Indian government faces court battle over antiretrovirals

Dear Sir,

The news item regarding an NGO taking the Indian Government to court
for not providing free antiretroviral drugs to HIV/AIDS patients is
disturbing. It shows a lack of perception of the difficulties the
government is facing in providing healthcare to the people of India.
Limitation in resources, lack of infrastructure and awareness are plaguing
the country. The need of the hour is to improve awareness about HIV and
put in place preventive programmes. The government is doing it, albeit
with limited success. NGOs should complement the government's work and
fill in where the government's programmes are deficient. It would be
unfair to bog the government down in litigation and make it spend its
scarce resources of time and money on fighting a legal battle.

Competing interests:  
None declared