Aids control staff on Covid duty seek insurance cover

VISAKHAPATNAM: Contract employees working for AP State AIDS Control Society (APSACS) have demanded that the government extend them the insurance coverage benefits given to other Covid-19 frontline workers. Many of them have been roped in for Covid-19 duties, including conducting tests and providing psychosocial support to patients.

President of AP State AIDS Control Employees’ Union, Venu Sudarthi explained to TOI that contract employees hired by the AIDS Control Society are engaged only in work related to the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP). “They should be concentrating on NACP. But hospital authorities have posted AIDS control employees for Covid-19 duties. But while on the one hand, regular staff are receiving handsome wages, on the other hand the AIDS control employees are not getting any incentive for it, let aside insurance coverage,” he said.

Meanwhile, with AIDS control workers being deployed for Covid-19 duties, HIV testing services, including counseling, have almost stopped in Andhra Pradesh. “The burden of work has increased on the remaining staff as centre-wise performance is monitored regularly. It is shocking, but true that district officers and SACS officials are unaware that how many employees are on Covid-19 duties. Moreover, the additional district medical and health officers (A&L) have failed to explain to the district authorities the importance of their job and our programme that is why anti-retroviral therapy (ART) staff are still being deployed for coronavirus duties,” Venu Sudarthi claimed.

APSACS employees such as lab technicians, counselors and data managers from Integrated Counseling and Testing Centres (ICTCS) and ART centres have been deputed for Covid-19 duties. But now targeted HIV tests at ICTCs in both non-ANC (antennal) and ANC categories have been suspended for the last few months, said a few of the employees, who did not wish to be named.

Speaking on their demand for insurance coverage, Venu Sudarthi said, “We have pleaded with the special secretary and director-general of National AIDS Control Organisation and special secretary (health) of the AP Government for the insurance coverage extended by the Union government, but it has been in vain.” Speaking to TOI about the issue, Dr Vasantha Kumari, additional project director, APSACS, said the entire medical fraternity is currently at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic and hence the contract employees of APSACS were also roped in.

When asked about the contract employees’ demand for insurance coverage and basic needs in the fight against Covid-19, Vasantha Kumari said she was unaware of the issue and promised to bring it to the attention of higher officials.

Source: The Times of India