While online fundraising came to his rescue then he now takes generic medicines prescribed to him by the doctors at Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in Delhi. He has also been living with HIV for years now.
Paul Lhungdim (44) has been an HIV activist for years and works with the Delhi Network for Positive People (DNP+) as their project coordinator. Even though the field of advocacy is not new for him, testing positive for Hepatitis C last year and grappling with the high cost of drugs shook him up.
"When I tested positive for Hepatitis C in 2015 there were no generic medicines available in the market. The only option was procurring the pills from abroad," he said. Paul was prescribed a treatment for 6 months and the cost of the pills he was asked to take ran into thousands of dollars.
While online fundraising came to his rescue then he now takes generic medicines prescribed to him by the doctors at Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in Delhi. He has also been living with HIV for years now.
Among HIV positive patients co-infection with Hepatitis B is fairly common, making this section especially vulnerable. While the government ART centres provide drugs for HIV/AIDS for free, there is little help those with Hepatitis get.
Even with the generic medicines treatment can cost up to Rs50,000 per month, an amount that puts it out of the reach of most patients. But the medicines are not the only expense a patient incurs. "There are several routine tests that need to be done and they cost thousands of rupees. Most Indians can't afford such high costs," Lhungdim added. He believes that the government needs to step in and bring down the cost of the life saving drugs.
About Hepatitis C
Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus
Infection could range from mild illness to serious lifelong condition
Most common modes of infection are through unsafe injection practices & blood transfusion
Significant number of those who are chronically infected will develop liver cirrhosis or liver cancer
Approximately 7,00,000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver diseases 1
There is currently no vaccine for hepatitis C
Source: WHO
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