Daily Times

Aga Khan Lab has halted free Viral Load Test (VLT) facility for the HIV positive children and adults of Ratodero and adjoining areas since February 2021.

It was learnt here through credible sources that all the people arriving for the test are being asked by the Lab authorities to pay or wait till the outstanding payment is cleared by the Sindh government.

The lab charges Rs.28,000 for a single test but this scribe learned that parents of one girl of Bozdar community were asked to pay Rs.20,000, if they wanted to get the test of their loved one.

According to the official figures, in November 2020, out of 42,533 people who were screened, as many as 1,540 HIV positive cases in Ratodero were detected and among them 1,132 were children (686 males and 446 females), 407 were adults (286 females and 121 males) and one was transgender. The concerned Health Department bosses have since then stopped revealing data due to fear and defame.

According to unofficial statistics, in December 2020 as many as 174 people underwent HIV screening out of whom 27 came out positive (18 adults and 9 children. In January 2021, out of 127 cases, 14 were detected positive (7 adults and 7 children). Screening remained off from 24th January to 31st. Upto 23rd March, as many as 150 people got themselves tested for the viral disease and 18 turned out to be positive. In this way 1,599 people have been infected with the viral disease so far for whom international donors are doing everything except their own elected government which has only mobilized them.

Private medical practitioner Dr. Imran Akbar Arbani, who at the very outset detected massive presence of HIV cases among the children in Ratodero, told this scribe on Thursday that he continues to send many suspected cases daily for screening which shows that the cases are continuously emerging. He said patients are constantly complaining that their VLT is not being done free of cost by the Aga Khan Lab which was appointed by Sindh Government and they are demanding payment which we cannot afford being very badly poverty-stricken.

He said affected children’s parents complained to him that reports of samples of their kids sent for VLT in October 2020 have not yet been received by them. Dr. Arbani said that with VLT, efficacy of the treatment is at risk whether the drugs provided by the WHO are effective in patients or not hence their efficacy is challengeable. He said even samples for VLT have been stopped since the last two months which can only be described as tragic and cruel. He said so far 53 children have died including Zareena Rind who was hanged by her husband in a tree.

When this Scribe contacted Dr. Saqib Ali Shaikh, Additional Director General, Health Services, Sindh and provincial Incharge of HIV/AIDS through WhatsApp, he did not respond despite passage of over two hours till filing of this report.

The parents of the affected children have demanded proper treatment facilities under one roof.