PESHAWAR, Jan 7: In the wake of non-availability of investigation facilities in Afghanistan, the deadly epidemic of AIDS may play havoc with the people in the war-battered country of Afghanistan, said an Afghan doctor on Tuesday.
“The announcement by the Afghan Health Minister on the World AIDS Day that six cases have been reported as HIV positive in Afghanistan, should serve as wakeup call for the international community as well as the Afghan leaders to do some soul searching to prevent the people from falling victims to the killer epidemic,” said Dr Fareed Bazgar, who heads a Peshawar-based NGO, Orphan Refugee Aid (ORA).
According to him, the detection of six cases shows that the diseases might assume alarming proportions if remedial measures weren’t taken in time to prevent it from spreading and save the innocent people from being inflicted with the deadly scourge.
Dr Bazgar also informed that the World Health Organization has also reported the prevalence of 10 AIDS cases in Afghanistan. These cases were reported from major cities of Khost, Paktia, Paktika, Jalalabad, Kabul and Herat.
He said there was no authentic statistics, mainly owing to the nonexistence of clinical laboratories and research centres in Afghanistan, but the ground realities shows that AIDS might become a threatening problem in future.
The Afghan refugees settled in the UAE, the US and other European countries, being away from their wives more often indulge in sex acts with professional sex workers in these countries. Whenever, they visit the concerned offices of these countries in connection with the renewal of their visas etc., they undergo blood test for HIV. Anyone tested positive is deported straightaway, without allowing them packaging of their luggage.
The long and porous border which connects Afghanistan with Pakistan and Iran, has been used by the people without being checked by the authorities, is also the source of concern as far as the spread of such ailments are concerned. Then, the abuse of disposable syringes and non-availability of screening facilities at the blood banks in Afghanistan, have further complicated the situation. Another factor, the doctor said was the free activities of the sex workers after toppling of the Taliban government, the people have become more vulnerable to contracting AIDS.
Dr Bazgar disclosed that the ICRC has been providing screening facilities at the blood banks of the major hospitals of Afghanistan for the last 10 years and they had not found any HIV positive case in 60,000 blood bags donated by the most young people. The ORA, he said was conducting its activities in Pakistan but plans to set up laboratories in major cities of Afghanistan to provide screening facilities to the people.
“We have started health education programme and visit Peshawar-based Afghan schools to provide AIDS related information to the school children,” said Dr Bazgar, adding that they also distributed pamphlets among the people to protect them from not only Aids but also other ailments.
Not only the people coming from the UAE and European countries are the cause of transmitting the diseases to the people, but those living in Pakistan also happen to pose potential threats to the health of people back home in Afghanistan. Because, Pakistan, according to the WHO, has also some 80,000 carriers of AIDS and the three million Afghans living in Balochistan and NWFP have been living in proximity with the Pakistani people can be potential source of spreading the diseases.
The doctor said that prior to Afghanistan war, in early eighties two students of Kabul University had been deported from Bulgaria, after testing positive for HIV.
