By empty (10/11/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The required medical and social assistance will be given to HIV-positive children and their parents in the South Kazakhstan region, Kazakh Public Health Ministry Anatoly Dernovoi said. \"The city hospital in Shymkent opened a 30-patient unit for the treatment of HIV-positive children. The supply of necessary drugs, including antiretroviral compounds, has been created.
The required medical and social assistance will be given to HIV-positive children and their parents in the South Kazakhstan region, Kazakh Public Health Ministry Anatoly Dernovoi said. \"The city hospital in Shymkent opened a 30-patient unit for the treatment of HIV-positive children. The supply of necessary drugs, including antiretroviral compounds, has been created. There are no problems with drug supplies,\" the minister said at a press conference in Astana on Wednesday. An additional 101 million tenge (127.67/$1) will be allocated from the Kazakh budget to the region to help counter the spread of HIV, he said. UNICEF representative in Kazakhstan Alexander Zuyev, who participated in the press conference, said that HIV-positive children in the South Kazakhstan region have \"good chances to live.\" \"We are certain, and this is the opinion of international experts, that the majority of these children have good chances to live, should they be treated according to advanced international methods with the use of the most modern drugs,\" he said. According the latest official data, 76 children and eight mothers contracted the HIV infection because medical staff recklessly disregarded their duties. Another six children have already died. (Interfax)