NA panel directs ministry create awareness on AIDS

Panel also expressed concern over lack of coordination among the provinces

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on National Health Services on Thursday directed the Ministry of National Health Services to hold seminars at district level to create awareness among people about HIV/ AIDS and the ways to control it.

The panel which met under the chairmanship of Khalid Hussain expressed concern over the lack of coordination among the provinces regarding a survey conducted about the prevalence of the deadly disease.

The committee members were of the view that most of the surveys were conducted only on papers which was in total disregard of ground realities.

The body summoned all provincial director generals of health and programme managers in the next meeting for a detailed briefing on the matter.

Pakistan has been placed on a list of 11 countries with the highest prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS. While in other countries, HIV/AIDS cases are on the decline, there has been a worrying upsurge of the disease in Pakistan.

165,000 people affected with AIDS in Pakistan

The number of HIV/AIDS patients in the country rose to over 160,000 in 2018. Of these, around 110,000 were men; 48,000 women; and 5,500 children under the age of 15. Approximately 6,400 died from the disease.

The health ministry officials informed the committee that screening tests had been conducted in different areas of the country, besides conducting training under the Global Funds programmes to control the disease.

The committee deferred Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Bill 2019, Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smokers Health (Amendment) Bill, 2019 and Islamabad Transfusion of Safe Blood (Amendment) Bill 2019 due to the absences of their movers.

Committee members Haider Ali Khan, Nasir Khan Musa Zai, Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, Dr Nousheen Hamid, Professor Shahnaz Naseer Baloch, Dr Nisar Ahmed Cheema, Dr Samina Matloob, Mahesh Kumar Malani, Dr Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro, Ramesh Lal and Shamsun Nisa and health ministry officials attended the meeting.