Tackling HIV

Pakistan’s health challenges seem endless. In Punjab, the provincial government is dealing with the outbreak of pneumonia, which has callously claimed the lives of several children. Now reports suggest that Sindh has recorded the highest number of HIV cases in the last six months. Forty per cent of the total 454 HIV cases are from Sindh. 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 14 per cent of the total cases, Balochistan 13 per cent and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan 10 and 2.0 per cent respectively. Punjab reported HIV cases for only one week during the last six months. What does this say about the country’s overall performance? The stigma of contracting the near-fatal virus is so strong that most patients avoid disclosing their condition to their family and friends out of fear that they will be abandoned. Myths and baseless statements that surround the virus make it impossible for patients to get the required treatment. But in Sindh, an increase in HIV cases is not solely linked to the possible lack of care exercised by patients, resulting in the transmission of the virus. It also stems from the lack of care shown by doctors and medical centres during different medical procedures.

In 2019, an HIV scandal from Sindh shook the entire nation when a doctor was found guilty of reusing needles in Rota Dero. This resulted in a massive outbreak of the virus among children and babies. When the news broke out, the authorities concerned acted with urgency, and rightly so. However, after the initial enthusiasm died down, do we even know how long the authorities continued to work on this issue? Right after the scandal surfaced, the authorities launched a crackdown against quacks and unlicensed doctors and placed a ban on conventional syringes, urging doctors and medical centres to use single-use syringes. But the province has not been able to control the spread of the virus.

Healthcare in rural areas usually remains ignored. This needs to stop, and the government has to take steps to contain the spread of the virus. Factors responsible for an increase in the number of HIV cases should be identified and steps should be taken to control the life-threatening virus. Pakistan has the ability to fight against lethal viruses; all it needs is to maintain consistency.