New HIV care centre

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New care centre for HIV

 

To give better access to care and life-saving treatment for people with HIV/Aids, a new centre is to be set up in Bangkok at a cost of Bt2.7 billion.

 

The centre is expected to be located at the Public Health Ministry's Bumrasnaradura Institute in Nonthaburi.

 

It is expected the centre will become a focal point for a growing number of HIV/Aids patients in the next four years, said Dr Sa-nguan Nitayarumphong, secretary-general of the National Health Security Office (NHSO).

 

The number of patients needing life-saving treatment is expected to double by 2010, he said, adding about 120,000 patients were receiving anti-retroviral drugs this year.

 

Of those, about 50,000 were receiving the anti-retroviral drug under a project entitled NAPHA in which the treatment of opportunistic diseases is not covered, Sa-gnuan said.