HCV still an individual problem in India
Source: Hueiyen News Service /NNN

Imphal, February 10 2013 : Even if the World Health Organization (WHO) had announced the problem of Hepatitis C (HCV) as a global public health problem in 2010, the people are still struggling with the HCV as an individual problem in India.

In connection with HCV, Community Network for Employment (CoNE) organized a consultation program called, "One day consultation on sensitization of media person on HCV" today at Manipur Press Club, here.

The consultation program was attended by Dr.Chinglen Meisnam, Associate professor, Manipur University, Dr..KPriyokumar, retired Nodal Officer, Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, A.Mobi, president, All Manipur Working Journalists' Union, M.Gandhar, secretatary, Community Network for Empowerment (CoNE), RK.

Nolinikanta, president CoNE, L.Deepak, president Manipur Network for Positive People ( MNP+) as Facilitators.

During the consultation program Nolinikanta lamented that WHO has formally announced problems of HCV as a global public health issue in 2010 with estimation of 170 million people chronically infected with the disease globally.

But still the Union Government of India as well as the State Government of Manipur is ignoring the HCV problem and as a result it is found that no accurate measures have been initiated by the Governments so far, thus making it an individual issue, Nolinikanta added.

Sharing some of his personal experiences as a HIV and HCV co-infected patient, L Deepak Singh, President, Manipur Network of Positive People (MNP+), pointed out that the cost of HCV treatment in Manipur is very expensive and it incurs lakhs of rupee.

However, social perception about injected drug users and HCV infected people as well as parents' reluctance to spend huge amount on treatment has made a large population of the state feels a sense of social exclusion.

Moreover, state doesn't have any policy to prevent spreading of HCV by rolling out medicines and providing treatment centers.

Though the ART medicine that used to control spreading of HIV is of a company's patent product, if Central government included in India's essential list of medicines it could be made available at an affordable price and ensure quality of life to lakhs of people, he added. Dr.Priyokumar at the meantime highlighted that out of 3983 injecting type drug users in the State, 22.49% were found with both the HIV and Hepatitis C infected and 20,000 people in the state were detected as HCV infected.

Informing that 20% of HIV and HCV co-infected persons will die because of HCV reaction even if the persons are taking Anti Retroviral Therapy treatment, he also focused on the importance of giving simultaneous treatment for both the diseases to the co-infected persons.

Dr Priyokumar further expressed the guilt for not installing a single machine to detect HCV infection in the state and for ignoring the HCV screening tests in Government hospitals continuing that any MP and MLA of the state has not raised a voice so far.

Dr.Chinglen Meisnam on the other hand said that the policy making of the State Government as not in right perspective telling that the Government focused only on development of physical infrastructures and rejecting the welfare of the people.

He revealed that any harmful reduction process involves political and economic logic and so the tackling of HCV war needs collective intensified approaches from government and public with abundant funding from the government. He even told that discriminations to the disease often increase due to the ignorance of the problem as individual problem by the society.

Deepak who delivered a speech on the, "Success and Challenges" of the people infected by HCV disease asserted that several NGO groups and volunteers who are working in the field has approached the Central government and the State government to put concentration in fighting the disease.

He also produced the patents issue of providing medicines to the people infected with HCV telling that it can be challenged if the Union Government issued a compulsory license to the company.

At the ending part of the function A.Mobi highlighted the importance of collective approach in struggling the issue and the necessity of the co-operation of media persons and the non-governmental organizations to fight the problems of HCV.

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