Source: gulfnews.com
ISLAMABAD: Spread of Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (Aids) is posing a serious challenge to the health authorities of Pakistan as out of 60,000 HIV tests conducted in 2018, 900 were found positive.
These startling figures came during a briefing by National Manager of Aids Control Programme (ACP) Dr Baseer Achakzai to a meeting of National Assembly Standing Committee on National Health Services.
Dr Achakzai told the committee that the Global Fund had allocated $39 million (Dirham 143.24 million) for three years (2018-20) out of which $19m (Dirham 69.787 million) were given to the ACP.
In order to counter and control the disease, the NACP made community-based efforts and as a result patients started registering themselves, said Dr Achakzai, adding Pakistan needed to conduct 200,000 tests every year so that missing patients could be registered.
While Global Fund has doubled its contribution for the Aids patients, provinces have failed to contribute enough for creating awareness of the disease currently affecting 165,000 people in Pakistan, the meeting was further told.
For the next three years (2021-23), a sum of $71 million has been allocated and it is hoped that almost half of the amount would be given to the ACP as other half is spent through the private sector. We get procured items rather than cash and are considering extending the services to more districts, said the National Manager of the Aids Control Programme.
Currently, Pakistan has 44 Aids treatment centres but only eight centres in Punjab and Sindh are functional where treatment, stipends and other facilities are being provided to the patients.
The committee was told that the number of districts would be increased and patients in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan would also be treated.
The official called for more spending by provinces on the awareness and prevention of the disease calling upon them to increase the spending manifold so that the disease could be eradicated.
Dr Achakzai said in the past, a few thousand patients were registered because the disease was considered a stigma and people wanted to hide it.
“However during the last few years the number of registered patients rapidly increased and so far 37,000 patients have been registered,” he said.
It is a misconception that HIV was found in every district. He said a survey was carried out in 2016 and its report was released in 2017. He said it was the responsibility of provinces to screen patients.
Last year an outbreak of HIV was observed in Larkana, Sindh and many weaknesses were detected in the programme due to which not only the cases could not be registered but transmission of the virus was also feared to have affected a large number of patients.