Minister orders biannual screening of prisoners

LAHORE:Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Dr Jamal Nasir has informed that on the directions by the Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi, 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.

On World AIDS Day on Friday, the 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 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 Program. These clinics have been established in district headquarters and teaching hospitals, he added.

He further said currently, 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. He added 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 partners only. In order to avoid AIDS, extramarital relationships must be refrained from.

Dr Jamal thanked the WHO, UNICEF and other donor organizations for their continued support for curtailing the menace of AIDS in Pakistan.

About the Punjab AIDS Control program, he said that there were 21,690 active patients on treatment who are taking free medicine on a monthly basis. The average cost of screening, diagnostic and treatment per patient is Rs20,000. One of the program’s landmarks is the achievement of more than 700 HIV negative childbirths from HIV positive mothers.

The programme engages with various Community Based Organisations (CBO) to access high-risk populations for disease awareness, prevention & treatment. Furthermore, 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 program.

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, chikungunya and many others.