The project director of the Punjab AIDS control program Dr Faisal Masood said that the Punjab AIDS Control Program is establishing centers across Punjab from 16 districts to 36, with full facilities and consultancy services.
The Aids control program providing free of cost HIV counselling, diagnostic and treatment services through its 25 centers spread across 16 districts in Punjab. The program has geared up its expansion process that will allow the availability of these free services in all 36 districts of Punjab.
The program is also rolling out Insaaf Card for the patients registered with the program thus allowing them free medicines anytime anywhere across Punjab.
PACP itself provides free HIV medication to every patient along with free HIV PCR and CD4 tests done in the program’s in-house bio-safety level 3 laboratory. Dr Faisal expressed his views while talking with daily the Nation, With its collaboration with various CBOs that are working with high-risk populations, PACP next step is to use their support to access deep pockets in communities within these high-risk populations to ensure maximum people are aware of this disease and get screened for HIV.
The program so far has screened more than 1.85 million people belonging to high-risk populations such as female sex workers, transgender, male sex workers and injecting drug users, truck drivers and jail inmates. This also includes TB patients that are screened for HIV and people belonging to the general population. In the next phase, the program plans to screen 542,000 people over the next two years.