UNFPA-Seminar
To educate Females Sex Workers (FSWs) on different precautionary health programs for their assistance, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with Provincial AIDS Control Program Sindh (PACP) arranged a three-day Skill Building Workshop on Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and HIV recently at a local hotel in Karachi.
The workshop’s aimed to educate FSWs about precautionary method regarding sex. A large number of FSWs from Karachi and Hyderabad attended the workshop.
Daniel Baker, Country Representative UNFPA on the occasion said that the main objective of the workshop was to discuss and develop strategies to address the sexual health needs of female sex workers.
Dr. Qamar Abbas, Deputy Program Manager, Provincial AIDS Control Program Sindh informed that a recent round of surveillance showed that 6.4 per cent prevalence among male transvestites and 0.9 per cent prevalence among male sex workers.
A high number of people have been infected through sexual transmission, but the epidemic is mounting rapidly among injecting drug users, with a reported prevalence of 26 per cent among drug users alone in Karachi.
Habibur-Rehman highlighted the risks and needs of sex workers and asserted that there is work needed to build capacity in government bodies, service providers, NGOs and donors in addressing these needs.