By Shahina Maqbool
Recognising the need to reform Pakistan’s hugely fragmented blood transfusion services, the government has, at long last, revived the German-funded Euro17 million Safe Blood Transfusion Project, which envisages provision of quality-assured blood transfusion services across the country.
National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) Manager Dr. Hasan Abbas Zaheer shared this piece of information with the media at an orientation session organised here on Monday to mark the beginning of its month-long World AIDS Day campaign.
He informed that the provincial PC-1s of the Safe Blood Transfusion Project have been prepared, and the project summary has been sent to the Planning Commission for approval, following which the provision of reliable blood transfusion services will become a reality in Pakistan.
Dr. Zaheer also informed that the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved the PC-1 of the National AIDS Control Programme for the next five years; activities enshrined in the project plan will begin with effect from January 2010. The Rs6.55 billion PC-1 includes indigenous resources pooled by the government, as well as foreign aid from the World Bank and the Department for International Development, and technical assistance from the World Health Organisation, United Nations and USAID, among other partners.
The NACP chief further shared that the summary of the Oral Substitution Treatment pilot project has been sent to the prime minister for approval; the project will initially be piloted in three of NACP’s treatment centres. Dr. Zaheer also shed light on ongoing efforts aimed at broadening of collaborative networks in order to win support for surveillance projects, supply of expensive antiretroviral drugs and strengthening of the referral laboratory.
Coming to World AIDS Day, which is annually observed on December 1, Dr. Zaheer informed that this year’s observation is based on the theme ‘Universal access and human rights.’ “The idea is to ensure availability of HIV and AIDS services to all those in need, and to protect the human rights of those who are infected with the virus, as well as of families affected by it,” he stated. The day seeks to prevent, reduce and eliminate HIV and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination and bring about positive behaviour change in individuals, especially among youth.
Some of the key activities which NACP has planned over a period of one month (from November 16 to December 15) to commemorate the occasion include orientation sessions with religious leaders; seminars with affected high-risk groups including Men Having Sex with Men (MSMs) and Hijras; sport and cultural activities and speech contests at the school and college levels; street theatre; talk shows on the electronic media; and publication of special supplements in newspapers. People living with HIV and AIDS will also be invited to a seminar titled ‘Positive Voices.’ In Islamabad, a mega-even will be held on December 7.
“The prevalence of HIV and AIDS in Pakistan is less than .1% in the general population; however, the country has entered into a concentrated epidemic stage where Injecting Drug Users (IDUs), as well as male and hijra sex workers are the key drivers of the epidemic,” Dr. Zaheer stated. Sharing data from latest modeling projections, he informed that Pakistan has an estimated 97,400 HIV and AIDS cases; the country’s first AIDS case was reported in 1986. Prevalence of HIV and AIDS among IDUs in 12 districts where NACP has conducted surveillance stands at an alarming 20 to 25 percent.
Responding to a question, Dr. Hasan informed that an inter-ministerial meeting on the issue of migrant workers was held on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly in May 2009. “The meeting agreed that a joint strategy should be devised to prevent forcible testing and deportation of workers who test positive for HIV, and to evolve a mechanism for appropriate handling of infected workers,” the NACP chief said. He said that the labour attaches in embassies are being sensitised to play their role in preventing the gross violation of the human rights of HIV positive persons. A follow-up meeting on the subject is scheduled in January next year.
HIV has rapidly enveloped the world in the last three decades. A majority of the infections are sexually transmitted. The disease has a long incubation period, which means that the symptoms of the disease do not appear even though a person may be infected with the virus that causes AIDS; an infected person may appear healthy for a long time but may be spreading the infection to others without being aware. There is no vaccine or cure for AIDS but medicines are available to prolong a patient’s life, to control symptoms, and to improve the quality of life of the patient. The NACP has established 20 treatment centres where free treatment for HIV and AIDS is available.