Islamabad: Health experts and civil-society representatives have called for thorough investigations into all reported HIV outbreaks in Pakistan, saying weak surveillance, concealed disease data, unsafe healthcare practices and inadequate domestic financing were undermining efforts to control the virus.
The call came at a press briefing held after Lok Sehat, a citizens’ group for better healthcare in Pakistan, convened a national dialogue on HIV and AIDS involving doctors, public-health specialists, medical associations, community organisations and groups representing key populations.
Lok Sehat Convener Dr Zafar Mirza said federal and provincial governments should make HIV and other blood-borne disease data readily available and take ownership of financing programmes for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria rather than depending heavily on international donors.
“Government should shun the policy of disease control through data control. Governments should also take the financial responsibility instead of relying on the Global Fund for HIV, TB and malaria control and treatment,” he told the briefing.
Dr Mirza said the dialogue was aimed at developing a nationally owned, community-centred response covering prevention, testing, treatment, surveillance, infection prevention, regulation and accountability.
He said available HIV figures represented only a fraction of the actual disease burden, calling for comprehensive investigations into recent infections among children as well as the continued spread among key populations.
Accompanied by former National AIDS Control Programme and Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority chief Dr Quaid Saeed, infectious-disease specialists Dr Naseem Akhtar and Dr Asma Naseem, Dr Anis and representatives of key populations, Dr Mirza said unsafe and unnecessary injections remained a serious patient-safety concern.
He urged healthcare providers to avoid injections where they were not clinically required and prescribe oral medicines where appropriate. Patients should also be encouraged to ensure that a new syringe and needle are used whenever an injection or invasive procedure is necessary, he added.
Dr Mirza called for sustained public awareness through mainstream and social media, saying HIV should not be treated as a source of stigma. He said people needed accurate information about preventable transmission through infected blood and unprotected sex.
He also sought stronger medical education, improved attitudes of healthcare workers towards people living with HIV and better infection-prevention and control practices in health facilities.
The Lok Sehat convener said healthcare commissions, blood-transfusion authorities and other regulators needed adequate funding, trained manpower and technology to monitor clinics, laboratories and blood banks effectively and safeguard patients.
He said regulators must be held accountable where failure of oversight contributed to HIV or other blood-borne disease outbreaks, while civil society should monitor public institutions and demand action.
Dr Quaid Saeed said 13 HIV outbreaks had been reported in the country during the last 18 years, but only two, including the Jalalpur Jattan and Ratodero outbreaks, had been extensively investigated.
He said every outbreak required a proper epidemiological investigation to establish how infections occurred, identify people at risk and prevent a repeat of the failures.
Dr Naseem Akhtar said most HIV cases being seen in Islamabad involved people who inject drugs, deportees, MSM, transgender persons and female sex workers, though paediatric cases had also emerged in recent years.
Dr Asma Naseem said Karachi faced a similar situation, but the rise in HIV among children during the past year was particularly alarming. She said children living with HIV were also being brought to SIUT with renal failure, highlighting the need for immediate measures to stop further transmission.
Representatives of leading medical associations, organisations of people living with HIV, Indus Hospital and Health Network, Nai Zindagi Trust, Wajood Society, Bridge Foundation, Dareecha Male Health Society and UNAIDS participated in the dialogue.
Ends