A follow up case study of the posting
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AID S-INDIA/message/7801
(Is there any body to save my friend's life by 2nd line and further)

Dear Friends,
Well Come to 2008!
Another year of the "Traditional Government Direct Treatment Denial"
of the Citizen Living with HIV in India.
2008 is the year of "Celebration" for the "Community Treatment
Advocates", who compelled our Government to support with free 2nd line
ART to 3000 "Lucky Draw HIV Winners" from Mumbai and Chennai through
out India!
2008 is the year, when Indian Railways is going to announce 75%
concession for People Living with HIV, for the purpose of their travel
for treatment !
And 2008 is that year, when you have the on hand opportunity to
Observe, Enjoy, Document and finally to Blame, An Indian Citizen
living with HIV going to be an AIDS Patient without 2nd line ART due
to Government and NGO Treatment Denial !
(For detail Please go through my previous Posting
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AID S-INDIA/message/7801 ).

My friend Mr.Shyamal Mitra is still breathing, but don't know how long
he will be able to survive without required 2nd line ART ! His
treatment is going on under School of Tropical Medicines, Kolkata.
And very surprisingly, even in this stage he is Praying for the
Healthy Lives of the Lucky People like me getting 2nd line ART from
the organisation like AIDS Health care Foundation India etc , also
praying for Dr. Jack Preger of Calcutta Rescue who is providing 2nd
line ART to many , but withdrawn for Mr. Mitra, like Dr. Preger did
with me (and may be with many more) and praying for all of his past
and present HIV Positive Network Treatment Advocate friends !
Let us support and congratulate Dr. Jack Preger as well as Indian
Government for Direct Treatment Denial towards "AIDS Death Penalty" to
sinner HIV Positive like my friend to save "International Humanity" !
Thanking you,
In solidarity,
Snehansu Bhaduri.Kolkata.
snehansu.bhaduri@gmail.com
Ph: 033-26521519

Re:Ray of hope for 5,000 HIV+ people
      22 Nov 2007, 0023 hrs IST, Kounteya Sinha,TNN

Dear Friends,
Thanks a lot to Government of India for their ever-greatest upcoming
World AIDS Day's commitment towards protection of ongoing most
neglected treatment issue as a citizen living with HIV in 2nd line
ART for last two years.

Although, "Ray of hope" very confusingly sound any real hope to me
according to the statement by our Union Health Secretary Mr. Naresh
Dayal, "Only those patients, who have been on first-line drugs in
NACO's ART centers and have become resistant, will be eligible for
second-line."

As I never got any sort of 1st line or 2nd line free ART support
from our Government till now, may be for the reason that when I
started my 1st line ART in 2000, there was no provision for free ART
in Government hospitals, again when I started 2nd line ART, then our
Government just started free 1st line ART support.

Although from the very beginning I am under the treatment of Government
Hospital, which is currently one Government ART Center, but I am currently
getting my 2nd line ARD from AIDS Healthcare Foundation India, without any life
long support security.

There are many more friends of mine on 2nd line ART in same position like me.

May I ask our Honorable Union Health Minister of India Dr. Ramadoss
about upcoming Government commitment for social security of the
citizens like me?

(Although I experienced many times earlier that Ministers/Government Officials
least bother to give any answer to others or me and may not give any answer to
this!)

For 2nd line ART roll out from coming January'08 in a controlled manner will our Government be equipped with Viral Load and Drug Resistant Test facilities ?

What about critical side effect management ?

How the frequent interruption in supply of 2nd line ART (Which we are experiencing time to time in various ART Centers in case of 1st line ART) will be addressed by keeping us in dark in terms of Drug Procurement ?

Will our generic drug manufacturing companies be ready to negotiate their profit as Corporate Social Responsibilities with the Government ?

Will this be really beneficial for us to reject the proposal of UNITAID ?

I am really very afraid, because still now Rajasthan Network for
People Living With HIV/AIDS (RNP+) has not been withdrawn their
Hunger Strike on upcoming World AIDS Day!

Last NACO newsletter tried to justify their current surprising
sentinel surveillance report as hands on support of successful AIDS
CONTROL in India, but the staffs of ICTC Centers are whispering and
overloading day by day with up going numbers of detection!

In  solidarity,

Snehansu Bhaduri.

MPNP+

Snehansu.bhaduri@gmail.com

Snehansu_bhaduri@email.com

Ray of hope for 5,000 HIV+ people
22 Nov 2007, 0023 hrs IST, Kounteya Sinha,TNN

NEW DELHI: Nearly 5,000 HIV positive patients in India, who were
facing imminent death because they had become resistant to the first-
line Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) - the only known treatment that
suppresses the HIV virus - have good news coming their way. For,
India has finally decided to roll out the second-line ART from
January 2008.

