LAHORE, Nov 8: Three-day intra-provincial training workshop of healthcare providers on Prevention-of-Parent-to-Child-Transmission of HIV/AIDS concluded at a local hotel on Thursday.

Organised by the Punjab AIDS Control Programme with the support of Unicef and in collaboration with UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation, the workshop was attended by healthcare providers from all provinces and the federal capital.

Managers of Provincial AIDS Control Programmes of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and National AIDS Control Programme also participated in the workshop. Health Special Secretary Babar Hayat Tarrar and Health Services Director General Dr Nisar Ahmad Cheema attended the concluding session.

The objective of the training was to build capacity of healthcare providers in selected districts to identity families at increased risk of HIV, provide them voluntary, confidential counseling and testing facilities for HIV and link them with HIV prevention, treatment, care

and support services, including PPTCT which are available free of cost at identified hospitals across the country.

Dr Nisar Cheema, addressing the concluding session, said prevention and precautionary measures were the only way to protect people from HIV/AIDS. He said one could save himself from this menace by following the teachings of Islam. The awareness and orientation regarding HIV/AIDS among the masses was the need of the hour, he said.

The training concluded with the following recommendations:

(i)    given the concentrated profile of HIV epidemic in Pakistan, targeted district model approach will be followed in all provinces to identity the people living with HIV and provide them essential prevention, treatment, care and support services, including PPTCT;

(ii) three-step approach for implementation of district model will be followed, including (a) training of DHQ Hospital staff on HIV/PPTCT, (b) orientation of lady health workers to identify at risk population for HIV, and (c) organisation of family health days for appropriate identification and referral;

(iii) WHO guidelines of three antibody tests (using three different principles) will be followed to confirm HIV status of individuals;

(iv) WHO guidelines of exclusive breast feeding to infants of HIV positive mothers will be promoted.

During the workshop, the training was facilitated by Ms Saadia Naeem (BCC Coordinator – PACP), Dr Tayyaba Rashid (treatment coordinator – PACP), Dr Shazra Abbas and Dr Nasir Sarfraz (Unicef) and Dr Quaid Saeed (WHO).