KARACHI: Health authorities in Sindh asked the international donor agencies including the Global Fund and UNAIDS to help in establishing 24 treatment centers and 378 information and awareness centers for the lethal viral disease.During a meeting with international donors agencies on Friday, Sindh health minister Azra Pechuho sought financial and technical support from the international donor agencies including the Global Fund, UNAIDS and others. Pechuho said we require international support for the establishment of 24 new treatment centers, 378 HIV Information and Awareness Centers, carrying out more screenings in different pockets and the provision of Antiretroviral Therapy medicines.” The meeting was attended by the Global Fund's Dr. Werner Bühler, Senior Fund Portfolio Manager, Dr Maria Elena G Filio Borromeo, UNAIDS Country Director for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Dr. Sala Salman from World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Sikandar Memon, Programme Manager of Sindh Aids Control Programme and experts from Aga Khan University Hospital and other organizations. The minister told the meeting that the Sindh government has created a billion-rupee endowment fund for the rehabilitation of HIV positive people including children in Ratodero, Larkana while its has also earmarked Rs 600 million for the Sindh AIDS Control Programme.The Sindh health minister felicitated the Global Fund, UNAIDS and the WHO for their support in the wake of HIV outbreak in Ratodero, Larkana, saying with their help, the provincial authorities were able to contain the outbreak and provide treatment to almost all of the newly infected people including over 900 children.The Programme Manager, Sindh Aids Control Programme, Dr. Sikandar Memon, highlighted that there are an estimated 165,000 people with HIV in Pakistan, of which only 25,000 were identified including 10,000-12,000 in Sindh but there is a critical need to identify the remaining so that they could be provided treatment for the HIV infection. Memon said they require at least 50,000 more Rapid Screening kits for screening people for the HIV.Dr. Memon said we told the Global Fund, UNAIDS and the WHO that there are only nine centres functioning for the treatment of HIV in Sindh but without the help of international health and donor agencies support, they could not establish and run any new ones. The “Sindh Aids Control Programme also asked the Global Fund to provide the sophisticated and costly equipment for analyzing the viral load of the HIV patients. At the moment, only AKUH in Karachi has that analysis facility but one such test alone costs Rs. 10,000 to 12,000 to the Sindh health department,” he added.Expressing their commitment, the Global Fund representative Dr. Werner Bühler said they would provide ARVs and other support till December 2020 and beyond but urged the provincial and federal authorities to start their journey in becoming self-reliant in HIV screening and treatment. Bühler said in addition to provision of medicines for the treatment of HIV and screening kits, they are also ready to help Sindh health department in strengthening the surveillance system in the province.
from The News International - National https://ift.tt/2Y8KIA2
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