Amid protest, Dimapur gets HIV drugs supply

PLHIV community in Dimapur demands solution to mess ‘once and for all’

Our Correspondent
Kohima, Oct. 30 (EMN): The PLHIV community from Dimapur came together to register strong resentment at the authorities’ repeated failure to supply essential drugs and put their life at risk.

Around 70 members of the PLHIV community from Dimapur staged a protest outside the ART centre, Dimapur demanding revamp in the supply of their ARV medications. The PLHIV community demanded sorting out of the “mess”, once and for all.

Sources from ART centre Dimapur told Eastern Mirror that in spite of the drugs in question being redirected from Kohima, the PLHIV community of Dimapur was not satisfied with the 10 bottles they receive currently.

The continuous running out of stock of essential drugs prompted them the stage the protest, it was informed.

Even as the PLHIV community was staging the protest, it was informed that no representatives from the ‘AIDS programme of Dimapur and NSACS’ met with the agitators or provide any interventions.

Meanwhile, Ketholelie Angami from Access to Right and Knowledge (ARK) Foundation said: “Such repeated stock outs put PLHIV on ARVs at risk of developing drug resistant. And even if they resume taking their drug after it is replenished, it doesn’t make any sense, since they will be taking a drug that will not work anymore in helping to suppress their viral load. It is like issuing a death certificate to them in advance”.

Angami urged on the need for the AIDS council to intervene not only in terms of ARVs drugs but also on the issue of improper CD4 machine and the lack of a viral load machine in the state.

Unless these systems are corrected, he maintained, the prevention and control of HIV in the state can never happen and will be a mockery to the 90-90-90 target of UNAIDS which says that by 2020, 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status; 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy; and 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.

Dr. Vezokholu Theyo from NSACS confirmed that the consignment from Guwahati has reached Kohima, and despatched to Dimapur at the time of filing this report. When asked, she said the drugs should be sufficient to last for three months.