KARACHI, Sept 13: Sindh Health Adviser Faisal Malik has said that the funds provided to prevent AIDS in the country by international donor agencies were not utilized properly due to lack of planning.

He was talking to a delegation of the United Nations AIDS Control Programme, which called on him at office on Monday. The delegation was comprised of UNAIDS Country Coordinator Dr Aldolandy, Programme Officer Islamabad Dr Saima Hashim and DFID Health Adviser Dr Inayat Hussain Thawer.

Faisal Malik said that 70 per cent of rural population had not benefited from the AIDS control programme. Used syringes and unscreened blood were the major cause of AIDS in the country, he said.

The adviser said that funds provided for welfare of people were being spent on holding meetings, travelling and staying at five star hotels. "AIDS will not be prevented by providing merely disposable syringes to patients. Centres will have to be established for the rehabilitation of addicts living in garbage and unhygienic environment," he said.

Health Secretary Ashiq Hussain Memon, Additional Secretary Health Iqbal Dewan, AIDS Control Programme Project Director Dr Sharaf Ali Shah and Secretary Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority Dr Farhana Memon also attended the meeting. -PPI