ISLAMABAD: An official of the Ministry of National Health Services yesterday informed a National Assembly (the lower house) subcommittee that the country had 83,443 cases of HIV but only 9,917 had been registered with hospitals and other government departments.
He said out of registered cases, only 4,985 people were being treated at various hospitals.
“There is no fresh data as the 83,443 figure of HIV infected people is based on estimation and has been quoted till December 2013,” he said.
Dr Baseer Khan Achakzai, director programme at the ministry, told the meeting that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had registered most cases at the airport when deportees from different countries arrived. Some cases came to the surface during blood donation when blood was screened.
But the government does not know the whereabouts of almost 5,000 registered patients. Moreover, there is no information about over 75,000 HIV infected people whether they are getting treatment or not, the official said.
He said many HIV infected people were deported from the Middle East but they did not reveal their condition. INTERNEWS