The announcement will be made by health minister A Ramadoss on World
Aids Day on December 1.

TOI has learnt that two centres - Mumbai's J J Hospital and Chennai's
Tambaram ART centre - will roll out the treatment from January.
Maulana Azad Medical College (Delhi), PGI (Chandigarh) and ART
centres in Kolkata, Manipur and Nagaland will introduce it by April
2008. Nearly 3,000 patients, who have become resistant to first-line
therapy, will be put on second-line by December 2008.

Ten doctors from these centres are being sent to Thailand to study
operational issues relating to second-line therapy in mid-December..

At present, the National Aids Control Programme only provides free
first-line drugs to over 1.05 lakh HIV patients in its 127 ART
centres. Naco estimates that at least 3% of these patients have
become resistant to first-line drugs, thanks to poor adherence to the
treatment regimen. If not put on second-line immediately, most of
these patients would die within a few years. Health secretary Naresh
Dayal said: "We had planned to introduce second-line treatment only
after one lakh HIV patients were put on first-line drugs. Now that we
have crossed that mark, second-line will be introduced in January in
a controlled manner. Only those patients, who have been on first-line
drugs in Naco's ART centres and have become resistant, will be
eligible for second-line. "

Dayal said UNITAID, an international drug purchasing facility, has
offered to donate the drugs to India for the first two years. Naco
will then tie up with India's generic drug makers to provide them. A
health ministry official said: "Ramadoss is yet to decide whether we
will accept UNITAID's donation or tie up with pharma companies from
the start itself." Under first-line therapy, patients had to consume
two tablets a day. When on second-line, the number will increase to
almost 10 with more side-effects.

kounteya.sinha@

An Open Appeal to Dr. Manmohan Singh, Honourable Prime Minister of
India For Rollout of Second-Line Anti Retroviral Treatment in India

Dr. Manmohan Singh
The Honorable Prime Minister of India
South Block, Raisina Hill
New Delhi, India

Honorable Prime Minister,

This is an open appeal to your good office to address the urgent
need
to rollout second-line anti-retroviral drugs in India. We, the
undersigned members of civil society groups take this opportunity to
bring to your kind attention the crisis faced by people living with
HIVAIDS (PLHA) and request you for a time bound action to save
valuable lives.

We laud your landmark decision to take on the responsibility to
Chair
the National AIDS Council (NAC) in 2006; the highest authority to
address HIVAIDS in our country. The NAC promotes various ministries
to take cognizance of the epidemic and increase their
responsibilities in HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. The
National AIDS Council gave new hope to millions of people living
with
HIVAIDS in India.

Today's `Independent India' is a strong global leader, which is
built
on the foundations of more than one billion people's faith in
democracy that constitute its core strength. We request your
leadership to safeguard the interest and protect the constitutional
right to life of the people living with HIVAIDS.

National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has provided free first-
line anti-retroviral drugs in a number of sites to people who are in
need and who otherwise could not have accessed anti-retroviral
medicines. However, there is an urgent need for expanded treatment
services including second-line anti-retroviral drugs and a vibrant
public health action plan.

NACP III envisages increased services to reach a larger number of
people, especially from rural areas in an uninterrupted and
efficient
manner. Today, nationally, 280,000 people living with HIVAIDS
are `registered' at government ART centers, of whom 105,000 persons
are on first-line ART . The first-line treatment has saved and
extended quality of life to many people living with HIVAIDS.
However,
there is an increasing number of people who have already developed
resistance to these drugs. As a result, an alarming number of people
have begun to succumb to the disease due to non-availability of
second-line ART treatment in the government program.

India is a signatory to United Nations goal of Universal Access to
Treatment for all by 2010. The need of the hour is a strong
political
will to address treatment, care and support for HIVAIDS.

We appeal to you for your immediate intervention and come to the
rescue of thousands of HIVAIDS infected children, women and men who
are facing imminent death due to unavailability of the life saving
second-line drugs.

The people of India cry out for your help.

Sincerely yours -

CATA

Coalition for AIDS Treatment Access..... more than 30 has
signed on already including World Vision, Amnesty Intl., IMP

Chinkholal Thangsing
e-mail: <Chinkholal.Thangsing@aidshealth.org>
Snehansu Bhaduri
e-mail: snehansu.bhaduri@gmail.com