SHC moved for implementation of HIV/AIDs control and treatment law

A petition has been filed in the Sindh High Court, seeking implementation of laws to prevent the spread of HIV and providing medical facilities, including the screening of the disease, in the province.

The Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, doctors and right activists have filed the petition for the provision of healthcare and medical facilities to the citizens of the province. They submitted that hundreds of people living in remote areas of the province were not being provided health facilities though many citizens, including children, were found infected with HIV in the Larkana district.

They added that the Sindh HIV and AIDS Control Treatment and Protection Act, 2013 was enacted by the provincial assembly, but it was not being implemented in letter and spirit. They urged that the government be directed to implement the relevant law and provide medical treatment to the patients and take measures to prevent the spread of HIV.

They sought the issuance of directions to the government to take steps for providing proper medical facilities to the patients and implementing the HIV/AIDs law. International health agencies have also raised concerns over the HIV outbreak in Sindh. The World Health Organisation earlier formed a team to find out scientific answers about the outbreak.

Dr Taoufik Bakkali, Regional Adviser UNAIDS for Asia Pacific, said it was a complex situation where a large number of people, mostly children, were found infected with HIV in a short span of time. He called it a new and strange phenomenon.