BALANGIR: HIV infected patients in Balangir are unable to procure medicines from the Ant-Retroviral Treatment Centre (ART) here for the last two months. The official in- charge of the centre, Purna Chandra Sahu, admitted that anti-retroviral medicines ‘Abacavir’ and ‘Lamivudine’ have been out of stock for more than two months. “We have written about it to Odisha State AIDS Control Society (OSACS) which supplies medicines to the ART centres. But, we are yet to get the medicines,” he said.
Apart from people of Balangir, patients from neighbouring districts, including Sonepur and Kalahandi, also depend on the ART centre in Balangir for their medicines. Presently, around 1,316 patients, including 104 children, are registered at the ART centre.
In April, only 947 registered patients could be given the medicines, while in May, 968 patients got their medicines. Children have not been supplied with the medicines for the last two months due to short supply. Talking to media, CDMO Sugyanendra Mishra said he will look into the matter and hold talks with higher authorities so that the medicines can be made available as soon as possible.