Members of HIV-positive people’s networks in the country are warning of an impending shortage of the anti-retroviral drugs that keep the virus in check. Any break in consumption of the drugs could lead to the virus gaining higher resistance to them and, thereby, to a resurgence of the AIDS epidemic in the country.

Over the past two years, people living with HIV/AIDS have sounded the alarm on frequent disruptions or delays in disbursing the drugs. “Nearly every State in the country has been affected. Maybe, the States such as Tamil Nadu managed to tide over the crisis by funding the [supply of] drugs during the shortage, but others suffered. The worse is yet to come, however,” P. Kousalya, president, Positive Women Network, says. The community of positive people says that unless emergency steps are taken within two weeks, patients may have to go without the drugs in October.

“The situation is all set to get really critical because buffer stocks are fast running out,” says Loon Gangte of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, South Asia. “Even optimistically, I think we can give it about two weeks before we hit a serious crisis.” A doctor who has worked extensively with people living with HIV/AIDS says the first-line drugs, both in adult and paediatric combinations, are soon going to run out. Technically, she says, this is likely to set the country back by several important advancements. The quality of life of the people who are denied these drugs will drop significantly.

“At the very least, NACO [National AIDS Control Organisation] urgently needs 60 lakh tablets of Tenofovir 300 mg and Lamivudine 300 mg to prevent a stock-out of first-line regimens in ART [antiretroviral therapy] centres across the country in the coming month,” says a statement from positive people network representatives.

“It’s not just HIV medicines, viral load kits have also not been available in Mumbai, Delhi and other centres for months,” says Daxa Patel of the National Coalition of People Living With HIV.