AIDS in Sindh, Why Should You Be Concerned As a Public Health Specialist
Dr Agha Inamullah Khan
17th May 2019
A study was conducted in 2005, to
learn on factors contributing to high prevalence of HIV in Sub Sahara Africa
(SSA).
Interestingly if you review the multiplicity of causes, they reflect same situation as in Sindh-Pakistan, where alarming bells have rung with suspected hundreds of thousands of cases.
Systematic review of literature was done via Medline, the Internet, articles in referred journals, and un-referred features from the East Africa media houses and personal communications.
The Abstracts of all articles identified were accessed, read and analyzed to determine possible relevance to the spread of HIV-1. When relevance was established from the abstract, the entire paper was read and important points were included in the review.
It was concluded that there were many reasons why the spread of HIV-1 in SSA was declining over the years. Main risk factors for HIV-1 infection and AIDS disease in SSA were found to include poverty, famine, low status of women in society, corruption, naive risk taking perception, resistance to sexual behavior change, high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STI), internal conflicts and refugee status, antiquated beliefs, lack of recreational facilities, ignorance of individual's HIV status, child and adult prostitution, uncertainty of safety of blood intended for transfusion, widow inheritance, circumcision, illiteracy and female genital cutting and polygamy.
If you take a snap reading of contributing factors studied, you will understand the reasons behind its fast spread in Sindh and entire Pakistan. Out of 19 mentioned factors, except 3 rest fit well on determinants of AIDS spread in Sindh.
According to the survey conducted in 2016, Pakistan’s most populous province Punjab had the highest number of HIV/AIDS patients — 60,000. - Sindh 52,000, KPK 11, 000,
Baluchistan 03 cases & Islamabad with 6,000 registered HIV/AIDS patients.
Over 300 people were confirmed to be HIV positive in Turbat town of Makran division, this May 2019.
Turbat District Health Officer Dr Farooq Rind said all the 310 patients had been registered at Kech HIV Treatment Centre.
District Health Officer, Dr Rind from Turbat claims they had been infected with HIV due to multiple reasons - Sharing needles and injection equipment to inject drugs and quite a few through sexual transmission with lack of awareness on protection.
On recent alarming 39 detected cases of HIV positive in Larkana, the most prominent and politically active district in Sindh, Secretary Health of the Province Dr. Saeed Ahmed Awan shared majority of cases were children and the reason being apparently mounting in infection rate across the country; mainly due to the use of unsanitary equipment, unsafe blood transfusion and widespread malpractices, at the hands of doctors themselves or quacks.
17th May 2019
Interestingly if you review the multiplicity of causes, they reflect same situation as in Sindh-Pakistan, where alarming bells have rung with suspected hundreds of thousands of cases.
Systematic review of literature was done via Medline, the Internet, articles in referred journals, and un-referred features from the East Africa media houses and personal communications.
The Abstracts of all articles identified were accessed, read and analyzed to determine possible relevance to the spread of HIV-1. When relevance was established from the abstract, the entire paper was read and important points were included in the review.
It was concluded that there were many reasons why the spread of HIV-1 in SSA was declining over the years. Main risk factors for HIV-1 infection and AIDS disease in SSA were found to include poverty, famine, low status of women in society, corruption, naive risk taking perception, resistance to sexual behavior change, high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STI), internal conflicts and refugee status, antiquated beliefs, lack of recreational facilities, ignorance of individual's HIV status, child and adult prostitution, uncertainty of safety of blood intended for transfusion, widow inheritance, circumcision, illiteracy and female genital cutting and polygamy.
If you take a snap reading of contributing factors studied, you will understand the reasons behind its fast spread in Sindh and entire Pakistan. Out of 19 mentioned factors, except 3 rest fit well on determinants of AIDS spread in Sindh.
According to the survey conducted in 2016, Pakistan’s most populous province Punjab had the highest number of HIV/AIDS patients — 60,000. - Sindh 52,000, KPK 11, 000,
Baluchistan 03 cases & Islamabad with 6,000 registered HIV/AIDS patients.
Over 300 people were confirmed to be HIV positive in Turbat town of Makran division, this May 2019.
Turbat District Health Officer Dr Farooq Rind said all the 310 patients had been registered at Kech HIV Treatment Centre.
District Health Officer, Dr Rind from Turbat claims they had been infected with HIV due to multiple reasons - Sharing needles and injection equipment to inject drugs and quite a few through sexual transmission with lack of awareness on protection.
On recent alarming 39 detected cases of HIV positive in Larkana, the most prominent and politically active district in Sindh, Secretary Health of the Province Dr. Saeed Ahmed Awan shared majority of cases were children and the reason being apparently mounting in infection rate across the country; mainly due to the use of unsanitary equipment, unsafe blood transfusion and widespread malpractices, at the hands of doctors themselves or quacks.
According to UN report, in Asia; Pakistan now has the 2nd –fastest growing rate of HIV
Fortunately with technical assistance of INGO JSI funded by USAID under Health System Strengthening Component of MCH, DOH-Government of Sindh has established “Sindh Health Care Commission”. And it’s about time, SHCC takes real challenge with this misery as an opportunity to show its commitment and dedication to control quackery, which is being quoted as the commonest reason for spread of disease. At a seminar on “Quackery in Sindh” organized and arranged by PMA (Pakistan Medical Association) last year in October to create awareness about the threat Quackery possess, Dr. Ghafoor Soomro shared some data; highlighting that over 200,000 quacks operated in Sindh, of whom 80,000 were in Karachi alone.
SHCC should be more active in identifying such practices in the Province with its strong regulation system and strengthen coordination and take the required support from Government to use its authority to help curb such practices for a speedy anti-quackery raids-or at least take serious action on those who repeatedly use same syringe on number of patients.
DOH-GOS has requested WHO for 240,000 kits to test HIV suspected cases. Is the situation only grave in Sindh or has Sindh woke up early? While rest of Pakistan apparently seems to be still sleeping, when we know country’s overall socio-economic determinants of health being poor generally, and certainly not different than rest of Sindh.
The situation demands some serious research to be conducted here, not just in Sindh and Punjab but all over Pakistan. Although Sindh is being targeted due to a tug of war consequent of political maneuvering, and having done that; its opponents have done pretty good job which has worked as a a wake-up call; because MOH in Sindh has taken it seriously, and I think Punjab should wake up too, looking back at last year's numbers.
God bless Pakistan.
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