Patients suffering from HIV/AIDS, who are entirely dependent on life-saving drugs, claim that they are not facing any problems in getting their daily supply of essential medicines and monthly check-ups, although the health mechanism in Assam is focused on battling the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Sources in Assam State AIDS Control Society (ASACS) told The Telegraph that a stock of three months of such medicines is available at all the anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centres in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Barpeta, Silchar, Tezpur, Nagaon, Kokrajhar, Diphu, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Mankachar in the state.

“In fact, we have surplus stock of six months’ essential life support medicines for all our HIV/AIDS patients from the region in our regional drug store under the ASACS, Guwahati,” said an official here.

Apart from that, door-to-door delivery of life support system medicines for HIV-positive patients are being provided by the Assam Network of Positive People (ANP+), an NGO registered under the ASACS, Guwahati.

At present, around 180 HIV positive patients in the city are receiving medicines at home.

ASACS, Guwahati is also supplying medicines to the HIV/AIDS patients stranded in the city because of the lockdown and staying either at their friends or relatives households from places like Bengal (five patients), Bihar (11) Mizoram (three) and Nagaland (two).

With the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) turning into one of the prime Covid-19 treatment centres in the city, the health authorities have temporarily shifted the HIV anti-retroviral therapy (ART) centre and the drugs de-addiction centre on the GMCH premises to the NACO (National AIDS Control Society) office at Beltola Survey recently.

“The recourse to relocate the centres was taken to ensure that the HIV patients coming for monthly check-ups and related therapy do not mix with the crowd, which is susceptible to any Covid-19 carriers,” said Jahnabi Goswami, an employee of the Assam State AIDS Control Society.

“As HIV positive patients have immune deficiency and are highly prone to being infected with the deadly virus, that is why the medical authority has opted for the temporary shifting,” Goswami added.

“Given how people are facing hardships in the supply of essential food commodities, I was apprehensive about my regular supply of medicines, which is my only life support. But we have been assured that we will not run out of stock of medicines and we will be also treated with priority although the prime focus is Covid,” an HIV/AIDS and cancer patient told this reporter.