Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 29 2010:
One-third of HIV exposed infants born to HIV positive parents die within a year of birth mainly due to lack of awareness of the problem, Project Director (Technical) of Manipur State AIDS Control Society Dr Kh Pramodkumar has stated.
Participating in a State Level consultative workshop on 'Early Infant Diagnosis' organised jointly by SASO and CHAHA partner at the conference hall of RD Wing, Lamphelpat here today, Dr Pramodkumar explained that death of one-third of HIV exposed infants within one year of birth and 50 percent of them within two years of birth is mainly due to difficulty in prior detection of HIV infection among these infants and lack of awareness of the medical needs of HIV exposed infants.
Even though the facility of PPTC is made available to the mother and the child just before the birth, detection of whether the child has been infected with HIV or not within the first 18 months of birth is very difficult.
So there is need for paying special attention to such children born of HIV positive parents, Dr Pramodkumar said, adding that so far in Manipur there is also no facility for DNA-PCA which can detect HIV infection among the HIV exposed infants within 18 months of their birth.
However, NACO has introduced a National Essential package for such children and this package has been clubbed together with various other issues related to children like immunisation, nutritional supports, early detection of HIV infection and status, counselling of the parents.
So, there is the need for co-ordination of various departments in the implementation of this package.
General secretary of SASO Y Shashikumar observed that denial of DNA-PCR facility in Manipur amounts to denial of the rights of the children.
The children who are dying before our eyes today are the children of the State.
So collective efforts should be made for ensuring this facility in Manipur at the earliest possible.
Various recommendations have also been adopted at the consultative workshop today.
The recommendations include introducing the facility for Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) at the earliest possible, necessary infrastructure of EID like PCR, framing of a policy incorporating the issues of children, meeting the expenditure on DNA-PCR test by NACO until installation of the DNA-PCR machine in Manipur, etc.
It is said that these recommendations should be forwarded
to NACO.