Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre
ICTC is a place where a person is counseled and tested for HIV, on his own free
will or as advised by a medical provider and confidentiality strictly maintained
for all the clients. Although Voluntary Couseling is a key function, the ICTCs form
a pivotal link between all other services provider under NACP for the PLHIV like
linkage to MCH services, ART services, STI services, PPTCT services and legal services.
HIV-TB co-infection diagnoses, linkage to community and access to condoms are some
of the other services available at ICTCs.
Types of ICTC:
- Stand Alone ICTC : A full-time counselor and laboratory technician on Contract Basis
- Facility Integrated ICTCs : Existing staff such as the auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM)/
laboratory technician (LT)/pharmacist are expected to undertake HIV counseling and
testing.
- ICTC-PPP : Established in Private Sector Hospital and their Staff will do the Counseling
& Testing SACS Provides training to staff, HIV Testing kits on availability & Logistic
Support.
The testing facilities have been rapidly scaled up from 217 in financial year
2012-13 to 409 in the financial year 2014-15.
|
Sr. No.
|
Type of facility
|
Number
|
|
Stand Alone ICTC
|
|
1
|
Department of Microbiology, Medical Colleges
|
10
|
|
2
|
Department of OBG, Medical Colleges
|
10
|
|
3
|
District Hospital (male)
|
83
|
|
4
|
District Hospital (female)
|
66
|
|
5
|
CHC
|
233
|
|
6
|
Central jail
|
03
|
|
7
|
Central JALMA Institute
|
01
|
|
8
|
S.G.P.G.I.
|
01
|
|
9
|
Trust Hospital
|
01
|
|
10
|
TB Hospital
|
02
|
|
FICTC (CHCs, PHCs)
|
168
|
|
PPP ICTC
|
72
|
The overall goals of the PPTCT programme
National PPTCT programme recognizes the four elements integral to preventing
HIV transmission among women and children. They are :
Prong 1: Primary prevention of HIV, especially among women of childbearing age
Prong 2: Preventing unintended pregnancies among women living with HIV
Prong 3: Prevent HIV transmission from pregnant women infected with HIV to their
child
Prong 4: Provide care, support and treatment to women living with HIV, her children
and family
|
The National PPTCT programme adopts a public health approach to provide these services
to pregnant women and their children. This approach seeks to ensure equitable access
to high-quality PPTCT services at the grass-root level while taking into account
what is feasible on a large-scale within available health infrastructure, human
and financial resources.
Goals of National PPTCT programme are:
- Primary prevention of HIV, especially among women in child-bearing age.
- Integration of PPTCT interventions with general health services such as basic antenatal
care (ANC), sexual reproductive health and family planning, EID, Paediatric ART
and Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH), TB and STI/RTI services.
- Strengthening postnatal care of the HIV-infected mother and her exposed infant
- Provide the essential package of PPTCT services.
Providing lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) to all HIV-infected pregnant
women-
HIV transmission is known to occur during pregnancy, delivery and breast-feeding.
It is estimated that without any intervention the risk of transmission of HIV from
infected mother to her child is between 20 to 45%. But with effective use of Anti-retroviral
(ARV) drugs, this risk reduces significantly.
ARV prophylaxis using SD-NVP is highly effective in reducing risk of transmission
from about 45% to less than 10%, the 10% uncovered risk is unacceptably high since
paediatric HIV can be eliminated if currently available drugs are used effectively.
The NACO therefore recommends use of more efficacious ARV regimens, using multiple
drugs for PPTCT. These regimens can reduce transmission to less than 5% if started
early in pregnancy and continued throughout period of delivery and breast feeding