Health dept to conduct ‘biological survey’ to curb spread of HIV in Sindh

Sex workers, transgender persons, drug users to be screened in the first phase


Rija Fatima June 23, 2019
A screening camp in Rato Dero set up to test children for HIV. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: In a bid to control the rapid spread of HIV in Sindh, officials from the Sindh health department and the Sindh AIDS Control Programme have announced to conduct a biological and behavioural survey across the province, starting July.

Sindh has been hit hard by an HIV outbreak, reports of which first surfaced in Rato Dero, Larkana, during April this year. Following this, government bodies had come into action to control the worsening crisis that mainly affected children. The recent announcement is one in a string of multiple disease control and prevention measures taken by the provincial health department since . The department has set fixed targets for itself pertaining to the control of HIV, including the completion of the survey.

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The decision to conduct the survey was made during a conference arranged by the Sindh health department, in collaboration with UNO volunteers, doctors and other medical organistaions, on Friday.

Speaking with particular reference to the biological and behavioural survey to curb HIV, Sindh AIDS Control Program Manager Dr Sikandar Memon told The Express Tribune that starting July, the survey will cover the entire province and it will take more than two months to complete it. He further said that it will be conducted once every three years.

Dr Memon said that last survey of such nature was conducted in 2016 and the government intends to collect data from surveillance centres in all provinces before it begins the survey in July.

The survey will be conducted in two phases, he said.

According to Dr Memon, people most prone to and affected by HIV, such as male and female sex workers, transgender people, drug users, particularly those using syringes, and pregnant women, will be screened in the first phase. During the second phase, individuals vulnerable to contracting the HIV virus, including bus and truck drivers who travel for four to five consecutive days, foreigners, prisoners and thalassemia patients who are at risk of being administered unsafe blood, will be screened for the disease, he said.

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The survey results will reveal details about communities most affected by the virus, number of people affected by HIV and total population of the province where the survey will be conducted. The survey results will also be tallied with that of the last conducted survey, in order to determine whether the number of people affected by HIV has increased or decreased over the course of time. Dr Memon, however, clarified that survey team will only be responsible for providing statistics of HIV prevalence. Preparing a strategy to curb the disease and taking relevant measures will still be the Sindh government's responsibility, he added.

Sindh Aids Control Program, Department of Health, Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority, Drug Control Department, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan, Sindh Health Care Commission and district administration have been assigned the responsibility to accomplish the tasks.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2019.

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