look news india
The poor health infrastructure and criminal negligence of Pakistan have left the lives of dozens of innocent children and their families in darkness forever. Dozens of children who went to various health centers and hospitals in the country for treatment of seasonal fever, cough or common childhood diseases have been found positive for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) within a few weeks and months. According to a sensational investigative report by international media organization NPR, the confirmation of this deadly virus in the bodies of children after undergoing regular medical checkups and normal clinical procedures has created huge outrage and panic across the country.
The parents of the affected children are crying in despair and are unable to understand how the innocent child whom they had sent to the doctor for the treatment of a common disease, has become a victim of this incurable disease. The affected parents clearly say that no one in their families had this infection nor was there any possibility of the children coming in contact with this virus from any other external source. The victims’ families have directly raised questions about the complete breakdown of infection control protocols in local health centres, nursing homes and government hospitals.
The biggest and scariest reason behind this dreadful tragedy is emerging as unsafe medical practices adopted in health centres. Speaking to NPR, several victim parents made shocking allegations. Family members say that in many clinics and primary health centers, the same disposable syringes and needles have been used repeatedly on many patients during glucose infusion (IV treatment) and general injections. Strict rules on medical waste management and single-use syringes were flouted and medicines were given to children using used needles, either out of greed for a few bucks or criminal negligence.
Although health experts say that a thorough epidemiological investigation is needed to find out the exact source of infection in each case, the reality on the ground suggests that the re-use of needles appears to be the most direct link to this widespread infection. According to the report, due to this dreadful negligence, at least six innocent children have died in agony. Children who have been diagnosed with HIV have their entire lives now tied up in life-saving medicines and trips to hospitals. HIV completely destroys the body’s immune system, causing even common infections to become fatal. Although the virus can be controlled with antiretroviral therapy (ART), there is no cure for the disease.
In an economically distressed country like Pakistan, a child being HIV positive is not just a medical crisis, but it also becomes an endless social and economic torture for the entire family. For poor and middle-class families, frequent expensive blood tests, monitoring of viral load, provision of costly antiretroviral medicines and frequent trips to hospitals in big cities are proving to be completely ruinous financially. Most of the affected families are already struggling for basic needs and are now burdened with the unbearable burden of treating this serious disease.
Additionally, the deep superstition, illiteracy and social stigma prevalent in Pakistani society regarding HIV and AIDS have made life difficult for these families. After the children’s report comes positive, many families are facing social boycott by their own relatives and people of the locality. The fear of these children being isolated from schools and playgrounds is eating away at the parents from within. Amidst this twin fear of defamation and neglect, now the angry parents are united and demanding justice from the government machinery, transparent investigation and strict legal action akin to murder against the responsible doctors and staff.
After this human tragedy became public, human rights activists, child rights organizations and civil society have appealed to the Pakistan government and the World Health Organization (WHO) for immediate intervention. Activists are demanding a thorough forensic and safety audit of medical equipment used in all private clinics, nursing homes and government hospitals across the country. In particular, rules for mandatory disposal of disposable syringes, IV cannulas, blood transfusion kits and surgical instruments after one use should be strictly enforced.
The lack of regulation in the health sector in Pakistan and the uncontrolled network of quacks have led to such large HIV outbreaks before, but no lessons were learned from past mistakes. Now it will be important to see whether the Pakistani government takes any concrete steps against the guilty health centers after the international outcry or, as usual, these cries of poor and helpless innocent people will also be suppressed in the files.