KARACHI, July 31: A total of 199 HIV positive cases have been detected among injecting drug-users during the last 13 months.

According to the manager of the Sindh AIDS Control Programme Dr Sharaf Ali Shah, this represents a major jump in HIV cases for a one-year period and immediate steps are the need of the hour.

In view of the changing situation and realizing that the the PC-1 prepared for the prevention and treatment of HIV in Sindh would not be able to cope with the high number of case, the Sindh AIDS Control Programme has decided to amend the same.

Dr Sharaf Ali Shah said the amended PC-1 would be at the centre of a new strategy to deal with the rising number of HIV cases in Sindh, particularly in Karachi and Larkana.

The planning department, he said, had already been notified that the PC-1 needs to changed and amendments are being suggested in view of the recommendations made by stakeholders.

Describing the steps being taken by his programme, Dr Shah said the harm reduction schemes, being run with the help of various NGOs, covered only 8,000 of about 30,000 injecting drug-users in the province.

"Under this programme, injecting drug-users are educated about the ill-effects of sharing the needles because it is through this menace that the virus may spread very fast. The harm reduction schemes are now proposed to be scaled up so that 80 per cent of the injecting drug-users are covered under them."

Answering a question, Dr Shah said under his programme Rs500 million could be spent over a five-year period on prevention and treatment of HIV. But the amount must be spent after tendering and approval of different projects.

The chief of the provincial Aids Control programme said under an agreement with Ausaid - the Australian humanitarian agency - some 100 people living with HIV would be rehabilitated over a one-year period. "In this scheme, worth 17,000 Australian dollars, too the help of NGOs will be taken where the HIV positive people would be detoxicated and rehabilitated."