ISLAMABAD: Federal government has decided to take international health organizations into confidence over the outbreak of HIV/Aids in Ratodero in Sindh, ARY News reported on Saturday.
According to sources, the government has decided to consult to the world health bodies and summoned a meeting with the international partners over the crisis situation in Ratodero in district Larkana.
A meeting will be convened on May 20 in Islamabad over the matter, to be chaired by Dr Zafar Mirza, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, according to sources.
The representatives of World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and UNDP will attend the meeting.
Moreover, the officials of Sindh Health Department and Sindh Aids Control Programme will also attend the meeting, sources said.
Secretary Health, Director General National Aids Control Programme and other officials will attend the session.
The meeting will be given a briefing over the existing situation of Aids control, steps being taken and the challenges, sources further said.
The session will devise a strategy with consultation with international health bodies to control the situation, according to sources.
The world health partners will also be informed about the requirements in view of the increasing HIV cases, sources added.
Health officials say more than 400 people, many of them children, have tested HIV-positive in recent weeks as experts warn of a surge in infection rates across Pakistan due to the use of unsanitary equipment and rampant malpractice – often at the hands of quack doctors.
With about 20,000 new HIV infections reported in 2017 alone, Pakistan currently has the second-fastest growing HIV rates across Asia, according to the United Nations.
