Staff Reporter,
Guwahati, September 12: Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Dispensation Centres at 6 Central Jails across Assam was centrally inaugurated at Central Jail, Guwahati today by Minister for Health & FW, Govt of Assam, Keshab Mahanta. The 6 Central Jails include the Central Jails of Guwahati, Silchar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tezpur and Nagaon. During her welcome speech, Inspector General , Prisons, Assam Barnali Sharma, ACS, thanked the Assam State AIDS Control Society (ASACS) for taking such an initiative for providing ART medicines in jails which will be very helpful for the prison inmates who are infected by HIV. Minister for Health & FW, Govt of Assam Keshab Mahanta while presiding the inauguration ceremony as chief guest said, “Prisons were considered as punishment homes during the British era but now-a-days prisons are temples of reformation where a prison inmate gets an opportunity to get himself reformed. Besides, health facilities, facilities like library for the inmates are already there and now we are going a step further by establishing ART Dispensation Centres and OST services so that prison inmates can avail the treatment in jails itself.” He further appreciated the efforts undertaken by PD ASACS Pomi Baruah and IG Prisons, Barnali Sharma under the guidance of Principal Secretary to Govt of Assam, Health & FW Deptt Avinash Joshi for establishment of ART Dispensation Centres in Central Jails. Project Director, Assam State AIDS Control Society (ASACS), Pomi Baruah, ACS, in her speech said, “Assam is the 5th state in the country to have ART Dispensation Centres in jails and I believe that these centres will be very much beneficial to the prison inmates who are infected with HIV. For various security reasons, it becomes difficult for an HIV-infected prison inmate to avail HIV treatment in ART Centres located in hospitals. Now, with the establishment of ART Dispensation Centres in jails, the prison-inmate can avail ART at door step.” The inaugural function which saw the presence of officials from ASACS and Central Jail, Guwahati concluded with vote of thanks from Superintendent, Guwahati Central Jail, Gobinda Malakar.
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