HIV Bill: Panel will be apprised on demands, says TN

Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan today said a Parliamentary Standing Committee will be apprised on stakeholders' demands which they want to be incorporated in the HIV Bill now pending in Rajya Sabha.
"Stakeholders have certain demands including the need for an ombudsman. This provisions is already there in the draft Bill. However, we will certainly apprise the Centre of their demands," Radhakrishnan told reporters.
He also refuted claims that there was a shortage of Antiretroviral Therapy Drugs (ART) in Tamil Nadu.
A representative of the 'HIV Positive Network', Daisy told reporters that they sought three important features to be part of the HIV Bill.

"Statutory protection to targeted vulnerable populations, access to medicine as a right and an ombudsman to address the grievances of affected persons are very important. These should find a place in the Bill and we want it to be passed," she said.
She claimed that a provision related to creation of the office of ombudsman was not now under consideration and wanted it to be done.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on February 11, 2014 by the then Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The Bill, among other things, seeks to prevent and control the spread of HIV and AIDS, prohibits discrimination, places obligations safeguarding the rights of affected persons, and creates mechanisms for redressing their complaints.
Earlier, while participating in a consultative meeting on accessing ART drugs, Radhakrishnan said "the Tamil Nadu government has been targeting to ensure zero new HIV infections, zero new deaths and zero stigma."
The recommendations made in the meet will be brought to the notice of a Parliamentary Standing Committee that dealt with the pending HIV Bill, he added.
Dr Suniti Solomon, who was the first to detect India's first HIV cases in Tamil Nadu, said it was important to take first line drugs everyday without fail.

"Otherwise, resistance comes up forcing use of second line therapy which is costly," she said.
"Tamil Nadu has been managing availability of ART better. We commend the doctors who have achieved this. At the same time, we also urge the government to take better measures to ensure that the situation improves," Advocacy Director, 'World Vision India', Reni Jacob said.