PESHAWAR, April 3: All Women Advancement and Resource Development (Award) has asked the government to ensure medical facilities for the people tested HIV\AIDS positive.

Speaking at a news conference, Award chief executive Maimoona Masood Khan alleged that the patients with HIV\AIDS positive were not admitted to the government-owned hospitals and moreover they were maltreated by the staff.

She said that a patient, who was tested HIV\AIDS positive on Feb 18, was instead of admitting to a public hospital was humiliated and discharged by a doctor.

She alleged that another hospitalized patient of HIV/AIDS was given the same treatment at the same hospital a month later, but was later admitted on the intervention of the health minister, but on March 23 was discharged along with another female HIV/AIDS patient.

Ms Khan said that they had informed the provincial health minister and higher officials about the mistreatment, but no action had been taken to the day.

She feared that the disease might spread with alarming proportions, if the government-run hospitals continued to refuse admission to them, because such patients would endanger the lives of their families and the community.

According to her, the HIV/AIDS patients were deported from the UAE and Middle East after being tested positive for HIV/AIDS and the government of Pakistan was not informed about the cause of their deportation.

The official of the Award said that the HIV/AIDS was not transmittable through air, handshake or sharing of utensils and towels. It could be transmitted through blood transfusion and sexual contacts, she added.

She also demanded of the government to employ special staff at hospitals, so that the patients tested positive for HIV/AIDS could be admitted and treated.

She said that they needed symptomatic treatment, which was very expensive and beyond the reach of poor patients, and urged the government to ensure the provision medicines to them from the hospitals.

She was of the view that the situation could be handled through commissioning of specific units at the city hospitals.

Ms Khan said that if the government didn’t make proper arrangements for HIV/AIDS patients, then Award would organize hunger strike camps in front of the NWFP Assembly and hold protest demonstrations to force it for the desired arrangements for the patients at the hospitals.