Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
PRNewswire - December 4, 2006
NEW DELHI, India and LOS ANGELES, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- On World AIDS Day 2006, India's National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) and AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the US' largest HIV/AIDS healthcare and prevention and education provider, which operates free AIDS treatment clinics in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia, (including three clinics in India in New Delhi, Mysore and Koppal) is pleased to announce they will enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) through which AHF-India Cares will be able to expand and scale up its provision medical care and services -- including lifesaving anti-retroviral treatment (ART) -- to people living with HIV/AIDS in India. AHF-India Cares will become the first international non-governmental organization (following the Clinton Foundation) to gain such approval from India to assist the National ART services, provide cares, services, an achievement that followed a rigorous screening process involving numerous Indian government, health and legal bodies.
The signing of the memorandum of understanding between NACO and AHF-India Cares will take place in a ceremony on the 4th December 2006 at 12 noon at National AIDS Control Organization, Office, 9th Floor, Chandralok Building, Janpath, New Delhi, India.
"Dr.Anbumani Ramadoss, the Honorable Medical Minister, Government of India, has approved the signing of this memorandum of understanding between the Government of India National AIDS Control Organization and AIDS Healthcare Foundation-India Cares," said Dr. Chinkholal Thangsing, Asia/Pacific Bureau Chief for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which operates AHF-India Cares. "Through this new official collaboration, we will now be able to scale up the delivery care and treatment for many, many more people living with HIV/AIDS in India, and we thank the Minister and all of the agencies involved in reviewing and approving this landmark partnership. We are also honored to share the first news of this achievement with India and the world as we commemorate World AIDS Day."
"According to a recent UNAIDS report, India now has the highest number of HIV-positive people worldwide -- nearly 5.7 million -- living with the disease," said Michael Weinstein, AIDS Healthcare Foundation's President. "However, with a population of over 1.1 billion, India's HIV prevalence is still considered relatively low. This new partnership between NACO and AHF- India Cares should help break the chain of new infections in India by helping organizations such as AHF and India Cares usher more HIV positive individuals and those already living with AIDS into care and treatment. We sincerely thank all who were involved in drafting and securing the approval of this exciting new partnership."
"The approval of this new partnership by the Medical Minister of the Indian Government is a major milestone for both organizations involved as well as serving as a beacon of hope for many people living with HIV/AIDS in India," said Henry E. Chang, AHF Chief of Global Affairs. "We look forward to formalizing this partnership via the signing of the MOU, and are eager to implement the proposed activities as soon as possible."
"AHF-India Cares will be actually the first NGO -- and the first international NGO -- to sign an official MOU to assist NACO in the NACO's ART roll out or treatment scale up program in India," added AHF's Dr. Thangsing " This new agreement between NACO and AHF-India Cares is quite specific -- and the first such MOU to govern and foster the scale up of the delivery of HIV/AIDS medical care and treatment in selected States of India."
In October, AHF-India Cares opened a Center of Excellence, a new AHF-India Cares Clinic in Delhi which provides testing, psycho-social support services and life-saving anti-retroviral treatment (ART) services including pediatric treatment. The facility provides comprehensive care and treatment and holistic services, and serves as a one-stop shop for people living with HIVAIDS (PLHAs) in Delhi. The goal of the center is to provide ART services to 2,000 clients over a period five years, and this new AHF-India Cares facility in Delhi expects to be providing such life saving services to over 150 PLHAs by the end of 2006. Drawing on AHF-India Cares's extensive experience in providing cutting-edge ART and medical care at its clinics in Mysore and Koppal, the Center of Excellence in Delhi will be a point of service for ART delivery and monitoring by a qualified physicians and trained healthcare providers.
The rigorous review process leading up to the agreement for this MOU included a thorough examination of the proposed NACO/AHF-India Cares collaboration by the Indian Embassy in the Netherlands (where the secretariat of AHF's Global program is located), clearance by the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Socio-Economic Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Administration Department of NACO, the HIVAIDS Lawyers team, the legal cell at NACO, as well as numerous visit to NACO, and meetings with various government officials, politicians, Ministry of Law, the Office of the Secretary of Health, and finally the Office of the Minister of Health.
SOURCE AIDS Healthcare Foundation
061204
PR061215
Copyright © 2006 - PRNewswire. All rights reserved. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through PRNewswire, Permissions, 810 Seventh Ave., 32nd Floor, New York, NY 10019 http://www.prnewswire.com.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Pacific Life Foundation and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2006. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2006. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .