‘Do not sideline PLHIVs, TB patients and drug users’

Our Correspondent
Kohima, June 14 (EMN): The Covid-19 pandemic situation is causing apprehension among tuberculosis patients, people living with HIV and Aids (PLHIV), drug users as well as the NGOs working with them in Nagaland.

Addressing a press conference in Kohima on Sunday, Ketho Angami, president of ARK Foundation, informed that due to Covid-19, many of the programmes being implemented by various agencies, particularly Nagaland State Aids Control Society (NSACS), could not continue.

“We have seen that there have been many challenges the various NGOs are facing as the services catering to the needs of the beneficiaries like HIV/Aids and TB patients and drug users have been hampered as a result of Covid-19,” Angami said.

“While giving our attention towards Covid-19, we should not totally neglect HIV, TB or drug user level programmes in our state,” he said.

Lanu Aier, the president of Network of Naga People Living with HIV/Aids (NNP+), informed that the ART plus centre in Dimapur has been badly affected by the Covid-19 issue as doctors and nurses are assigned to Covid-19 duty in roster system.

He stated that there were more than a thousand missed cases and loss to follow-up (LFU) cases where clients are unable to avail medical needs due to non-availability of medical personnel.

He shared that the doctors in private hospitals are not entertaining HIV patients adding woes to their problems.

Abu Mere, the president of NNagaDao, stated that they have written a letter to both the department of Health and Family Welfare and NSACS, seeking attention to the plight of patients, to consider not allotting all the available medical personnel from ART centre to Covid-19 duty at a time.

“If the two doctors and two nurses are deputed for Covid-19 assignments at once, then we don’t have any one to look after the patients at ART centre,” he said.

Mere also said that the absence of such doctors and nurses adds more problem to the patients as these are the only medical personnel who know their case histories.

Aier had also written a letter to the commissioner and secretary, Health and Family Welfare and NSACS on June 3, seeking exemption for medical officer and nurse of ART plus centre Dimapur, from Covid-19 duty.

However, their concerns have not been addressed till date.

About 29 PLHIV were registered during the month of May; 11,011 of PLHIV registered in HIV care at the end of May, while 1006 PLHIV whose status is “FLU”, excluding those declared permanent FLU, were registered till the end of May.

Mere apprised that many have shared their grievances caused by Covid-19 and that many of the affected groups have shared that they did not have even face masks or hand sanitisers to protect themselves.

While stating that Covid-19 is going to stay for a long time like HIV/Aids, Mere sought the government’s attention to the need to create awareness among the vulnerable groups.

He stated that ‘it is high time the government should look beyond the issue of Covid-19 to create awareness as most of the staff, partner NGOs and key population are confused how to cope with the Covid-19 crisis concerning their needs’.

Mere, who is also the founder of Kripa Foundation, Nagaland, informed that a virtual programme would be conducted on International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26.

He informed that the Social Welfare department has now become proactive and trying its best to meet the challenges to roll out their programmes and help the key population like drug users and alcoholics.

Meanwhile, Angami expressed concern over a press statement about TB hospital in Khuzama being converted into a Covid-19 isolation ward.

He said that the hospital in Khuzama has stopped admitting TB patients, and wondered if the government had a backup plan.

Considering that there is only one TB hospital each in Mokokchung and Kohima, he said “TB is not going to go away; because of Covid-19, TB or HIV should not be neglected.”

Referring to the TB hospital at Khuzama, he said the hospital had been catering to the needs of TB patients not only from Kohima alone, but also from districts like Dimapur, Phek, Peren, Wokha, Kiphire.

Angami said that ‘TB is more serious because someone who is having TB is more susceptible to HIV and vice versa’.