24,290 Out Of 0.19 Million HIV Carries In Pakistan Receiving Treatment

As many as 190,000 people are infected with Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Pakistan, of them only 43,964 are registered while 24,290 are receiving treatment of this disease

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Feb, 2021 ) :As many as 190,000 people are infected with Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Pakistan, of them only 43,964 are registered while 24,290 are receiving treatment of this disease.

Speaking in the workshop here at a hotel on Thursday, the Strategic Information Advisor of the United Nations AIDS programme, Dr. Rajwal Khan said 53,000 women were among the total HIV positive cases while more than 25,000 people are being affected with virus annually in Pakistan. The first case was reported in Pakistan in 1986 when no one had any knowledge about Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Dr. Rajwal said and expressed concern that today this virus is present in every corner of the country. Karachi, Larkana, Hyderabad in Sindh and Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan and Sargodha in Punjab are the hot spot areas where the majority of the HIV and AIDS positive cases are being reported in the country, Dr. Rajwal said, adding that 14300 people living with HIV were registered in Sindh, of them less than 50% i.e 7000 were under treatment at Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) centres. He expressed concern over that there was an upward trend of reporting positive HIV and AIDS cases despite the utilization of funds of billions of rupees. He suggested that in order to curb the surge of virus cases, at least 90 percent of people living with HIV must be provided medication. Waqar Bhatti, workshop facilitator said there were 49 Antiretroviral Therapy centres in Pakistan for providing treatment facilities to the people living with HIV and AIDS, out of them 27 were working in Punjab, 15 in Sindh, 4 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and two in Balochistan.

In Sindh, seven ART centres are established in different hospitals of Karachi, three in Larkana district including one at Ratodero and one each in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah, Mirpurkhas and Sehwan, Bhatti said. The JPMC, Civil hospital (Adult), Civil hospital (Pediatric), Lyari General hospital, Agha Khan hospital, Abbasi Shaheed hospital and Indus hospitals in Karachi and Chandka Medical College hospital, Shaikh Zayed hospital in Larakana, Taluka hospital Ratodero, GMC hospital Sukkur, PMC hospital Nawabshah, Civil hospital Mirpurkhas and Abdullah Shah Institute hospital Sehwan have the Antiretroviral Therapy centres where people living with HIV and AIDS were being provided treatment facilities, according to data shared by the workshop organizers. The Community Support Advisor of UNAIDS Fahmida Khan emphasized the need of the role of media practitioners in thwarting the negative impression about people living with HIV and AIDS by using right words and the terminologies in their news stories. She suggested some appropriated words that should be used in news stories with regard to HIV and AIDS cases so that stigma and the discrimination could be discouraged. The District Health Officer Hyderabad, Dr. Juman Bahoto said such programs always provide opportunity for the media persons to learn about how to write news stories of sensitive health issues such as HIV, AIDS and other pandemics like COVID-19. He expressed hope that media persons of Hyderabad would gain fruitful knowledge and would enrich their professional capabilities.