CHENNAI: Over 50 staff of integrated counselling and testing centres staged a protest at the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society campus on Thursday against the alleged decision of the National AIDS Control Organisation under the Union Health Ministry to close down 186 Stand Alone Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (SA-ICTC) across the state. However, officials from Tamil Nadu AIDS Control Society (TANSACS) denied any move to close down the centres.
P Jagajothi, state vice president, of Tamil Nadu AIDS Control All Employees Welfare Association said, “In Tamil Nadu, National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has decided to close down 186 testing centres as the prevalence of HIV has come down and due to budget issue. The state should not allow this to happen,” she said.
She also said ICTC staff attached to Primary Health Centres (PHC) have not been receiving a salary for several months. “Also around 800 ICTC staff are yet to get a 10 % pay hike,” she said. M Cheralathan, state general secretary of Tamil Nadu AIDS Control All Employees Welfare Association said the decision to privatise Antiretroviral Therapy centres also should be dropped.
However, an official at the TANSACS said that there is no proposal from NACO to close down SA-ICTCs. “There are 377 SA ICTCs in Tamil Nadu of which NACO proposed to convert 82 as screening sites, where basic screening for HIV is done. It also instructed to monitor the functioning of 104 SA ICTCs and, depending on the performance, a decision which will be taken later,” he said.
The official also assured that Tamil Nadu is not going to convert any SA ICTC to screening sites. “They will continue as SA ICTC. There is no salary pending. 10% pay hike will be discussed and decided in the coming executive committee meeting,” he added. The officials also denied the allegations pertaining to the privatisation of ART centres.