Daily Times

A treatment centre for those affected by HIV virus has finally been established in Ratodero, Larkana. The centre will be for all, including child patients. It has been built by the Sindh health department with support of the UNICEF. Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will inaugurate the treatment centre on October 16. It is hoped that the new centre will provide some relief to the people of Ratodero, who previously had to travel to Larkana for treatment. The files of patients receiving treatment at the anti-retroviral therapy centre in Larkana are also being shifted to Ratodero, according to Dr Sikander Memon, the head of Sindh AIDS Control Programme. As per the most recent statistics, the number of people affected by HIV in Larkana and other districts has jumped to 1,112, according to the SACP. Of these, 58 are adult males, 165 adult females, 547 male children and 342 female children. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has also directed that two committees be formed for the rehabilitation and long-term welfare of those affected by the virus and their families.