Pakistan’s shunned HIV victims fight pariah status

by Hasan Mansoor KARACHI, Dec 1, 2011 (AFP) – Shunned by their families and society, Rubina and Iqbal are a Pakistani couple who have struggled for years to win their lives back and spread a message of respect for fellow victims of HIV/AIDS. Rubina Naz, 33, one of 12 children born to a labourer, was…

Use of recycled syringes remains unchecked

by Hasan Mansoor    With hospitals declining to use incinerators and cutters to properly dispose of used syringes, the cases of Hepatitis B and C are spreading in Karachi.    Sources say healthcare facilities like Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Civil Hospital Karachi, and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, besides scores of private clinics, do not discard infected syringes…