To mark the World AIDS Day, Sindh AIDS Control Programme (SACP) organised an HIV/AIDS Awareness walk from Kabootar Chowrangi to Karachi Press Club. The walk was led by Dr. Muhammad Younus Chachar, Programme Manager SACP along with renowned Allama Ahsan Siddiqui. The officials of health department, lady health workers, representatives of civil society and NGOs, students, business community, nurses, journalists and HIV/AIDS patients participated in the walk.
Speaking to the participants, Dr. Younis Chachar said that the World AIDS Day is observed all over world every year on December 1st with aim to highlight the fallout of the deadly disease and create awareness among masses to observe safety measures from falling prey to it. The theme for World AIDS Day this year is ‘Know your status’ and every citizen should go for screening to prevent from deadly HIV disease. Every HIV patient could live a normal through treatment as this disease is curable.”
He further said that truck drivers, drug injecting users, female sex workers, transgender sex workers, men having sex with men (MSMs), victims of unsafe medical procedures and infected parents are considered major high risk group of HIV/AIDS prevalence. Giving the statistic, he informed that more than 131,000 HIV/AIDS infected people are living in Pakistan out of them 56,000 are in Sindh province. The Sindh AIDS Control Program has registered a total of 15,147 HIV/ ADIS infected patients since the start of program out of them 14,908 were HIV patients and 239 were AIDS positive.
In 2018, 1500 new HIV infected patients were reported at eight HIV Treatment Centres across the Sindh province. Eleven died of HIV/AIDS and its related complications in the province so far.
