Mass awareness against HIV underlined

Hyderabad City is also posed to threat of HIV/AIDS after detecting 10 persons of HIV positive by the health volunteers of Behtar Kal Programme, a health project jointly launched by the Federal Health Ministry and Marie Stopes Society in coordination of Sindh Health and Education Development Society (SHEDS) in Sindh.
Wajid Shams Memon, the Coordinator of Behtar Kal Programme told a coordination and consultation meeting with media-men here at Hyderabad Press Club on Saturday that those 10 HIV Positive patients had been detected among 1,243 persons of different segments of the society of Hyderabad district which included youth, sexually transmitted infections clients, people living with HIV/ AIDS, industrial workers, cart vendors, mini-taxi drivers, auto-rickshaws drivers, mechanics and general adult population.
Those 1,243 persons were agreed to carry out the tests during mass creation awareness and counselling with 2,430 persons including 1,138 males and 1,292 females, he said. The number of HIV Positive patients could be more high in the city, but due to lack of awareness and illiteracy, the people both in urban and rural parts avoided to undergo for the required test, he added.
Briefing about Behtar Kal Programme, Wajid Shams Memon informed that in Hyderabad, SHEDS is implementing the Programme in collaboration with Liaquat University Hospital.
Under this collaboration, Volunteers Counselling and Testing Centre (VCT) had been established at the OPD No 26 of the hospital to provide Quality counselling and confidential testing services of HIV/AIDS to people who were involved in risky behaviours, he said, adding that VCT was also being provided in 21 union councils of Hyderabad.
He informed that Behtar Kal Programme had so far established 16 Volunteer Counselling and testing centres in 14 major cities of the country, of which five had been set up in Sindh. Out of five centres, two had been established in Karachi and one each in Hyderabad, Larkana and Sukkur.
SHEDS Hyderabad Programme Coordinator Dr Zahid Saddar, while sharing his views in the meeting, informed that HIV/AIDS had so far claimed the lives of 25 millions people on the world while more 40 million people were suffering from this deadly disease. In Southeast Asia, he said the number of HIV/AIDS patients was 8.2 million.
He said that according to National AIDS Programme, a total of 3,364 cases of HIV/AIDS had so far been reported in the country, of which 1,733 cases were detected only in Sindh. However, he said that data of HIV/AIDS cases available in Pakistan was less as compared to the report of UNAIDS, which claimed the cases of 85,000 patients in Pakistan.
He said that lack of awareness and illiteracy was restricting the people in Pakistan to undergo for HIV/AIDS tests and adopt required medical treatment to counter the disease.
About the detection of maximum number of HIV/AIDS cases in Sindh, he said that it was because of better surveillance system being carried out in the province. The SHEDS providing the test of HIV/AIDS and Syphilis (Sexually transmitted disease) free of cost to the people as compared to the private laboratories, which were charging huge amount from them for the said tests, he added.
The Clinical Psychiatrists of Behtar Kal Programme, Shazia Chohan informed that the programmes was being carried out with the financial as well as moral support of Education, Health, Community Development, Police Departments, religious leaders, elected representatives, leaders of the trade unions, networks and industries, Hyderabad Arts Council, Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Hyderabad Bar Council, Barber Association, Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal, Provincial Health Education Cell, Prime Ministers Programmes for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis, FP and PHC, Universities, SACP, NACP, UNAIDS, FHI, UNICEF, WHO, SNHHA, PNAC, print and electronic media and healthcare services providers including laboratories, doctors, lady health visitors, lady health workers, private and government hospitals.
We have also held coordination and consultation meetings with the District Task Force on HIV/AIDS, owners Beautification and Beauty Parlours, elected representatives, Non-Governmental Organisations, Community Based Organisations, Healthcare Providers, Educational Institutes, General Practitioners, Hakeems and Homeopathic Doctors to make the programme success, she said.
She informed that the programme had also organised advocacy seminars on Behaviour related health problems, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, Stress and Addiction and TB and HIV/AIDS.
The awareness sessions on HIV/AIDS and Behaviour related programmes have also been organised in Tarachand Hospital, Al-Ansar Charitable Hospital, Muslim Khatri Charitable Hospital, Siddiqui Charitable Hospital, Raja Hospital Phuleli, Regional Training Institute Population Department, Liaquat University Hospital, Social Security Hospital, Government Muslim College, Syed Baz Ali Shah School, KB-Jackson High School and other education institutions and industries with objectives to communicate the preventive measures about the disease, she said.