Pakistan

Civil Hospital Karachi Denies Treatment to Transgender Persons

The Minister of Health and the Medical Superintendent (MS) of the Civil Hospital Karachi have been summoned by the Sindh High Court (SHC). 

The summons was issued in response to a petition highlighting the lack of treatment for transgender individuals with human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome  (HIV/AIDS) at Dr. Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital. In a hearing led by Chief Justice Ahmad Ali Shaikh, a two-member bench of the  SHC took up the petition.

Advocate Sara Malkani, representing the petitioner, asserted that three transgender individuals named Monica, Nikori, and Mai Jan suffering from HIV/AIDS urgently require medical assistance. However, the administration of Civil Hospital refused to provide them with the necessary care.

This comes as reports indicate a growing HIV epidemic in Pakistan, particularly in major cities where several treatment and diagnostic centers have reported an average of 50 new HIV cases each month.

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Published by
Asma Sajid