Daily Times

HIV positive cases continue to emerge at the screening camp established at Taluka Headquarter Hospital (THQ), Ratodero, as one positive case was detected on Wednesday when 65 people were screened.

The toll has climbed to 958 out of which 784 are children and 173 are adults. So far blood samples of 32,685 people among the general population have been tested in Ratodero since April 25 and its nearby villages. However, Sindh AIDS Control Programme (SACP) claimed that no case was detected at any outreach site of Banguldero, Lashari, Naundero, Pir Bux Bhutto and Garhi Yasin where 18 people came for screening.

Meanwhile, a team of National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Sukkur, conducted a raid at the main medical store of Chandka Medical College Hospital and HIV/AIDS Treatment & Care Centre on Wednesday. The team inquired about the availability and supply of drugs to the HIV/AIDS patients. CMCH storekeeper Arif Abbasi said that the NAB team wanted to check procurement of HIV/AIDS medicines and kits but they had no issue with CMCH main store. On the other hand, Dr Hola Ram, In-charge of the HIV/AIDS Treatment Centre said that team was informed that our drugs supply is transparent and based on biometric system. He said that he informed the team that drugs are supplied to the centre by National AIDS Control Programme (NACP), Islamabad, which are given to over 2700 patients registered at the centre through biometric system. He said the team verified the record and left.

When attempts were made to contact CMCH Medical Superintendent Dr Abdul Sattar Shaikh, his mobile phone numbers were switched off. Even his brother, Dr Irfan Shaikh, who is posted as In-charge of ART Centre in Chandka Children Hospital, did not respond to several calls and SMSes sent to him to know the facts about the NAB’s surprise raid and the availability of medicines for HIV positive children of Ratodero.

On the other hand, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has finally approved a summary sent to him by Principal Secretary Sajid Jamal Abro on July 16, 2019, under which a five-member team of Brown University HIV/AIDS experts will be visiting Larkana in the fourth week of July. The team experts include Dr Fizza Gillani, Dr Timothy P Flanigan, Dr Rizwan Naeem, Dr Aziz Soomro and Isra Hussain. But it has been learnt that the team has already postponed its visit to Larkana due to irresponsible and lukewarm attitude of the provincial government, which took it three months to decide the team’s visit. One of the members of the team told this scribe from New York that now the Sindh government should contact Dr Timothy to visit Larkana as the experts have lot of other work to do. He said that for the past three months they have been trying their utmost to help the affected children of Ratodero “on our own” through the Sindh government but due to fear of defame the Sindh rulers kept the team members waiting “as if we were charging them or were their servants”.