Ethiopia donates medicines for treatment of HIV positive children

KARACHI: A consignment of Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ARVs) medicines, donated by the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia for the treatment of children infected with HIV in Ratodero, Larkana would be handed over to the Sindh health department by the end of this month, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Thursday.

Similarly, an order for the procurement of 50,000 Rapid Diagnostic Kits for screening people in Larkana and adjoining areas, has also been placed by the WHO and the consignment would be available by mid of July, WHO officials in Islamabad told the Sindh health department. Meanwhile, four more children were tested positive for HIV in Ratodero on Thursday and the number of HIV positive reached 680 since April 25, 2019 while 146 adults including men and women were also tested positive for the disease.

Despite the emergence of such a large number of children with HIV positive status, only 270 have so far been given Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ARVs) at a pediatric HIV treatment center in Larkana, officials of Sindh AIDS Control Programme (SACP) said, adding they are awaiting ARV consignment from the WHO and other international organizations. “A consignment of pediatric formulations for HIV positive children, donated from MOH Ethiopia will be available by end of June 2019”, WHO country representative in Pakistan Dr. Palitha Mahipala informed in a letter to the Sindh health department and assured placing an order for the procurement of 50,000 Rapid Diagnostic Kits, which would be supplied to the provincial health department by the mid-July. The WHO representative to Pakistan asked the health department to nominate a physician, counsellor and a data entry operator who could be trained by them.

On another request from the Sindh health department, the WHO Chief in Pakistan said they have also negotiated with the Common Management Unit of the Global Fund for the provision of a CD4 Machine, which will be shifted shortly to the Taluka Hospital, Ratodero. The CD4 machines play a crucial role in counting of CD4 cells in the HIV positive patients and are important for their treatment.

The WHO officials said another team of Infection Prevention Control (IPC) led-by a leading IPC expert has already arrived in Pakistan to train the local health officials. In this regard, one of the experts Dr. Maha Talaat is already holding meetings and addressing the training sessions in Karachi. At the same time, four experts including two clinicians trained in treatment of children with HIV and two experts of adults with HIV positive status are arriving in Karachi in a couple of days to train local doctors and physicians, State Minister for National Health Services, Regulation and Control Dr. Zafar Mirza confirmed to The News.