National Health Services (NHS) ministry submitted report in the Supreme Court of Pakistan regarding HIV/AIDS in the country that showed that there are an estimated 150,000 people suffering from the disease, and the number increased by an estimated 20,000 people each year. However, the Supreme Court rejected national health services (NHS) ministry report and ordered to submit a new, improved report. The court has called the reports as “a waste of paper” and “completely incomprehensible”
Earlier, The Supreme Court has took up the case when, in June and July 2008, an NGO in Jalalpur Jattan in Gujrat district arranged two HIV screening camps where 88 out of 246 screened individuals tested positive for HIV.
The figure shows that there is still lack of awareness among the citizens while according to national AIDs control Program the main risk factors in Pakistan scenario are high poverty levels, low literacy rates, silence and denial by the affected, low spending on health and education, high prevalence of risky behaviors, large number of internal and external migrants, a high proportion of adolescents and young adults and also gender inequalities.
As the AIDS have no proper treatment but care is the only way to avoid spreading of such a catastrophic disease and for this purpose, a comprehensive awareness campaign must be launched, while also the media, in turn, must run awareness campaigns in the 10pc slot allotted for public awareness.
A greater drive on the prevention of HIV is the need of time, besides strengthening the curative services. Health education using popular mass media is a useful strategy to raise awareness among the general public, as well as the vulnerable segments of population. Regulation of medical practice has to be more stringent to curb the spread of HIV through the unhygienic and septic environment of many of the private and government clinics. There must be a continuing medical education program for postgraduate trainees as well as the general practitioners to keep them abreast with the latest developments in the HIV/AIDS sector. It is need of hour that all stakeholders to win the battle against HIV/AIDS must be convinced to work and employ health system strengthening building blocks if desired results are to be achieved.
To win the battle against HIV/AIDS we must spread awareness and take appropriate measures.
