Patna: For many people living with HIV in Bihar, getting treatment every month has been a difficult task. Patients often have to travel to other districts, spend hours in queues and lose daily wages just to collect their medicines. To ease this burden, the Bihar government has announced that five new Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) centres will be opened by the end of the year, bringing treatment closer to where patients live.
At present, there are 29 ART centres functioning in 26 districts of the state. This means people from several districts still depend on hospitals far from home. The Bihar State AIDS Control Society (BSACS) has acknowledged this problem and decided to expand services so that patients do not have to travel long distances every month. Once the new centres are opened, the total number of ART centres in Bihar will rise to 34.
Access to HIV treatment in the state has improved steadily since 2021. Over the past few years, 15 new ART centres have been set up, helping patients in cities such as Patna, Katihar, Darbhanga, Bhagalpur and Gaya receive regular medicines and counselling locally. In districts where full ART centres are not yet available, Link ART centres are working to ensure that treatment continues without interruption.
The new ART centres will be opened in major medical institutions including AIIMS Patna, IGIMS, Nalanda Medical College and Hospital, ESIC Medical College in Bihta, and Mata Gujri Medical College in Kishanganj. These centres will provide not only medicines but also blood tests, counselling, mental health support and treatment for related infections like tuberculosis. Special care will also be given to HIV-positive pregnant women and newborns to prevent the infection from passing to the next generation.
According to Dr Rajesh Sinha, deputy director of BSACS, the government’s goal is to make HIV treatment available in every district. He said work is ongoing to upgrade existing Link ART centres into full facilities. For patients, this move promises fewer journeys, less stress and a better quality of life, as treatment becomes more accessible and regular.
