Hepatitis, Tuberculosis and AIDS: Senate body raises concerns over spread of diseases in Balochistan

Senate functional committee on problems of less developed areas on Monday expressed concern over spread of hepatitis, tuberculosis and AIDS in Balochistan and tribal districts of the country. A meeting of the committee was held here in the Parliament House in the chair of Senator Usman Khan Kakar.
The committee chairman said that lack of funds is the main reason behind spread of different infectious and other diseases in less developed areas of the country. "The federal government is neither releasing the required funds to deal with the diseases nor allowing provincial governments to get financial assistance from non-governmental organisations," he said. Kakar urged the government to conduct a nationwide survey to ascertain exact number of patients of AIDS, TB and other diseases. He also expressed concerns over spread of Congo virus in Balochistan and directed National Institute of Health to take appropriate measures to deal with it.
The committee members also directed officials of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to restore quota of 192 scholarships for students from erstwhile tribal areas and Balochistan. "Students from these areas get a substantial relief from the scholarships; therefore, these must be restored immediately," the committee chairman said.
The committee has sought a detailed report on the scholarships for less developed areas from secretary National Health Services within a week. The committee members were informed that at present there are 150,000 AIDS patients in the country and majority of them were drug addicts.
The committee was also briefed on measures taken to control diseases like TB and malaria with the help of charitable organisations. The PMDC officials informed the committee members that a total of 55 public and 102 private medical colleges have been imparting education across the country. The committee members urged the government to increase number of public medical colleges to impart quality education to students.