Islamabad :Pakistan, China, and India and are among 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region which account for more than 95 per cent of all new HIV infections. Pakistan is at a crucial stage where HIV is growing, but the capacity to reverse it also exists. Cognizant of the epidemic trends, the country must check the spread of HIV on war footings by rolling out plans to close gaps in prevention, testing and treatment services.

Views to this effect echoed at the launch of the ‘Integrated Biological and Behavioural Surveillance in Pakistan 2016-17’ here Tuesday. Joint Secretary of the Ministry of National Health Muazzam Ali Shah was the chief guest on the occasion. Also present were Neil Buhne, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations, Dr. Mamadou Sakho, Country Director of UNAIDS in Pakistan, and Dr. Baseer Khan Achakzai, National Manager of the AIDS Control Programme.

Addressing the gathering, Muazzam Ali Shah said the world has made significant progress in terms of alleviating the high morbidity and mortality associated with HIV and AIDS. Life-saving HIV treatment has been pivotal in reducing the number of new infections, improving the quality of life of People Living with HIV and virtually eliminating mother-to-child transmission.

Muazzam said, the Ministry of Health is fully cognizant of the epidemic trends in the country and the need to check the spread of the epidemic on war footings. “Pakistan is committed to ending HIV by 2030 in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has increased its investments to implement a high-impact intervention scenario with a targeted approach to scale up testing in key populations and increase treatment uptake,” he assured.

Neil Buhne said Pakistan, as evident in the IBBS, is at a crucial stage where HIV is growing but the capacity to reverse it also exists. He said, Pakistan can build on the results of the survey and the experiences of regional countries with high prevalence to scale up its response.

Dr. Mamadou Sakho quoted the UNAIDS 2016 report to point out that India, China and Pakistan are among the 10 countries which account for more than 95 percent of all new HIV infections. The Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia are amongst others.

Dr. Mamadou Sakho said, while the number of new HIV infections has declined globally over the past decade, Pakistan remains one of the few regional countries to witness an increasing number of cases. “Identified by UNAIDS as one of 35 fast-track countries needing intensified efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, the government must roll out plans to close gaps in prevention, testing and treatment services. The global estimation in Pakistan is around 130,000 PLWH who are suffering from this deadly virus; 50% are in Punjab, 43% in Sindh, 5% in KPK and 2% in Baluchistan,” he stated.

Dr. Baseer Achakzai said, the National Programme is primarily mandated to coordinate the National Response to HIV/AIDS. NACP is the Principal Recipient (PR) for the Global Fund (NFM) HIV/AIDS grant for Pakistan and is working closely with the Provincial AIDS Control Programmes (PACPs) to provide care, support and treatment services to infected and affected populations. In addition, NACP also collaborates and coordinates with multilateral and bilateral partners to control and prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS in Pakistan.

The HIV epidemic in Pakistan continues to grow among key populations with an estimated 133,529 People living with HIV in the country. Although HIV prevalence in the general population remains less than 1%, but an increase in prevalence has been noted in all key populations with a risk of spread to the general population through sexual networks.

NACP has been implementing several Global Fund grants such as GFATM SSF grant (2013-16 worth US $9.8 million), GFATM NFM grant (2016-17 worth US $9.02 million) and has secured funding of US $17.5 million for 2018-20 to implement the high impact intervention scenario in line with the SDGs and national strategy targets to curb and control the AIDS epidemic by 2030. Dr. Achakzai also shared the salient features of the National Response.