“No local treatment for HIV”

Every day 8,000 people die of AIDS yet the funding gap is $10 billion a year. Across Asia, only one in six people living with the virus are receiving the treatment they need while in India treatment remains at below 10% of requirement.

30-year old Bipasha from Howrah in West Bengal illustrates the pressing need for local healthcare facilities that are equipped to provide treatment:

“Five years after my husband died, my sons and I could barely survive we were so poor. My younger son and I also started falling ill frequently. At the local hospital, a nurse asked Anima and Jyotikona of ActionAid’s Kolkata office to counsel me.

“On their advice, I went to Kolkata Medical College with my sons for blood tests. My younger son and I are HIV+. It was clear that my husband might also have been infected with HIV. The doctors at that hospital arranged free tuberculosis medicines for me and my son. Doctors told us that after consuming TB drugs for a month our CD4 count would be checked.

“Since we are poor, my elder son works in a tea shop. The shop owner gives him food and lodging. Whenever my child saves some money (even Rs 2 to Rs 5) by not having his food, he comes and gives it to me.

“I work as domestic help from time to time. As I stay far away, I am unable to visit Kolkata Medical College on the dates prescribed by the doctor. This is a major problem as no medical help is available for HIV+ people at our local hospital.”

Insufficient health systems, high price of drugs and inadequate funding are some of the barriers to universal access to treatment. Consequently, millions of people are still not getting the information, services or treatment they need to curtail the impact of the virus.

The G8’s commitment to achieve universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment by 2010 will fail unless world leaders take urgent action to help people like Bipasha.