Over 9,450 HIV positives reported in Punjab

LAHORE

Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) in collaboration with the Punjab AIDS Control Programme (PACP), Health Department, organised an “Awareness Seminar on HIV/AIDS” on its campus. Dr. Sarah Shahid (Director Women Institute for Leadership and Learning) LCWU was the chief guest.

According to a press release issued on Wednesday, Mohammad Faisal Majeed, Deputy Project Director, PACP, gave a briefing to the audience about the situation of HIV/AIDS epidemic in the province.

Rashid Munir, Humaira Qureshi, Mohammad Usman, PACP. Dr. Amina Muazzam (Head IRC), Professor Naushaba Farooq, Director DFDI, faculty members and students attended the seminar. In his welcome address, Faisal Majeed gave an overview of the current situation of HIV/AIDS in Punjab.

He informed the audience that the Punjab AIDS Control Programme was leading the Provincial AIDS Response and was providing preventive, diagnostic and treatment services. The Government of Punjab is fully committed to providing funding for prevention and treatment of AIDS.

Since year 2010, the government is funding the Programme from its own resources, he added.

He further informed the media that diagnostic and treatment services were being provided through 9 VCCT Centres (Voluntary Counselling and testing Centres), 13 Surveillance Centres, 10 Treatment Centres for adults and children and six Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission (PPTCT) Centres established in different public sector hospitals in Punjab. More than 9,450 HIV positive people have been reported in Punjab from 1988 till January 2015. At present, a total number of 6,456 patients are registered and 4,213 are receiving regular Anti Retro Viral Therapy (ART) in Punjab. This is a lifelong treatment.

He told the media that programe was also providing treatment and care services to the pregnant HIV positive females through its six Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission (PPTCT) Centres established at Services Hospital Lahore, Allied Hospital Faisalabad, DHQ Hospital Gujrat, DHQ Hospital Sargodha and DHQ Hospital Dera Ghazi Khan. If no treatment had been provided during the pregnancy, 40% of the children would have been HIV positive, he informed.

He further told the media that the Punjab AIDS Control Programme had recently conducted the Integrated Behavioural and Biological Surveillance (IBBS) in Punjab.

He said Punjab was the only province in Pakistan to conduct IBBS by itself. Earlier, four rounds of IBBS were conducted by the CIDA funded HIV AIDS Surveillance Project. After scientific mapping of high risk groups, blood samples were taken.

The prevalence in Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) is 34.5%, Hijra Sex Workers (3.1%), Male Sex Workers (0.6%) and Female Sex Workers (0.5%).

Wildlife Day: Punjab Wildlife Department has planned to hold a programme to mark International Wildlife Day at Lahore Safari Zoo Park here on Thursday (today).Officials said Provincial Minister for Forests, Wildlife & Fisheries Malik Muhammad Asif Bha Awan will be the chief guest on this occasion.

Wildlife experts, professors of Punjab University and University of Animal Sciences besides students will attend the function.

Speeches will be delivered on the topic of ‘future of wildlife in our hands’ while a walk will also be held. Stalls of stuffed birds, snakes and animals will also be set up.