RATODERO: One HIV positive child, Mehrban Ali, aged 7, son of Qurban Ali Kosh, resident of Bahu Khan Kosh village, died near here on Tuesday, bringing the total unofficial number of deaths to 62 from this deadly disease since 2019 outbreak.
Since the disease outbreak, 2022 HIV positive cases have been detected and 85 among them are children. The parents of the children have been constantly demanding removal of CCTV cameras installed inside the HIV Treatment Support Centre in Ratodero and provision of all required medical treatment facilities along with medicines but nothing has been done so far. The affected parents allege that CCTV camera installation is violation of privacy of the positive cases as they are already facing discrimination in the society.
When this scribe asked about the installation of the CCTV cameras inside the HIV Centre, Dr. Sharaf Ali Shah, former Provincial Program Manager, Sindh AIDS Control Program (SACP) and worldwide known expert on HIV/AIDS, said that confidentiality and privacy of HIV/ AIDS patients and their family is a human right. He said it’s the responsibility of care providers to maintain the privacy and confidentiality at all levels adding violation of human rights of HIV / AIDS patients is punishable under the law.
He said that Sindh AIDS Commission ACT passed by the Sindh Assembly also safeguards the right of privacy and confidentiality of HIV / AIDS patients and their families. He said taking photos of people living with HIV and their families or identifying them through cameras installed for surveillance purpose not only violates the human right but also discourages patient to seek treatment. Dr Shah further said that pushing away HIV / AIDS patients to seek treatment from Government treatment centre will certainly create serious problems for the community as a whole.
Dr. Imran Akbar Arbani who broke the presence of HIV cases in Ratodero at the very outset opined that CCTV issue is not that much important when rest of the issues related to HIV patients are still unattended. He said that today a new death has been reported which means HIV Treatment is ineffective in these positive babies. He questioned what is lacking and why there is death every month?
On the other hand, Dr. Ershad Kazmi, Additional Director, CDC, on his social media account, defended the installation of CCTV cameras saying these were installed to check the working of employees who were smoking inside the rooms and patients were waiting outside. He also criticized one group of Pakistan Medical Association who had vehemently opposed the idea of CCTV cameras.
He did not even spare journalists who are reporting woes faced by the positive cases and only believes in issuing illogical rebuttals for self-projection and to save himself as parents of the affected HIV positive children have been holding protest demonstrations for improper treatment facilities and unavailability of all the medicines.
The provincial Health and Population Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho should take immediate notice of the problems faced by the innocent poor children who have been infected without their fault, the parents have demanded.