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| “Universal Access and Human Rights" |
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World AIDS Day is held on 1 December every year. It is an international day to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS around the world. In Pakistan also, this day is celebrated every year with a pledge to commit ourselves to efforts all year round to halt, control and prevent the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country. Pakistan is the second largest country in South Asia that stands only a few steps behind India and Nepal in terms of HIV epidemic. Until recently Pakistan was classified as a 'low prevalence high risk' country but now Pakistan is in a 'concentrated phase' of the epidemic with HIV prevalence of more than 5% among injecting drug users (IDUs) in at least eight major cities. However, the country still has a window of opportunity as the current estimates, using the various latest prevalence estimation models, indicate that the HIV prevalence among general adult population is still below .1%. According to the latest national HIV estimates there are approximately 97,400 cases of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan.
The National AIDS Control Program and its provincial units are currently implementing a comprehensive program throughout the country to halt the HIV epidemic. The principal components of the program include interventions for target groups, HIV prevention campaign for general public, prevention of HIV transmission through blood and blood products, and capacity building and programme management. The commemoration of World AIDS Day throughout the Pakistan is also a part of this response.
The National AIDS Control Program, Ministry of Health under its Behaviour Change Communication component launched this years’ World AIDS Day Campaign on 16th November 2009. This WAD specific mass awareness campaign will last till December 15, 2009. The campaign is adopting a multi-sectoral approach and is targeting people from different walks of life. However, the main focus of the campaign is youth, which is one of the most important vulnerable groups in Pakistan.
The campaign while using different channels of communication including Interpersonal Communication and print media and outdoors aims to advocate policy makers and opinion leaders, stimulate community dialogue, create awareness and increase knowledge of the general population, promote preventive and care seeking behaviours and reduce stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV & AIDS (PLHIV).
A number of activities including advocacy seminars with local government officials, sports events, posters and story competitions on HIV & AIDS at national level, interactive street theatres, stage shows, musical concerts, youth theatre performances, and a youth conference on sexual and reproductive health and rights will be organized during the campaign.
In order to create awareness at mass level and to target a large number of audience, electronic and print media activities like talk shows, scrolls, Infomercials, articles and press ads in leading newspapers will also be delivered.
The campaign also includes outdoor activities like branding of prominent places, in Islamabad containing messages on HIV & AIDS with respect to the on going activity. Information, Education & Communication (IEC) material will also be distributed at mass level throughout the awareness drive on WAD.
The National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) has come a long way since 1986 to develop into a comprehensive and effective response to the threat of HIV and AIDS epidemic in Pakistan. The Programme initiated an enhanced multi-sectoral response to the epidemic in 2003 with the help of the international donors and other partners. The first phase of this response is concluding in December 2009. The next 5-year phase envisages consolidation of achievements made to-date and scaling up of services to include wider geographical coverage of services. |
Some of the recent achievements of NACP include;
- ECNEC approval of the AIDS Progamme PC-1s,
- Approval of Revised HIV/AIDS Control Programme PC-1s (6) by CDWP,
- CDWP Approves Safe Blood Transfusion Project PC-1s,
- Award of US $ 43 million Global Fund R-9 HIV Proposal,
- Award of US $ 9.0 million Global Fund Regional Proposal,
- Revival of the German funded Safe Blood Transfusion project,
- Revision of National HIV estimates,
- Strengthening of the National HIV/STI Referral laboratory,
- Operationalization of the National M&E framework,
- Organization of the Ministerial Meeting on Migrant Workers during the 2009 World Health Assembly Session,
- National consultations on scaling-up the response among IDUs, FSWs, and MSMs.
- Agreement on Oral Substitution Treatment Pilot Project
- Signing of FSW Technical Assistance contract
- Continuous provision of ARVS through GFATM R- 2 grant
- Special Surveillance Round for Female Sex Workers in Punjab, and Sindh with UNAIDS collaboration
- Collaboration with FELTP, and CDC, Atlanta-USA for TA on HIV outbreak surveillance and Referral laboratory
- 2-year Cost Extension of CIDA funded Surveillance project,
- Ongoing dialogue with USAID – forthcoming HIV project for addressing the gaps in NSF-II
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