Saikul CSOs demand appointment of required staff for OST centre
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 05 2016: With no service provided to injecting drug users at the Oral Substitution Therapy (OST) located at the premises of the Public Health Centre, Saikul, and the area subsequently, becoming more or less a hot spot for IDUs, certain civil society organisations including Kuki Students Organisation (KSO), Saikul block, SADAR Hills and Kuki Inpi are on the brink of shutting down the centre in the larger interest of the public.

Briefing media persons at Saikul PHC today, Kuki Inpi president Seimang Luphou said the OST centre at Saikul PHC was inaugurated on November 26, 2014, and since then OST services were provided to drug users of Saikul area.

At present, there are 500 drug users who have been enrolled at the OST centre.

However, only 151 of them are registered and are provided OST while the remaining drug users are deprived of the facility inspite of their willingness to abstain themselves from drug abuse and start treatment.

The centre does not have the required staff and is being presently run by a doctor and a nurse of Saikul PHC, Sepmang Luphou said adding that there is no proper infrastructure at the centre.

Since all the enrolled drug users at the OST have been deprived of treatment due to lack of staff, there have been instances where IDUs inject drugs near the centre, he added.

He appealed to the authority concerned including MACS to look into the matter and appoint necessary staff and provide the required infrastructure at the earliest.

Kuki Inpi, KSO and the general public will be compelled to take up various forms of agitation in case the demands are not addressed, he added.

He also pointed out the need to establish more OST centres in Saikul area considering the number of drug users in the area.

Speaking at the occasion, Community Network for empowerment (CoNE) RK Nalinikanta said injecting drug use (IDU) is recognised as an important mode of transmission of HIV in India and elsewhere.

Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) have one of the highest rates of HIV among the High Risk Groups.

HIV also spreads rapidly among the IDUs.

In addition, HIV spreads from the IDUs to their female sexual partners leading to the spread of HIV to the general population.

To address this issue, NACO, under the National AIDS Control Programme � Phase III (NACP III), instituted the Oral/Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST).

OST has been recognised worldwide as an effective treatment for opioid dependence and harm reduction strategy.

As such OST centres were opened in 16 different places across the State where patients are prescribed medicine like Buprenorphine orally under the supervision of trained staff, he said.

Inspite of NACO guideline stating that there should be atleast 5 staff recruited exclusively for the OST centre which includes one medical officer, one nurse, one counsellor, one data manager and an office assistant, the State Government has failed to recruit these staff and also provide necessary infrastructure till date.

As such, there have been serious problems in providing OST services to IDUs and as a result the OST centres have become a hot spot for drug users to indulge themselves in drug abuse.

Kuki Inpi and other CSOs have taken the matter seriously and have decided to close down the Saikul OST centre which is very unfortunate.

"This is a direct result of the negligence of MACS and they should be held responsible for any unwanted incidents whatsoever that may occur.

The authority concerned should look into the matter with utmost importance and recruit the required staff and also provide the necessary infrastructure at the earliest before anything unwanted happens", Nalinikanta stated while appealing to the CSOs concerned not to take up any drastic steps which could totally handicap OST services in Saikul area.

There are, at present, three NGOs implementing OST programme in Imphal.

The OST programme is opened in Singjamei Urban Health Centre, RIMS, JNIMS and some other PHCs and CHCs.

However, the demand for OST services is very low in the valley as compared to the one in Saikul PHC and other hill areas of the State.

Comment