Its very alarming situation that HIV/AIDS disease is spreading in the province on daily basis because more 153 HIV/AIDS patients have been registered at various SACP centres, it is learnt to Business Recorder here on Friday. According to report compiled by Sindh AIDS Control Programme, there are 153 patients of HIV/AIDS have been registered at different centers of Karachi, Larkana and Hyderabad in the first quarter of 2011, from 1st January to 31st of March.
Report mentioned that 146 male adults and 4 female adult patients have the HIV positive, while three male adult have the AIDS ammong the total figure of 153. Report further added that 6 male adult patients of HIV/AIDS have been died also in the first quarter of 2011.
After the addition of 153 new patients, now the total figure of HIV/AIDS patients would be 3,926 throughout the province from which 3,731 are the HIV positive and remaining 195 are the AIDS patients.
Sources inside the SACP have told Business Recorder that a large number of patients have also been registered in April and May 2011 also on various centers; the report of these two months will be submitted to Karachi office within next few days. The HIV/AIDS is increasing day to day but people of government corridors have closed their eyes in this regard.
According to the detail figures, 582 HIV positive patients had been registered in 2003, while in 2004 the number was raised and reached at 988. Similarly, in 2005 the toll reached at 1229, in 2006 it had gone on 1670, in 2007 the figure reached at 1890, in 2008 the number became 2271, in 2009 it was the 3581 and in 2010 the number of HIV positive patients have been reached at 3581.
Besides, the number of AIDS patients is also increasing day by day, in 2003 it was only 85, in 2004 it reached at 102, in 2005 the number became 106, in 2006 it raised more and reached at 108, in 2007 it was the 163, in 2008 the figure raised at 168, in 2009 it reached at 192 and in 2010 the number increased as 192.
Reliable sources inside the ACP are of the view that above report regarding the HIV/AIDS patients is made by the SACP so it would not be the final or 100 percent authentic because the number of HIV/AIDS patients is 100 percent more than the report. A high level officer of health department told Business Recorder on the condition of anonymity that Sindh government is not taking keen interest for the eradication of HIV/AIDS. He said that Sindh government should take the HIV/AIDS as very serious matter and should play its effective role for the eradication of this very dangerous disease which is increasing in the province on daily basis.
In this connection, talking to Business Recorder Deputy Programme Manager SACP Dr Qamar Abbas said that after the closing of funding by the World Bank, SACP is suffering from financial crisis, we have just the funds for non-development section and only for the treatment of registered patients but we don't have the funds for rehabilitation of HIV/AIDS patients, he added.
He said that prior authorities have directed us for making PC-1 of non-development and development works; we are working on making this, which would be submitted to prior authorities within next couple of days. In a question regarding increase of patients, Dr Qamar Abbas replied that we know that number of HIV/AIDS patients in the province is more than our report because a large number of patients are feeling shame to show them at center for treatment.
It is pertinent to mention here that Sindh AIDS Control Programme was running on the loan/grant of the World Bank since its inception, but the WB had closed its financial assistance in December 2009, its almost one and half year has been completed but Sindh government has not provided more funds to the SACP in order to run the rehabilitation of patients and other works which prevent the people from HIV/AIDS.