Jamshed Dasti. PHOTO: EXPRESS/SHAHID SAEED
Independent Member National Assembly (MNA) Jamshed Dasti on Wednesday urged parliamentarians to undergo HIV tests.
“All parliamentarians should undergo HIV test — rather every Pakistani should do so,” MNA Dasti said on floor of the assembly during the question hour.
Dasti’s proposal came after the Minister of National Health Services (NHS), Regulation and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarrar revealed that the number of AIDS patients in Pakistan crossed the 100,000 mark this year.
At the same time, she said only 7,819 HIV patients have registered themselves and only 3,700 patients were receiving proper treatment. She added that AIDS has killed around 5,800 people in Pakistan so far.
Tarrar said the stigma associated with HIV was a major reason keeping people from getting themselves tested for the virus or in the case of HIV patients, forcing them to conceal their medical condition.
Endorsing Dasti’s proposal, the minister urged the government to come up with legislation that would make it mandatory for citizens to get themselves tested for HIV. She also suggested that a couple should clear HIV tests before entering conjugal relations.
Despite Dasti and Tarrar’s insistence, the issue did not receive much attention from other lawmakers.
Only Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Begum Beelum Hasnain sought the details of patients undergoing treatment for HIV and steps being taken by the government to control the epidemic.
The NHS minister in her written reply informed the House that 14 community-based home centers had been established to look after HIV/AIDS patients.
Meanwhile, in response to another question, the minister said the government was considering a policy to rationalise the prices of drugs. She said the government was encouraging the manufacturers to produce generic drugs since they were cheaper than branded alternatives and added that around 76,000 drugs had been registered in the country. According to the minister, the government was also looking into granting new licences to increase drug production.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2013.
COMMENTS (11)
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and finally, anyone's medical record is personal. You have no right to know whether someone suffers from HIV or Polio. If a marriage is based on a lie then those two partners probably don't deserve to be married. Testing 160 million people for HIV is what's not the joke.
Babu angraiz, Firstly - using capital letters is akin to shouting out loud, and that is considered rude in most civilised societies. I don't need words typed in caps to understand the emphasis or needless emotion you're showing. Secondly, please explain how getting the lawmakers to test for HIV would control the problem of AIDS ? Polio is potentially an epidemic, and in the current Pakistani climate even more so; AIDS is not. Polio will spread without physical contact, HIV would not. Polio is a bigger problem in Pakistan than HIV / AIDS, which btw are two different things. When you'll stand at an international airport - looking sheepish and embarrassed because you've been asked to stand on the side as you'll need to be tested for Polio for being a Pakistani, the world will look at you and laugh. And finally it's Jibran - not Jabran ... calling yourself an 'angraiz babu' doesn't automatically make you an angraiz; you need a course in basic etiquette and manners for that.
Mr Dasti your role as a lawmaker is to pursue issues in the house of parliament that the people demand needs your attention, your not suppose to regulate our behavior, so that the governement can better treat us. you should be pursuing a draft for a reallocation of funds to increase aids awareness in schools as well as through corporate advertisements. oh but sex-education will make the taliban angry. so, how are those talks coming mr sharif? please can someone tell mr shariff to stop bunking parliment, he's supposed to be drafting an anti-terrorism law, instead of trying to form new alliances we didn't put you in parliment to make us new friends... we dont care...
Better yet - donate blood to the Red Crescent as there is always a desperate need for blood and they will also test the blood for HIV.
First I thought he is talking about " Indian Lawmakers" and Indians in general.
While a parliamentarian is urging his colleagues in the parliament for HIV test, I'd wish to add a bit here. How about all Pakistani politicians, within our parliaments or outside of them, should take paternity tests to establish the reasons for the way they behave.
Mr. Dasti should volunteer first and set the ball rolling. 90% of parliamentarians will probably refuse the HIV test in fear of being exposed.
weldone Dasti, well said.
What a joke! Mr. Dasti, how about standing on the assembly floor and shouting about the attacks on the Polio eradication teams? Polio kills / maims a disproportionately higher number of people in Pakistan than HIV - and if it continues spreading then soon all Pakistanis would need to undergo Polio testing before they are allowed to travel abroad. get it right lawmakers