevalence areas. This will also give them a sense of belonging as most events of this sort are usually organised either in Mysuru or Bengaluru,” Ravindra said.