Daily Times

KARACHI: Six cities in Sindh, including Karachi, have more HIV positive male sex workers than transgender people in the sex trade, a new survey revealed.

In Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah, the number of HIV positive male sex workers was 23,834, whereas the number of HIV positive transgender people was 13,596, figures confirmed.

This datawas collected through surveys by the Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance (IBBS) 2015-16.

“The detailed report is expected to be revealed in coming days,” Sindh AIDS Control Programme (SACP) Manager Dr Younis Chachar confirmed.

These figures were shared during a media session held by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in collaboration with the Sindh AIDS Control Programme (SACP) held at a hotel in Karachi on Wednesday.

According to estimates, the number of HIV positive male sex workers in Karachi stood at 18,361. Similarly the numbers remained 1,779 in Hyderabad, 1,070 in Sukkur, 1,612 in Larkana, 300 in Mirpurkhas, and 712 in Nawabshah.

On the other hand, the number of HIV positive transgender people in Karachi was 9,123, whereas the figure stood at 1,062 in Hyderabad, 1,609 in Sukkur, 1,130 in Larkana, 289 in Mirpurkhas and 383 transgender people were found HIV positive in Nawabshah.

However, the statistics also revealed that in these cities, people who inject drugs (PWID) with HIV are higher in number.

In Karachi, the number of PWID HIV stands at 24,036, 2,164 in Hyderabad, 1,016 in Sukkur, 1,204 in Larkana, 778 in Mirpurkhas and 984 in Nawabshah.

Similarly the number of female sex workers who were HIV positive in Karachi strands at 25,191 whereas the number in the same category in Hyderabad remained at 4,426 while 3,307 in Sukkur, 4,593 in Larkana, 2,084 in Mirpurkhas and 1,690 cases were found in Nawabshah.Dr Chachar said HIV was a virus that might cause an infection, but AIDS is the condition or syndrome.

“If left untreated, HIV can lead to the disease AIDS [acquired immunodeficiency syndrome],” he added.

Dr Mamadou Sakho, country director for UNAIDS Pakistan and Afghanistan pledged support to the government for the prevention of HIV/AIDS.He supported the positive engagement of the programme with people living with HIV/AIDS and the most-at-risk population.