HIV medicines will now be distributed at One Rupee Clinic at various Central Railway stations in the city. A proposal made by Mumbai District Aids Control Society (MDACS) to National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) to distribute HIV medicines at these clinics has been passed.

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MDACS trained the One Rupee Clinic staff to distribute the medicines in a systematic way without confusing it to distribute among general public. HIV positive patients will be able to buy medicines from any of the 20 pharmacies attached with various One Rupee Clinics in the city.

To distribute them in a systematic way, a biometrics machine will be installed to register the patients who take the medicines from the clinics at railway stations. “These patients need medicine every month. The biometric machine will help to distribute the medicines to concern patients and not oversell the medicines either to them as well as general public.”

“It will help to distribute the medicines in an organised format. Training to the staff members has been given by MDACS members on Saturday. We might start distributing the medicines within few days,” said Dr Rahul Ghule, founder of One Rupee Clinic.

The clinic will be given a list of patients to whom the medicines are to be distributed. The pharmacies joined with the clinic will act like health centres for patients to buy their medicines rather than traveling to civic-body health centers.

Earlier in the month of December, MDACS collaborated with One Rupee Clinic to start HIV testing initiative at the railway station. At Mankhurd railway station where the clinic started HIV testing, more than 20 patients were tested for HIV of which all were tested negative.

By Anagha Sawant, DNA