An Open Appeal to Dr. Manmohan Singh, Honourable Prime Minister of
India For Rollout of Second-Line Anti Retroviral Treatment in India

Dr. Manmohan Singh
The Honorable Prime Minister of India
South Block, Raisina Hill
New Delhi, India

Honorable Prime Minister,

This is an open appeal to your good office to address the urgent
need
to rollout second-line anti-retroviral drugs in India. We, the
undersigned members of civil society groups take this opportunity to
bring to your kind attention the crisis faced by people living with
HIVAIDS (PLHA) and request you for a time bound action to save
valuable lives.

We laud your landmark decision to take on the responsibility to
Chair
the National AIDS Council (NAC) in 2006; the highest authority to
address HIVAIDS in our country. The NAC promotes various ministries
to take cognizance of the epidemic and increase their
responsibilities in HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. The
National AIDS Council gave new hope to millions of people living
with
HIVAIDS in India.

Today's `Independent India' is a strong global leader, which is
built
on the foundations of more than one billion people's faith in
democracy that constitute its core strength. We request your
leadership to safeguard the interest and protect the constitutional
right to life of the people living with HIVAIDS.

National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has provided free first-
line anti-retroviral drugs in a number of sites to people who are in
need and who otherwise could not have accessed anti-retroviral
medicines. However, there is an urgent need for expanded treatment
services including second-line anti-retroviral drugs and a vibrant
public health action plan.

NACP III envisages increased services to reach a larger number of
people, especially from rural areas in an uninterrupted and
efficient
manner. Today, nationally, 280,000 people living with HIVAIDS
are `registered' at government ART centers, of whom 105,000 persons
are on first-line ART . The first-line treatment has saved and
extended quality of life to many people living with HIVAIDS.
However,
there is an increasing number of people who have already developed
resistance to these drugs. As a result, an alarming number of people
have begun to succumb to the disease due to non-availability of
second-line ART treatment in the government program.

India is a signatory to United Nations goal of Universal Access to
Treatment for all by 2010. The need of the hour is a strong
political
will to address treatment, care and support for HIVAIDS.

We appeal to you for your immediate intervention and come to the
rescue of thousands of HIVAIDS infected children, women and men who
are facing imminent death due to unavailability of the life saving
second-line drugs.

The people of India cry out for your help.

Sincerely yours -

CATA

Coalition for AIDS Treatment Access..... more than 30 has
signed on already including World Vision, Amnesty Intl., IMP

Chinkholal Thangsing
e-mail: <Chinkholal.Thangsing@aidshealth.org>
Snehansu Bhaduri
e-mail: snehansu.bhaduri@gmail.com