AIDS can affect thousand of prisoners:Director Punjab AIDS Control Programme

Lahore:  Director Punjab AIDS Control Programme (PACP) Dr. Salman Shahid has said that there is a high risk of transmission of HIV and other diseases in prisons and the prison staff also shares this high-risk environment with the inmates.While the prison staff is in contact with the community, the prisoners also return to the society after completing their sentences. Therefore, steps taken to protect prisoners and staff from contracting infections would ultimately have an impact on the health of the general public.

Dr. Salman Shahid  said “In order to reassess the current HIV situation in the jails of Punjab and to ensure provision of services, the Punjab AIDS Control Program (PACP) decided to conduct a screening of all the jail inmates at risk and the staff of prisons in Punjab”. He further said that   PACP has conducted capacity-building trainings of 11 Medical Officers and 32 Technicians working in different jails of the Punjab.

The trainings were conducted with the support of the IG Prisons Punjab office. Later on, PACP provided 60,000 HIV Rapid Determine Test Kits worth Rs. 7.2 million for screening of jail inmates and staff of all jails in Punjab.

Dr. Salman Shahid further said that the Program is ensuring strict adherence to the WHO recommended guidelines on HIV screening, which include consent of the inmate and confidentiality of HIV status of the inmate.

The Program is also ensuring confirmation of the HIV status of the patients on three different antibody tests as required by WHO. For this purpose, he said, the Voluntary Confidential Counseling and Testing Centers and Surveillance Centers established by the Program at different tertiary care and District Hospital are working in close collaboration with the prisons located within the respective jail regions. He further informed that the Punjab AIDS Control Program is implementing the whole process in a phased manner. The initial screening is being done at the jails and is followed by confirmation of HIV status by further two antibody tests, including ELISA test at the VCT and Surveillance Centres of PACP. Only those inmates that are reactive on all three tests will be considered as HIV Positive.

The inmates with confirmed HIV positive status will undergo the CD-4 test. He informed that the PACP has taken responsibility for provision of expensive diagnostic tests (CD-4 and PCR Testing) as well as Anti Retroviral drugs free of cost. It may be mentioned that not all HIV Positive patients will require treatment and this will be initiated based on the clinical evaluation and the CD4 count of the patient. In addition to the diagnostic and treatment services, counseling of the patients for psychological management of the disease will also be carried out by trained Psychologists of PACP.

Dr. Salman Shahid further said that as a result of the close collaboration of the Program with the IG Prisons Office, the results of the confirmation of HIV status by the different Surveillance Centers will be reported initially to the Program for onward intimation to the IG Prisons Office. The results of the screening will not be made public without the approval of higher authorities. This is being done to protect the inmates from the stigma and discrimination associated with the disease. He observed that HIV is a sensitive issue, therefore the reporting regarding this issue may be done in a manner to avoid undue panic.