The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed a provincial law officer to submit the policy devised by the government for dealing with medical needs and treatment of transgender persons in the province.
The direction came on petition of transgender persons, some of whom are said to be HIV positive, with it being alleged that they were being denied treatment for various ailments at the Civil Hospital.
The petitioners submitted that there were numerous HIV positive transgender persons along with petitioners who were repeatedly being denied medical treatment by the health facilities across Sindh.
Their counsel, Sara Malkani, submitted that the denial of treatment to HIV persons at public hospitals in Sindh severely undermined their access to health care. She submitted that the Civil Hospital was a tertiary-care public hospital under the control of the Sindh government and obligated to provide free and high-quality treatment to patients without discrimination.
She submitted that the refusal of the civil hospital administration to provide treatment to HIV positive patients was a violation of its constitutional obligation as well as the Sindh HIV and AIDS Control, Treatment and Protection Act 2013.
The high court was requested to provide immediate necessary medical treatment to petitioners on a non-discriminatory basis to all HIV positive persons.
A provincial law officer sought time to file comments on the petition. A division bench of the SHC headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M Sheikh directed the provincial law officer to file comments and the policy devised by the provincial government for dealing with medical needs and treatment of transgender persons in the province within three weeks.
The medical superintendent of the Civil Hospital, Dr Greue Kumar, had earlier denied the claim that medical treatment had been wilfully denied. He said that if due to any misunderstanding, the petitioners or any one of them had been turned away, such oversight would be rectified without any further delay.
He had submitted that a focal person had been appointed at the hospital and if the petitioners approached him, they would be properly attended to and provided full medical attention in accordance with their need without any delay. He had said that the hospital had also devised a protocol for dealing the cases of transgender persons.
Published at The News on 20th August 2023