ZUBAIR QURESHI
The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, in collaboration with the Common Management Unit for AIDS, TB and Malaria, UNAIDS, WHO, UNDP UNICEF, UNFPA, UNODC, APLHIV commemorated World AIDS Day 2022 on Thursday.
This year the theme of the World AIDS Day is “Equalize.” This slogan is a call to action to increase availability, quality of services for HIV treatment, testing and prevention. Equalize calls for communities to make use of and adapt the message to highlight the particular inequalities they face and to press for the actions needed to address them.
The World AIDS Day Report 2022 was launched by Minister for Health Abdul Qadir Patel at a seminar. While addressing the audience, the minister said the government had allocated Rs 2,000 million (Rs2 billion) to tackle AIDS, TB and Malaria.
The government both at the national and provincial levels, despite competing priorities and fiscal limitations, and with the support of partners like UNAIDS, UNDP, WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, and other stakeholders was striving to provide HIV prevention and treatment services through high impact community-based HIV prevention programme. “We are going to revise national and provincial AIDS Strategies, setting the plan of action in the light of global guidance,” he said.
Special Secretary Health, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Mashhood Ahmad said there was a need to initiate national prevention revolution, that includes all available options to stop the transmission of HIV including protection commodities, immediate initiation of antiretroviral therapy and pre-exposure prophylaxis.
Specific populations and locations require additional tools such as harm reduction (needle–syringe and opioid substitution therapy programmes) for people who inject drugs.
Federal Joint Secretary & National Coordination for Coordination Management Unit, AIDS, TB and Malaria, Mustafa Jamal Kazi, while presenting the HIV response in the country highlighted the government’s commitment to prevent lives from HIV infections, while significantly strengthening health systems to deliver people-centered services to those most in need.
This year, the Government of Pakistan reaffirms its support to overcome challenges pertaining to strengthening of HIV response, but also on the road ahead to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
Yuki Takemoto, UNAIDS Country Director took an opportunity to thank Federal Minister, Federal Secretary and Joint Secretary stating that “The Global AIDS Strategy, 2021–2026 provides a clear, evidence-informed blueprint for getting the AIDS response on track. No miraculous silver bullet is needed, using the tools already at its disposal, the Government of Pakistan, together with communities and partners simply needs to translate its commitments into concrete results for people. And this can only happen when people living with HIV and key populations are provided with a platform to amplify their voices. UNAIDS supports the Government of Pakistan to translate its political commitment in strengthening HIV response in the country.
Aliona Niculita, Deputy Resident Representative UNDP Pakistan, emphasized the agency’s commitment to address economic, social, cultural and legal inequalities to contribute towards ending the AIDS epidemic in collaboratively working towards building resilient health systems to enable equitable and efficient access to services embedded with utmost dignity and respect for communities.
Ambassador Henrik Persson of Sweden extended his full support. He said as an ambassador I want to reiterate that the time to act is now, let’s spell a new beginning to reflect on our gains and failures of yesterday to seize the countless possibilities of tomorrow for making Pakistan HIV free.
