Daily Times

LARKANA: The Sindh Health Department has failed to set up a Rehabilitation Center and Viral Load Test facility for HIV positive patients.

In the absence of facility, poor patients are forced to stop their disease management in the middle of the treatment regimen. The region of Larkana lacks required modern treatment facilities for AIDS patients as most of them are facing acute difficulties in getting themselves admitted for treatment in the specified wards in any Hospital in the province.

The Sindh AIDS Control Program (SACP) has not done anything significantly that could control the disease from spreading. Patients cannot hold consultation with the post-graduate senior doctors working as Head of Departments (HODs). District Health Officers (DHO) have not taken any concrete HIV-preventive measure.

It is believed that 70% of the entire population in Larkana lives in rural and remote areas and there is no department to launch an HIV awareness drive while the paramedics working in any healthcare facility are also unaware of the risk of handling a HIV patient.

The first case of HIV was detected in 1983 in a women in Larkana. Then suddenly in 2003 hundreds of patients were detected HIV positive. Now Larkana has been placed at 2nd position for having large number of HIV positive cases in Sindh.

SACP Program Manager, Dr. Younis Chachar told newsmen on Tuesday that as many as 10,891 HIV/AIDS positive patients have been registered in Sindh up to September 2016. Out of which, 1440 are in registered in Larkana.

“Survey of these patients was carried out in 2011, which has been again initiated in Nov 2016,” he said adding that the number of patients continued to rise due to unregistered blood banks.

He also said that seven new treatment centers are being opened in Sukkur, Karachi and other districts of Sindh despite shortage of funds. He demanded operation against unregistered blood banks.

“The Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority (SBTA) and SACP should coordinate & concentrate on blood born diseases, which include Hepatitis & HIV. Both the institutions should work properly instead of offering lip-service”, Dr. Younis said adding that Hepatitis is more dangerous than HIV. He urged the Sindh government to take effective measures against HIV and Hepatitis on war footing bases.