RAWALPINDI: Punjab Caretaker Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Dr. Jamal Nasir on Friday said that Punjab AIDS Control Programme has 21,690 patients who are taking free medicine on monthly basis. The average cost of screening, diagnostic & treatment per patient is Rs20,000.

“One of the programme’s landmark is the achievement of more than 700 HIV negative childbirths from HIV positive mothers. The programme engages with various Community Based Organizations (CBO) to access high-risk populations for disease awareness, prevention and treatment,” he said.

Furthermore, he said the programme uses print, electronic and social media to create awareness of the disease and inform the public regarding free of cost services provided by the programme. Furthermore, the programme has its own network of Outreach Workers as well for access to high-risk and bridging populations.

He said the programme also collaborates with various organisations including universities as well as public and private organisations to conduct awareness seminars and sessions as well as free screening camps.

These activities are not only helpful in creating disease awareness but also enables people to know their status.

“The programme has its own Advanced Diagnostic Bio- Safety Level 3 laboratory that provides free HIV PCR & CD4 tests to registered patients. This lab also supports the government for Covid-19 and other tests such as Hepatitis B&C, Dengue, malaria, chickengunya and many others,” he said.

He said that total 52,000 prisoners in 43 prisons of Punjab have been screened for Aids, hepatitis B & C, TB and non-communicable diseases, for the first time in the history. In a statement on World Aids Day on Friday, the caretaker minister revealed that the treatment of prisoners affected by Aids has been started after their PCR test. Regular biannual screening of prisoners in Punjab has also been ordered, he added.

The caretaker minister informed that 45 clinics in 36 districts of Punjab were providing free diagnosis and treatment facilities to the HIV patients under the Punjab Aids Control Programme. These clinics have been established in district headquarters and teaching hospitals, he added.

Currently, he said that the number of registered Aids patients in Punjab was more than 21,000 who were getting free medicines, psychological counseling and treatment.

Dr Jamal Nasir said that the use of syringes by drug addicts was the main reason for the spread of Aids in Punjab. “Use of non- sterilised syringe for injecting the patients was also a cause of spread of this disease,” he said.The provincial caretaker minister said that blood transfusions must be done with caution to guard against Aids.

He said that to avoid Aids, Islamic teachings must be practiced. People should limit themselves to legitimate life partner only. In order to avoid Aids, extramarital relationship must be refrained from.

The caretaker minister said that blood transfusions must be done with caution to guard against Aids. He underlined the need for raising awareness of preventive measures among the people for prevention of AIDS.

He said that for the establishment of a healthy society social organizations should also play an effective role side by side with the government.Dr. Jamal Nasir thanked World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and other doner organizations for their continued support for curtailing the menace of AIDS in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2023