WHO team arrives to visit HIV affected areas in Larkana

KARACHI: A delegation of World Health Organization (WHO) reached Karachi on Tuesday to visit the areas affected by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) outbreak, ARY News reported.

Director General Health Sindh Dr. Masood Solangi received the three-member team of WHO at Karachi airport today.

The WHO experts will stay in Karachi today. They will meet the officials of the health department and other concerned departments.

The world health body’s team will visit Larkana, Ratodero and surrounding areas to inspect the HIV Aids situation.

Health Minister of Sindh, Dr. Azra Pechuho, secretary health and other health department officials will also be accompanied with the WHO team.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister for National Health Dr Zafar Mirza had written a letter to the WHO and requested for immediately sending a team of experts to Pakistan to visit the areas affected by the HIV epidemic.

It is the first visit of an inspection team of WHO of the HIV affected areas after an outbreak of HIV in the region.

The WHO team will inquire into the HIV epidemic in Ratodero, the most affected city in the area.

According to health officials, HIV has been confirmed in 700 people in Ratodero including 576 children and 124 adults.

Pakistan had also requested the WHO to provide diagnostic kits for HIV Aids.

The prime minister’s aide on national health in his letter asked the WHO to immediately provide 50,000 HIV diagnostic kits for the crisis areas adding that the HIV cases have reached to epidemic level in Larkana district.

The number of HIV patients in Sindh increasing with every passing day as four more cases of HIV were reported in district Shikarpur on Tuesday.

With four new cases, the number of affected people in Shikarpur has jumped to 36, sources said.