Drug Addicts Routinely Denied Anti-HIV Medicines

The strength or weakness of a person’s immune system is calculated on the basis of CD4 count. The normal range is between 600-1,500 cells per cu mm of blood. The count helps health providers decide when to put an HIV positive person on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).

For the HIV prevention programmes to be effective, says Azam, these should reach out to IDUs specially.

In the last one year, ten people under his treatment died after they were refused treatment at the state-run hospitals. "About eight months ago, I had to bribe a doctor in Civil Hospital by paying him Rs 4,000 (66 US dollars)) just to operate on one of my clients which should have been done free of charge. Recently, one client died because the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre refused admission on one pretext or the other and, without informing us, shifted him to a shelter run by the Edhi Foundation charity, where his condition deteriorated and he slipped into coma. This is nothing new and happening all the time," Azam said.

The vice-president of the National Association of People Living with AIDS Farid Ahmed Memon faces the same discriminatory attitude. ‘’The Sindh AIDS Control Programme (SACP) told me I don’t need to get the CD4 test done. Imagine if it’s happening to me -- and I know most doctors there -- what the others must be going through."read more