NAGPUR: Community care centres (CCCs) meant to serve People Living with HIV (PLHIV) across Maharashtra and Karnataka are facing a huge shortage of funds that has even forced a couple of them to close down. Others may well be on their way.
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) is supposed to fund these centres. In the two states, this is done by routing the money through Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT). Since April though, no money has come from NACO and despite many efforts, officials have not responded to NGOs and social workers associated with the centres. This has put a question mark on the future of 66 centres in both states.
Many organizations running the CCCs have been spending their own money since the last few months and are no longer in a position to continue doing so. The centres provide anti-retroviral therapy to patients with provision for attending to in-patients as well as out-patients along with counselling.
The first centre to provide these services in Pune's Sai Sneha Hospital has closed down. "Ours is not a very big NGO so not much funds are available with us. We pulled on for about four months without NACO funds, but could not do it anymore so we decided to shut it," said Dr Sunil Jagtap from the hospital.
Bhagwan Maske, who looks after the only CCC in Bhandara, is also facing similar difficulties. "We need Rs 1.5 lakh every month. We have not paid our employees for half a year now and they say they want to leave. It would be impossible to run the centres if this situation continues," he said adding he was thinking of closing down the centre.
KHPT officials said they have helped their partner institutions and tried resolving the issue to the best of their ability. "Despite not getting any money from NACO, we have given Rs 50 lakh from to the centres that are in dire need to prevent them from shutting. We don't have enough funds with us for all as each centre needs at least Rs 1 lakh per month," Dr Mrunal Shetye, project director of KHPT in Maharashtra, said. "We are in constant touch with NACO and are trying to resolve the issue at the earliest to prevent more centres from closing down," he added. He did not elaborate on what the issue holding back the funds was.
He said his organization had approached NACO several times. "KHPT was assigned to give funds for the last financial year. When the contract ended, there was no communication from NACO about discontinuing the arrangement, but the contract has not been renewed," informed Datta Patil, executive director of Youth for Unity & Voluntary Action (YUVA), that runs one such centre in the city.
"The money spent on the upkeep of the centres exceeds the funds provided most months. We bridge the gaps ourselves and have never raised the issue, but if no money is to be given at all, it would be difficult for us to run the centres," said Amruta Joshi of Bharatiya Aadim Jati Sevak Sangh.
"The money is donated by trusting people in the Global Fund against AIDS, TB & Malaria (GFATM) with the government being only a facilitator. I do not understand how they can stop the funds abruptly without any communication," said Deepesh Charles who takes care of the PHLIVs at Mure Memorial Hospital's CCC.
The district programme officers of district AIDS prevention and control unit Ganesh Parihar from Nagpur and Sandeep Dhawale from Pune, though aware of the problem, said they were helpless as it was not under their jurisdiction. Efforts to contact NACO headquarters in Delhi were not successful.
As reported in: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/HIV-care-centres-face-closure-as-NACO-stops-funds/articleshow/9547392.cms
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) is supposed to fund these centres. In the two states, this is done by routing the money through Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT). Since April though, no money has come from NACO and despite many efforts, officials have not responded to NGOs and social workers associated with the centres. This has put a question mark on the future of 66 centres in both states.
Many organizations running the CCCs have been spending their own money since the last few months and are no longer in a position to continue doing so. The centres provide anti-retroviral therapy to patients with provision for attending to in-patients as well as out-patients along with counselling.
The first centre to provide these services in Pune's Sai Sneha Hospital has closed down. "Ours is not a very big NGO so not much funds are available with us. We pulled on for about four months without NACO funds, but could not do it anymore so we decided to shut it," said Dr Sunil Jagtap from the hospital.
Bhagwan Maske, who looks after the only CCC in Bhandara, is also facing similar difficulties. "We need Rs 1.5 lakh every month. We have not paid our employees for half a year now and they say they want to leave. It would be impossible to run the centres if this situation continues," he said adding he was thinking of closing down the centre.
KHPT officials said they have helped their partner institutions and tried resolving the issue to the best of their ability. "Despite not getting any money from NACO, we have given Rs 50 lakh from to the centres that are in dire need to prevent them from shutting. We don't have enough funds with us for all as each centre needs at least Rs 1 lakh per month," Dr Mrunal Shetye, project director of KHPT in Maharashtra, said. "We are in constant touch with NACO and are trying to resolve the issue at the earliest to prevent more centres from closing down," he added. He did not elaborate on what the issue holding back the funds was.
He said his organization had approached NACO several times. "KHPT was assigned to give funds for the last financial year. When the contract ended, there was no communication from NACO about discontinuing the arrangement, but the contract has not been renewed," informed Datta Patil, executive director of Youth for Unity & Voluntary Action (YUVA), that runs one such centre in the city.
"The money spent on the upkeep of the centres exceeds the funds provided most months. We bridge the gaps ourselves and have never raised the issue, but if no money is to be given at all, it would be difficult for us to run the centres," said Amruta Joshi of Bharatiya Aadim Jati Sevak Sangh.
"The money is donated by trusting people in the Global Fund against AIDS, TB & Malaria (GFATM) with the government being only a facilitator. I do not understand how they can stop the funds abruptly without any communication," said Deepesh Charles who takes care of the PHLIVs at Mure Memorial Hospital's CCC.
The district programme officers of district AIDS prevention and control unit Ganesh Parihar from Nagpur and Sandeep Dhawale from Pune, though aware of the problem, said they were helpless as it was not under their jurisdiction. Efforts to contact NACO headquarters in Delhi were not successful.
As reported in: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/HIV-care-centres-face-closure-as-NACO-stops-funds/articleshow/9547392.cms