Daily Times

This month began by marking World AIDS Day. First December: an international day dedicated to raising awareness about the lethal condition in the hope of eradicating it. As per custom President Arif Alvi reiterated the promises every government makes to fight the epidemic by providing high impact prevention services to the public. Last year a similar message was sent out by CM Punjab Shehbaz Sharif on World AIDS Day. And yet there I stood next to people who were HIV positive butwere getting no help from the government.

A little over 150,000 people in Pakistan are living with the HIV virus which leads to the development of AIDS- Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Given how small a percentage of the population this is, the issue is raised once a year on the 1st of December and then it is back to blasts, gas price hikes and stock market crashes. And there is no one to blame, for both the government and the media must get their priorities right; the former must maintain public popularity and the latter must maintain viewership. The red ribbon is taken off and Pakistan moves on. But if a person himself or their loved one becomes a victim of AIDS, suddenly priorities change.

According to WHO Pakistan is registering about 20,000 new HIV infections annually. This is the highest rate of increase in the region. The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad receives up to 40 new HIV patients every month.A survey published in 2017 revealed that in a span of one year the number of HIV patients (including those suffering from AIDS) rose from 39,000 to 132,000, with Punjab reporting the highest number of patients- 60,000.However, according to the National AIDS Control Program only 9% of those suffering from AIDS have access to live saving treatment.

The current Federal Minister for National Health Services Regulation and Coordination, Aamir Mehmood Kiyani, says that since taking office the government has moved to establish 12 new HIV treatment centers. Drug treatments can help reduce the HIV virus and keep the immune system as healthy as possible to minimize complications that may develop later on. However, globally there has yet to be a major breakthrough in finding a cure for the epidemic. Consequently, prevention through awareness remains the best means of combatting AIDS.

Since the HIV virus can only be transmitted through certain body fluids, according to officials the most vulnerable groupsin Pakistan tend to be1) intravenous drug users and 2) sex workers.As both activities are illegal protecting these individuals becomes very difficult. NGOs like RAAH Foundation and Nai Zindagi Trust continue to reach outto these groups across Pakistan, providing them with contraceptives, new needles and counselling.However, given the psychological state of intravenous drug users assisting them can be very difficult.

The epidemic of AIDS cannot be stopped without addressing Pakistan’s growing drug industry. The market mechanism for drugs- like any other product-is underpinned by demand and supply. There have always been calls for a crackdown against the drug mafia. From time to time drug peddlers are arrested and substances are seized. But for every man put behind bars one more will join the bandwagon because drugs is a lucrative business; one gram of cocaine can sell for anything between 10 to 20 thousand rupees.It is the demand for drugs which needs to be targeted instead, if the outbreak of AIDS is to be controlled.

The epidemic of AIDS cannot be stopped without addressing Pakistan’s growing drug industry. The market mechanism for drugs- like any other product-is underpinned by demand and supply. There have always been calls for a crackdown against the drug mafia

While doing a documentary style story on crystal meth I interviewed serval men between the ages of 14 to 30 undergoing treatment at rehabilitation centers for drug addiction. None of them started off by injecting; it went from alcohol to hash to Class A drugs, all in the pursuit of happiness. That is not to say every hash smoker will end up sitting on the streets poking a needle into his arm, but the likelihood of experimenting withmore potent drugs does increase and hence so does the likelihood of contracting HIV.Consequently, we must go back to raising awareness as a possible solution, but this time also against drug use.

There will always be talk of raising awareness: seminars in Islamabad that your average heroin addict sleeping on the street will not attend, flyers which mostly end up as packaging material, and television advertisements which no one thinks about once they end. If gruesome images of mouths decaying due to cancer cannot stop a smoker from lighting up, how can just telling people drugs are bad ever curb the curiosity of a fifteen year old. If the government seeks to combat the use of drugs and hence AIDS beyond mere statements, it needs to educate the youth about these issues and not by making them read a book or watching a documentary.

Public and private schools need to invite former drug users who are HIV positive to speak to children.These individuals who have lost families, friends, careers and are now losing their lives have the potential to make students rethink the choices they make. Extracurricular activities and school trips should also include time at rehabilitation centers because witnessing the circumstances faced by drug addicts first hand changes how one perceives life. The generalized public service message can only have an impact when it is made personal.

The writer has a Masters in Media Studies with a distinction from the London School of Economics. She tweets @mawish_m

Published in Daily Times, December 15^th 2018.