HIV/AIDS is no more a health problem; it has become a security issue as millions of people are almost at the verge of extinction. Around 90 percent of AIDS victims are living in developing countries where the incidence rate is aggravated by poverty, hunger, disease, lack of medical facilities, illiteracy and under-development.
Pakistan is situated between countries that have a high risk of HIV/AIDS; India on the east, China in the north, and Afghanistan on the west — its only low risk neighbor is Iran.
HIV/AIDS is a destructive disease that causes many financial, mental and physical difficulties for patients and their families. AIDS is also a disease that creates fear, misunderstanding, and discrimination in our society, all because of a lack of knowledge and awareness about this disease in Pakistan.
The prevalence of and the deaths caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) have been growing at an alarming rate in Pakistan as compared to other countries over the past decade. According to National AIDS Control Program (NACP), like other Asian countries, Pakistan is following a comparable HIV epidemic trend having moved from ‘low prevalence, high risk’ to ‘concentrated’ epidemic in the early to mid-2000s.
Pakistan’s epidemic is primarily concentrated among two of the key population groups driving the epidemic in the country. These are ‘People Who Inject Drugs’ (PWID) with a national prevalence of 27.2 percent, followed by ‘Hijra (Transgender) Sex Worker’ (HSW) standing at 5.2 percent and then, 1.6 percent among ‘Male Sex Workers’ (MSW). Fortunately the prevalence in female sex workers still remains low at 0.6 percent. The geographic trend of key populations is from major urban cities and provincial capitals, expanding over time to smaller cities and peripheries.
Currently NACP statists shows that 0.102 million people are living with HIV in the country; 18,868 people currently registered with the NACP and 9275 patients are currently receiving ARV therapy and 3042 people who inject drugs and are already on ARV therapy.
According to Pakistan Global AIDS Response Progress Report, the epidemic trend is moving from low prevalence to high risk due to the steady increase in the number of people injecting drugs regularly for non-therapeutic purposes
According to Pakistan Global AIDS Response Progress Report, the epidemic trend is moving from low prevalence to high risk due to the steady increase in the number of people injecting drugs regularly for non-therapeutic purposes. Similarly, bisexual behaviour was reported in approximately 39.5 percent of the cases. Consistent condom use was very low at only 13 percent with paying partners, and even lower at 11 percent in the case of non-paying partners. Transgender persons are considered to be at a higher risk of acquiring HIV in Pakistan.
Pakistan Global Aids Response Progress report further states that female sex workers reported an average of three clients a day. The report states that condom use with clients was generally low as only 33.2 percent reportedly always used a condom with their clients and 20.6 percent reported consistent condom use with non-paying partners. Hence, HIV prevalence in female sex workers is still low at 0.6% as opposed to other concentrated high-risk groups.
Many patients with HIV/AIDS experience numerous challenges beyond those posed by the physical effects of their disease — including poverty, mental illness, drug addiction, social alienation, racism, and homophobia. Counseling patients who face these issues can be difficult, but a careful risk assessment along with patient education can improve a patient’s ability to cope and can lead to better outcomes.
In order to help patients, we must reduce their isolation and curb the discrimination they face. We must also implement structures that ensure proper tests, treatments and counseling for those affected. The society at large should fully cooperate with HIV/AIDS patients in leading a normal life instead of stigmatising them and patients should inform doctors about the disease, as it is caused mostly by transfusion of untested blood and contaminated injections.
The writer is a freelance journalist associated with the development sector. He can be reached on [email protected] twitter: @mqesar
Published in Daily Times, September 13th 2017.