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May 29, 2019
KARACHI: An international team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) arrived on Tuesday at the request of the federal government to deal with the outbreak of HIV in northwestern Sindh, officials said. of Sindh Health.
Dr. Masood Solangi, Director General of Health, who received the team at the airport, said that the WHO team would travel to Larkana to meet with ministry officials of Health of Sindh and other experts.
A meeting between government officials from Sindh and the WHO team will be held on Wednesday (today), a day before the latter leaves for Larkana to witness the ravages caused by the increasing incidence of HIV, especially in the town of Ratodero.
The Minister of Health of Sindh, Dr. Azra Pechuho, Secretary of Health and other officials will accompany the team of WHO.
The outbreak was first reported on April 25, 2019, and a major HIV testing program was launched three days later. It was expanded on May 8 and additional health workers were deployed.
According to a spokesman for the WHO, more than 600 cases of HIV have been identified. The majority of them are children and young people: more than half of those affected are children under five years old.
"This poses a particular challenge. Before this outbreak, just over 1,200 children had been diagnosed with HIV and [were] receiving antiretroviral therapy throughout Pakistan, "said a WHO official.
A recent report released by the Sindh Ministry of Health said that a total of 707 people had been diagnosed with HIV in Ratodero after examining 24,227 people in the country. Some 580 of them, about 84%, are children and the other 127, adults.
On May 16, local authorities established a new antiretroviral treatment center for children in Larkana.
The WHO spokesperson said the main tasks of the WHO-led team would include identifying the source of the epidemic and controlling it; provide technical expertise, particularly in the areas of HIV testing, pediatric HIV treatment and family counseling; and ensure sufficient stocks of rapid diagnostic tests and antiretroviral drugs for adults and children, as well as needles and single-use syringes.
The WHO mission includes experts in emergency response management, epidemiology, HIV clinical care and infection prevention and control by WHO staff as well as the Network. global alert and action in case of epidemic.
"The team will work closely with the Ministry of Health and its partners, including Aga Khan University, the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program in Pakistan, UNAIDS and Unicef in Larkana," he said. said the spokesman for WHO.
Dr. Zafar Mirza, the Prime Minister's Special Assistant for National Health Services, had sent a letter to the WHO asking him to send a team of experts to Pakistan immediately to visit the countries. regions where HIV was present.
Officials said that it was the first visit of this type of a WHO inspection team to study the impact of the HIV in the region.
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