If all goes well, a team of doctors and paramedical staff from Pakistan may soon land in India to be trained before Pakistan starts dispensing anti-retroviral treatment for AIDS patients. This would form part of the joint initiative of the Indian and Pakistan governments to fight AIDS together.According to a proposal forwarded by Dr Asma Bukhari, Director of Pakistan’s National AIDS Control Programme, at a meeting on ‘South Asian Regional Consultation on Gender and HIV/AIDS’ held in Delhi on May 18, doctors and paramedical staff from Pakistan may soon receive training in India for three months before Pakistan starts dispensing anti-retroviral treatment to AIDS patients. This would be in keeping with the Pakistan government’s proposed plan to provide free drugs to AIDS patients by 2004-end.The Pakistan government is currently discussing the matter with NACO and two privately-owned institutes, one of which is the Tata Memorial Institute in Mumbai. NACO, for its part, has shown interest in conducting the training. ‘‘We would be more than pleased to train the medical personnel from Pakistan to help in the implementation of providing free treatment to AIDS patients,’’ said Meenakshi Dutta Ghosh, NACO Project Director.If things go as planned, the first group, comprising five specialised doctors and an equal number of nurses, is likely to be in India for a three-month training from July to September. ‘‘If the need arises, we will send more doctors,’’ said Bukhari.According to Bukhari, Pakistan has chosen India over the West mainly because of the similarities in the working conditions, the traditions and the social set-up of the two countries. ‘‘After cricket ties, what we need is collaboration in public healthcare,’’ she added.‘‘We prefer India to other countries for various reasons. One is that India has experience and is dealing with a large number of AIDS-affected people, and another important factor is the fact that India has already started dispensing the anti-retroviral drugs in the country,’’ Bukhari pointed out.Compared to other countries, Pakistan has a low prevalence of AIDS cases. According to Bukhari, while the estimated number of cases stands at 70,000 to 80,000, only 2,197 persons have been registered with the country’s AIDS control society out of which only 246 are full-blown AIDS cases. As part of its campaign to combat AIDS, the Pakistan government plans to provide free drugs to those afflicted by the disease. ‘‘ We have inaugurated five treatment centres and will be providing the drugs there,’’ Bukhari said.
